First November 2019 by The Malta Independent

NOVEMBER 2019

THE ART AND FOOD ISSUE

STARRING STEVE CUTAJAR LEONARDO DA VINCI CARAVAGGIO AND BERNINI VICKY BENNISONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S PASTA GRANNIES JOSEPH BELLIA VIRGINIE VIARD RICHARD GERES THE BEATLES MIGUEL FLORES-VIANNA DEBBIE SCHEMBRI

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NOVEMBER 2019

THE ART AND FOOD ISSUE

STARRING STEVE CUTAJAR LEONARDO DA VINCI CARAVAGGIO AND BERNINI VICKY BENNISON’S PASTA GRANNIES JOSEPH BELLIA VIRGINIE VIARD RICHARD GERES THE BEATLES MIGUEL FLORES-VIANNA DEBBIE SCHEMBRI

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EDITORIAL

Rewilding a Farm

Knepp Castle Estate, 3,500 acres in the heart of West Sussex, England, is a success story in taking low-grade land and turning it into a lush bio-diverse habitat. This is rewilding. Photography by Arcibald (flickr.com/photos/arcibaldo). wned by the Burrell family for over 220 years most of the land on the Knepp Caste Estate was devoted to traditional farming. Then in 2001 a big change was made. With poor soil and low to no profit being made the focus was shifted to regeneration and restoration – ‘rewilding’ – aimed at nature conservation. and now the farm is run by animals, free roaming herbivores in the right numbers that have transformed the land. Using grazing animals, such as Old English longhorn cattle that share the land with varieties of wild deer, as the drivers of habitat creation, and with the restoration of dynamic, natural water courses, the project has seen extraordinary increases in wildlife coming to the estate. On Knepp animals are free to roam and graze, eating whatever and wherever they

want. There are no fences. There is no human intervention. This surrender to nature has stimulated complex and bio-diverse habitats. It is an example of how you can take low-grade land and turn it into a wildland farm which takes care of itself. Environmentally it increases the amount of carbon locking in the soil, while helping endangered species of insects and birds, drawn to the pesticide free environment. The land is still farmed – just in a less intensive way – producing sustainable, high-quality, organic, pasture-fed meat from free-roaming herds of animals. Wildland farming is an effective way of restoring the environment and the Knepp Wildland Project is one of the most incredible wildland farming projects and success stories in Europe, and is being seen as a pilot study for the philosophy of nature conservation. Lucky for us the Estate also runs nature-based tourism including camping, glamping and safaris.

ON THE COVER. Model Tiffany Pisani (Models M) wears Punt Roma Floral Print Scarf. Kwaddro Jeans. LC Waikiki Belts and Bag (on shelf). Gold Earrings Stylist’s Own. Styled by Adriana Calleja. Photography by Matthew B Spiteri.

EDITORIAL CONTENT AND SALES MANAGER SEAN ELLUL SELLUL@INDEPENDENT.COM.MT ADVERTISING SUPPORT ILARIA MOUSU IALMOUSU@INDEPENDENT.COM.MT DESIGNER CONRAD BONDIN CBONDIN@INDEPENDENT.COM.MT PRODUCTION MANAGER ANDRE CAMILLERI ACAMILLERI@INDEPENDENT.COM.MT PUBLISHER STANDARD PUBLICATIONS, STANDARD HOUSE, BIRKIKARA HILL, ST JULIAN’S. TEL: 00356 2134 5888, WEB: WWW.INDEPENDENT.COM.MT FACEBOOK FIRSTMAGAZINE PRINTER PRINT-IT. FIRST IS PUBLISHED AS A COMPLIMENTARY MAGAZINE WITH THE MALTA INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY AND IS NOT TO BE SOLD SEPARATELY. NO PART OF THE PUBLICATION MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT THE PRIOR AGREEMENT OF THE PUBLISHER.

CONTENTS 13

INTERVIEW

The 48 Hour Story. Steve Cutajar on “artisanal” bread.

ARTS & CULTURE

PARIS CALLING

More Than Mona. The Louvre’s Exceptional Leonardo Show.

VIENNA CALLING

The Discovery of Emotions. Caravaggio and Bernini.

EXHIBITION

Colour Magician. Joseph Bellia.

ART ANNIVERSARY MUŻA. A Celebration of Success and Inspiration.

PASTA GRANNIES

Vicky Bennison’s Italian Nonne Taking YouTube by Storm!

INVESTMENT

EU Funds in Budget 2020

CATWALK

HANDCRAFTED

Spring Summer 2020 Trend.

NOUVELLE VAGUE SS2020 RTW Virginie Viard’s Youthful Breeze of Liberty at Chanel.

PARIS CALLING. Leonardo da Vinci at The Louvre. Photo Thibault Camus/AP.

Virginie Viard's first solo ready-to-wear collection for Chanel SS2020.

FASHION

Fiery Pizzazz. A kaleidoscope of pattern and texture.

13 10

Designers Joseph Achkar and Michel Charriere's grand entrance to their Parisian home. Photo by Miguel Flores-Vianna, taken from his book Haute Bohemians.

The 48 Hour Story – Steve Cutajar on retro-baking and going back to basics with bread.

Open since 1760, Rome's iconic Caffè Greco is caught up in a rent hike tug of war.

The Beatles Cult Classic Abbey Road at 50.

Fashion: Fiery Pizzazz. Charles & Keith Bag and

18 CONTENTS 26

[N OV E M B E R I S SU E 2 01 9]

Joseph Bellia's upcoming retrospective at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Valletta. Gharghur (1998), acrylic on paper.

VIENNA CALLING. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Madonna of the Rosary, c. 1601/03. Canvas, 364.5 × 249.5 cm Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum © KHM-Museumsverband.

Pizzazz. LC Waikiki Suede Coat. M&S Knit Pencil Skirt. th Bag and Shoes. Hair Clip and Earrings Stylist's Own.

HEALTH & FITNESS

MEN’S HEALTH

Movember. Tackling Prostate Cancer, Testicular Cancer, Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. Pasta Grannies' Carmela says, ‘Growing up, when the family came round, we had to eat outside because there were about 60 of us. Everyone would bring a dish. Nowadays the family is smaller, and I only cook for 12 on Sundays.'

DIABETES HEALTH

Diabetes Motion Motivation. Effect of Cardio and Strength Training on Type 2 Diabetes. Richard Geres explains.

Let’s Talk About Diabetes. A Maltese Perspective.

POP CULTURE

The Beatles. Abbey Road at 50.

COFFEE TABLE

Haute Bohemians. Miguel Flores-Vianna’s 312 page treasure trove of inspirational interiors.

56 MEN’S HEALTH. Movember.

PLATES TO SHARE

Debbie Schembri‘s Middle Eastern Flavours.

COFFEE KLATCH

Caffè Greco. A rent hike tug of war at the eternal city’s oldest coffee shop.

PROMOTIONS

FASHION NEWS

LC Waikiki Now Open. Mediterranean Culinary Academy's Debbie Schembri prepares a Crunchy Salad with Harissa and Pomegranate Molasses Dressing in her feature on Middle Eastern Flavours.

DINING OUT

Porto Lounge. Dining on the water’s edge. 11

INTERVIEW

INTERVIEW: STEVE CUTAJAR

THE 48 HOUR STORY

Retro-baking and going back to basics – slow cooking and giving time to ingredients to work the way they should. First caught up with Steve Cutajar at Fre{n}sh Bakery, a collaboration with Le Grenier à Pain in Balluta Bay, to find out about dough respect, what “Baguette Tradition Française” means, how long it actually takes to go from milling to baking bread, and the biggest mistake that home bakers make. Photography by First. hat are your thoughts on “artisanal” bread, and the difference between “artisanal” and “industrial” bread? First and foremost bread is a staple, it’s the first “official” recipe which combined three or four ingredients to create something which people could actually eat. But over the years it has become more than a staple, it has become a necessity for the ever growing catering industry around the world. The difference between “traditional” or “artisanal” and “industrialised” bread is the fact that the industrialisation process removes all the love. The passion and all the care that the product could actually give and put in your body is something that industrialisation removes completely. What we try to do, is to bring back, or to put back, the traditional in what should be traditional. The most important difference between “industrialised” and “traditional” are the ingredients. The “industrialised” often has various different types of ‘improvers’ which are mainly ‘e’s and lab created chemical components which help the bread rise quicker, whereas the” traditional” has a dough respect that should go on for at least 24 hours for the yeast to start creating those famous gases, that’s the main difference. There are less labour costs and of course a much better margin for an “industrialised” product. That’s why “industrialised” bread has became a very, very quick, accessible food everywhere in various shapes and forms, while at the same time “traditional” bread is actually decreasing very quickly. So we’re here to reintroduce it. So what does bread mean to you, and what does baking mean to you? Baking is a passion, baking is... I would say - life - a life lesson. People cook, people have hobbies, and so on, but baking is understanding the basics of nutrition, which quite simply is ‘you are what you eat’... we stick to that rule. Baking for me is everything. I was born in a kitchen - both my parents were chefs. I come from a country where gastronomy is always, and was always very, very prized, and the region where I come from, the Alps, has a big focus on two main ingredients, which are of course butter and everything that is a bit lardon, meaty and so on. Combine these two and you have amazing products; and then of course you go down the mountains, and you have French wheat which is renowned, and that explodes French passion - French food, and the savoir fair of gastronomy.

What’s your signature bread, or your speciality? Well, people’s speciality, our clients’ speciality would be the baguette, the tradition baguette, because that’s what we know. But the browns are gaining very quickly, especially our Hastings bread, which is a Nordic bread made a bit more ‘French-y’. It’s a hit because it’s an earthy and very healthy and amazing bread for both adults as well as children alike, so that’s the best selling for the time being, from what we produce to what we sell, that’s what we have the least left of actually. What does baguette de tradition Française mean? Well in French baguette is like a line, a fisselle, like a string - the proper magician’s stick is a baguette, so approximately between 45 to 60cm long, which would be the length of a magician’s stick also. The tradition is the signature that states that a product has to be produced according to a certain process to be tagged as “traditional”. So the product goes through three different steps; the first is recognising the base ingredients and understanding the provenance of the ingredients, making ▶ 13

INTERVIEW

The bread that we produce takes 2 days – 48 hours. We do it based on sourdough, we give it enough time for the sourdough to literally act as much as it can.

◀sure that they’re not overly processed; the second most important factor for the tradition is of course the production; and the third would be the storing and the selling of it. If we add the Française to it - since baguette can be made anywhere in the world nowadays - the Française means that the flour usually comes from France. So we can trace the whole process, the whole cycle of the baguette, from the birth of the wheat through the cooking process into a baguette, and that’s a tradition process. How involved are the bakers in the bread and the handling of the dough? Totally. Machines do the hard work, machines do the dirty work, which is good, because bread is heavy, but no machine will understand the dough as much as a human eye, a human touch, a human sense of smell and human experience. The dough in itself depends on a ton of different variations, which are climatic variations, ambient variations, cooking variations, storage variations... the dough depends on how one treats it. Now if the chef comes along at the end of the day and just signs off the dough saying it’s good that would be “industrial”. The chef has to take the dough from birth to cooking, accompanying it through the whole process, making sure that the dough is responding well. Then there’s the whole cutting process and the weighing process which need to be done manually; the whole shaping process of the dough, that needs to be done by human touch. Hence also, the different varieties, sometimes, of bread shapes and bread colour - it’s not always that perfect perfect bread - that’s “industrialised”. “Traditional” bread has to have flaws. Like any other flaws in our human life, a

bread has to have flaws. It’s own character. It’s own life. Every climate is different, so baking bread in Grenoble or here will be different... Oh yes! So do you have to adjust the water temperature for the weather... Yes, yes! And how do you know when the dough is ready, how long does it take to rise, to bake..? Of course a baker would have that by experience. Becoming a proper baker, a boulanger, would take a good 5, 6 years minimum experience. The tricks of the trade are acquired by different situations, but there are the same basic factors that you can apply everywhere around the world which would be that the water always has to be of very good quality, the flour has to be of very very good quality, and temperatures have to be controlled perfectly. This is the key of bread. So in a place like Malta bread would be treated totally differently than in a place like Grenoble. The difference in both climate temperature, as well as humidity, would make a massive difference. Even though it could be the same flour, the same baker and the same timings. So that’s one factor. The second factor is that as good as a chef is, a chef can also make mistakes. So one tiny variance, a tiny bit more salt or more water, can hydrate the dough too much, or dehydrate it too much, which would give a totally different batch, a totally different texture, a totally different crust, and this is why every part of the bread’s creation, from beginning to end, would actually be made up of mistakes. It’s the mistakes that get you to the point that you need to get to, and some mistakes in bread, unlike patisserie, can be fixed along the way. Even if a bread does not totally rise, we can create a focaccia, so that won’t kill the whole process. But it’s always on the baker’s mind to make sure that these mistakes don’t happen, because a whole batch is a big job. It’s a lot of time, it’s a lot of work and loads of money. From start to finish, how long does it take to go from flour to bread? If you had to go from milling to cutting the bread, that would take you nearly 55 hours. So that would be 2 days and a half to do the bread. The biggest portion of that would be the proving period, and the resting period for the dough to literally create its own proteins, its own gluten, to give it that elasticity which will make it ‘bounce’ at the end of the day - so a very very tight bread, but at the same time very airy - and that needs a lot of resting. The bread that we produce takes 2 days - 48 hours. We do it based on sourdough, we give it enough time for the sourdough to literally act as much as it can, then we let it rest for the second time - that would give it a second rise, then there’s the third rise when it’s in the basket just pre-cooking, so the bread actually rests 2 times and rises 3 times. And that would take 48 hours.

So what’s the biggest mistake that home bakers make? It is actually that, of not totally respecting the dough, of wanting to hurry, of wanting to have a bread as quickly as possible. Bread takes time. Good food takes time. The best piece of meat is the one that has been cooked for hours and hours, we all love that, so we should keep that in mind for every kind of food. Slow cooking means good digestion. The more we let it rest, the more it will ferment, and that fermentation is essential for us to digest it. The biggest second mistake is always the proportion of water to flour - you should always understand what kind of flour you are using. If it’s a strong flour check your water - add a bit more water, if it’s a weak flour reduce your water the hydration of flour is very important in bread. Salt and yeasts don’t really make a difference, you can use any yeast you want, so you can use sourdough preferably, but you can also use fresh yeast as well as instant yeast. The best one would be the sourdough for a more sour bread, a more acidic and more tasty bread; then the second would be the fresh yeast, because it gives a much better result coming out of the oven; and the last but not least would be the instant yeast. The instant gives a much thicker crust, like a pizza crust, because the yeast works very quickly - it releases loads of gases which then eventually create that crust on top. So the variances are there, one can always apply more time on the instant yeast as well as the fresh yeast, than the sourdough. What’s the best way to store bread? The best way to store it is in a cool and dry place because bread always sweats. There is water in it and it keeps on sweating. But bread is also a sponge, so never put it close to anything spicy or anything which can get absorbed. The best way would be slice the first part of the bread and then close it off again with foil or a piece of paper or something like that. A good way is also to keep it in a xkora (flour sack), because it absorbs a lot of humidity, so the bread won’t absorb it. What about plastic? Plastic is not really suggested, because bread sweats in plastic and goes mouldy very quickly; apart from this plastic has loads of chemicals in it which bread absorbs - avoid plastic and heavily printed papers. A brown paper bag is enough. Ok that’s it really. That’s it? Merci. Thank you. It’s quite incredible that it takes 48 hours for the bread... That’s 48 hours full on, and sometimes it can take even more, people just don’t respect it enough!

PARIS CALLING

MORE THAN MONA LOUVRE’S EXCEPTIONAL LEONARDO SHOW

Diplomatic standoffs. Legal battles. The question of the whereabouts of world’s most expensive painting, Salvator Mundi. Finally after 10 years of planning here is Leonardo da Vinci at The Louvre in an exhibition which tackles the portrait of an exceptionally free-spirited man and artist. Photography by Thibault Camus/AP. ommemorating the 500-year anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci in France, the Louvre’s major retrospective of the painter’s career aims to illustrate how Leonardo placed utmost importance on painting, and how his investigation of the world, which he referred to as “the science of painting”, was the instrument of an art through which he sought to bring life to his paintings. Alongside its own collection of five paintings by Leonardo (the largest collection in the world) and 22 of his drawings, the Louvre is displaying nearly 120 works from institutions around the world. It is the first time that such a large number of drawings, sketches, writings and paintings by Leonardo have ever been brought together. The exhibition is the culmination of more than ten years of work, including new scientific examinations of the

Louvre’s paintings, and the conservation treatment of three of them, allowing for better understanding of Da Vinci’s artistic practice and pictorial technique. The exhibition sheds light on Leonardo’s biography through the exhaustive reexamination of historical documentation, revealing a portrait of an exceptionally free-spirited man and artist. The exhibition concludes with a virtual reality experience allowing visitors to get closer than ever to the Mona Lisa. According to Jonathan Jones, writing for the Guardian, “this is the great Leonardo show of our time because it reveals his true identity as a scientist, inventor, engineer and infinitely curious observer of life. It’s a blockbuster with a brain that reveals why we will never tire of the genius who dreamed of our future, five centuries ago.” Leonardo da Vinci is at The Louvre, Paris until 24 February. Compulsory booking is required, www.ticketlouvre.fr

Leonardo da Vinci's Benois Madonna, which travels from its home at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg exceedingly rarely, on display at The Louvre exhibition Leonardo da Vinci until 24th February.

VIENNA CALLING

Bottom left: Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (Milan 1571 – 1610 Porto Ercole) David with the Head of Goliath, c. 1600/1601 Poplar, 90.5 × 116 cm Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum © KHM-Museumsverband. Bottom right: Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Naples 1598 – 1680 Rome) Medusa, 1638–40 Marble with traces of original patina, h. 46 cm Rome, Musei Capitolini, Palazzo dei Conservatori © Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali, Musei Capitolini – Pinacoteca Capitolina, Roma, Photo: Andrea Jemolo. 18

VIENNA CALLING

Top left: Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (Milan 1571 – 1610 Porto Ercole) The Crowning with Thorns, c. 1603 Canvas, 127 × 166 cm Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum © KHM-Museumsverband. Top right: Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St Sebastian, 1617. Private collection; on loan to Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid. Exhibition view © KHM-Museumsverband.

The Discovery of Emotions CARAVAGGIO AND BERNINI An exploration of the phenomenon of the early Baroque and the revolutionary art produced in Rome during the first half of the seventeenth century. Photography courtesy of Kunsthistorisches Museum. he exhibition presents an extravagantly visual baroque spectacle at the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna. Its focus is on the revolutionary works produced by the painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610) and the sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680). Caravaggio and Bernini were the Eternal City’s foremost artists, causing a sensation both with their novel artistic ideas and their unconventional lifestyles. For the first time, these two titans of seventeenth-century art are juxtaposed in a single exhibition. These transformative artists share a new susceptibility for realism and the pathos of grand emotions. Caravaggio and Bernini created images of persons that were true to life. They depicted bodies in motion to follow what moved them on the inside, the figures' feelings. This connection between reality and emotion was new. It became characteristic of the

Baroque era. Presenting over seventy masterpieces of Roman painting and sculpture - from Caravaggio to Bernini - this major exhibition focuses on the Baroque’s innovative and dramatic staging of human emotions and also includes other big names such as Artemisia Gentileschi, Annibale Carracci, Nicolas Poussin, Mattia Preti, Guido Reni and Pietro da Cortona. The paintings and sculptures in the show tell the tales of wonderment and astonishment, horror and the terrifying, love, vision, suffering and compassion, liveliness, motion and action, and jest. Caravaggio & Bernini, until 19 January 2020. Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna. Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri: 9 am - 6 pm; Thu, Sat, Sun: 9 am – 9 pm. To visit the exhibition you need to book a time slot. www.caravaggio-bernini.khm.at 19

PASTA GRANNIES

The Italian Nonne taking YouTube by storm!

MEET THE PASTA GRANNIES Have you heard about Pasta Grannies? 15 years ago Vicky Bennison bought a house in Le Marche and quite by chance started filming Italian nonne making delicious, traditional, handmade pasta. Pasta Grannies, the YouTube Channel, was born. Now after 5 years of filming and interviewing the book Pasta Grannies: The Secrets of Italy’s Best Home Cooks brings you the love, energy and know-how of Italian nonne at home. Photography by Emma Lee.

Facing page: GIUSEPPA’S FINGERNAIL PASTA WITH TOMATO SAUCE. Ninety-seven-year-old Giuseppa lives in the village of Ozieri, Sardinia, where the local pasta shape is macarrones de ungia, which means fingernail pasta. Top left: IDA’S TAJARIN WITH ROAST MEAT GRAVY. Ida was born in 1925 and as a young girl lived in Neviglia, Piemonte. ‘I had to leave school when I was nine because there were no more grades to attend in my village. So I started to work on my family’s little farm. When I was 20 years old, I got married and moved here to this village and learned to cook from my mother-in-law who made tajarin all the time. The only way to feed your family pasta was to make it.’ Top right: ROSA’S ‘STRAW’ AND ‘HAY’ TAGLIATELLE WITH PEAS. Rosa is a bustling, joyous, tiny woman who needs a step to reach her pasta board properly. Now retired, she worked as a machine- embroidery seamstress in a local clothing factory and still has a machine tucked away for the odd jobs people continue to ask her to do. Bottom: BEATRICE’S BARLEY MACCHERONI WITH SEAFOOD. Beatrice lives in Patu at the very tip of southern Italy. She left school when she was 10 because her mother was ill, so she could help her grandmother cook and look after her siblings. ‘I love cooking,’ she says. ‘It’s a way of showing your love and getting everyone together. 21

PASTA GRANNIES

ROSA’S SPINACH AND RICOTTA GNUDI For 2 people Rosa is the matriarch of the pasta-making Martelli family and she shared her recipe for gnudi after we had visited their factory. Gnudi means nude, and it alludes to these dumplings being pasta-less – they are ravioli without their coats. Gnudi are typical of Tuscany, where the Martelli factory is. Rosa says it’s important that the spinach and ricotta are as dry as you can make them, otherwise they will disintegrate in cooking. For this recipe, you will need to buy two pots of ricotta – usually about 200g net weight each – because the drained weight will be less than this. This recipe also works well with young chard, with the thicker stems removed. For the gnudi 250 g (9 oz) cow’s milk ricotta, drained weight 600 g (1 lb 5 oz) spinach 25 g (3/4 oz) finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano 1 large egg, beaten plain (all-purpose) flour, for rolling and dusting salt

sk any Italian what their favourite meal is, and the answer will be the same: Nonna’s. Passing down traditions learnt from their own Nonna’s, their recipes transcend generations to give hearty and comforting dishes that will nourish, satisfy and most importantly, bring the family together around the table. From the creator of the hugely popular YouTube channel of the same name, Pasta Grannies: The secrets of Italy’s best home cooks is a wonderful collection of time-perfected Italian recipes from the grandmothers who have spent a lifetime cooking for love, not a living. Featuring 75 nonne from across Italy, you will be transported into the very heart of the home to learn how to make great-tasting meals from scratch. Hand-made pasta styles range from Giuseppa’s pici (a very thick spaghetti) that is so simple to make, to Anna’s lumachelle della duchessa (tiny, ridged, cinnamonscented tubes) that take patience and dexterity, and recipes for the sugos, ragús, pestos and dressings that go with them. Besides photographs of the food and intimate photographs of the nonne at home, the book is filled with heart-warming photographs of Italy throughout - the feeling of the book is filled with love and takes you back to when you were a child cooking with your grandparent or a loved family member and invites you to take a moment to slow down. 22

More than just a compendium of dishes, Pasta Grannies tells the extraordinary stories of these ordinary women and shows you that with the right know-how and a few good ingredients, truly authentic Italian cooking is simple, beautiful and entirely achievable. In the words of 85 year old Lucia, “When you have good ingredients, you don’t have to worry about cooking. They do the work for you.” ABOUT THE AUTHOR. Vicky Bennison spent many years working in international development in places like Siberia, South Africa and Turkmenistan. The next decent meal was always on her mind and so she began writing about her culinary adventures, from mushroom hunting with the Russian mafia to cooking zebra stew near Lake Turkana in Kenya! She is the author of The Taste of a Place and co-wrote Seasonal Spanish Food with José Pizarro. 15 years ago Vicky bought a house in Le Marche and quite by chance started filming Italian nonne making delicious, traditional, handmade pasta, and sometimes soups, breads, dolci, rice dishes, saving skills and sharing traditions one recipe at a time. This gave birth to her YouTube channel Pasta Grannies, which now has over 433,000 subscribers including a myriad of influential chefs amongst the fan base. Pasta Grannies: The Secrets of Italy’s Best Home Cooks is the result of over 5 years of filming and interviewing hundreds of life stories, top tips and age-old secrets behind great Italian food.

For the dressing 30 g (1 oz) unsalted butter 5 sage leaves several scrapes of nutmeg To serve 2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano Reggiano Place the ricotta in a sieve over a bowl and leave it to drain for an hour or so, then weigh out 250 g (9 oz). Meanwhile, place the spinach leaves in a saucepan, turn the heat up to high and add 2 tablespoons of boiling water. Cover the pan with its lid and steam the spinach until it has collapsed. Drain the spinach through a sieve and leave it to cool. Squeeze out as much water as possible and roughly chop. You should end up with about 300 g (101/2 oz) cooked spinach. Mix the spinach with the ricotta, Parmigiano Reggiano and beaten egg. Season to taste. Make sure the ingredients are all playing nicely together. Pour some flour into a bowl. Pinch off 20 g (3/4 oz) pieces of the mixture (about the size of a large walnut) and toss each one in the flour before rolling it between your palms to create a nice little ball. Dust off any excess flour. Place on a lightly floured board, away from each other so they don’t stick. Have a frying pan (skillet) on one side of your stove, and a sauté pan on the other. Melt the butter in the frying pan with the sage and nutmeg and keep it warm while you cook the gnudi. Fill a sauté pan with salted water and bring to a gentle simmer. Lower the gnudi gently into the pan and let them tremble in the water for 5 minutes, or until they bob to the surface. Use a slotted spoon to transfer them to the butter in the frying pan. You may have to cook the gnudi in batches. Spoon the butter over the gnudi, then serve them with a shower of grated cheese over the top. Extracted from Pasta Grannies: The Secrets of Italy’s Best Home Cooks by Vicky Bennison (Hardie Grant, Hardcover, 224 pages, £20) Photography © Emma Lee.

PASTA GRANNIES

INVESTMENT Persons with disabilities are being encouraged and assisted to join the workforce through a number of EU-funded programmes.

Erasmus+ funds are expected to double in the next programming period.

EU FUNDS IN BUDGET 2020 I

The Multi Material Recovery Facility will significantly improve waste management efforts.

n his budget speech in Parliament, the junior minister responsible for EU funds, Aaron Farrugia, said that the economic and social vision for the country vis-a-vis EU funding does not end with this programming period, but extends to a long-term plan which will aid in the future-proofing of our country. “The new projects in various sectors, as well as new schemes or those which are being ‘rolled over’ to next year, financed by EU funds and not included in the budget speech, will make Budget 2020 even stronger than it already is out of the box.” Budget 2020 includes a vast number of measures

The Malta Budget for 2020, even at first glance, prioritises families and businesses – but also marks a cultural shift towards a more ecological mindset towards the future. The budget measures, which include different projects across various sectors which form an integral part of Malta’s economy, include a significant number of EU-funded initiatives.

across different sectors including business, renewable energy, health, education, agriculture, and more, which have benefitted from an EU injection. In fact the budget includes a number of new schemes which will benefit both individuals and businesses, as well as older schemes which will be rolled over. As has been the case for the previous budgets by this Government - the one for 2020 includes a significant number of social measures. These are complemented by EU funds through a number of projects and initiatives which target various sectors of the public. To mention just a few, the VASTE programme is aimed at assisting vulnerable persons to enter the workforce, with an investment of around €13 million. Through the INK programme, persons with disabilities are being assisted by Agenzija Sapport in living more independently, while also preparing them for the workforce and training employers themselves. Another pilot project for intergenerational living, led by the Housing Authority, will improve accessibility in social accommodation with an investment of €10 million. Works on the Marsa Junction will continue with €49 million from the Connecting Europe Facility, giving way to extensive improvements to the road infrastructure of Marsa, the overpass building, and the park and ride facility. Three ferry landing sites are also being planned in Sliema, Bormla, and Marsamxett, with an investment of €11 million.

INVESTMENT

Parliamentary Secretary Aaron Farrugia said that EU funds have helped to further strengthen the budget.

Investments in the Armed Forces of Malta will give way to even further state-of-the-art vessels - the P61 was renovated with €8 million from EU funds.

The Internal Security Fund will finance the procurement of the Offshore Patrol Vessel - the largest one the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) has ever had - with an investment of €35 million. Meanwhile, the P61 vessel was renovated with an additional €8 million from EU funds. With this, the AFM will have state-of-the-art vessels which will significantly improve its operations and in turn, the security of our country. The EU-funded Command and Control room is also expected to be completed. In health, a regional healthcare centre, with the aim of easing the pressure on the Mater Dei Hospital, is being financed with €33 million from ERDF. Government is also looking to improve the quality of healthcare in Malta through a European Health Interview survey worth around €11 million. In environment, waste will begin to be turned into a useful resource. The Multi-Material Recovery (MMRF) is currently being built in Ħal Far for the collection of various types of waste and exportation, where necessary, in order to decrease

the amount of waste in landfills. Propelling the shift to renewable energy, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) is financing assistance to farmers to install photovoltaic panels on their farms. Meanwhile, ERDF funds are financing a scheme, with which 5,800 families have already installed panels at home. Other funds were also used for public entities and NGOs to make the switch. A €16 million project which will bring secondary water to farmers is also expected to continue in 2020, as will the project on the tunnel between the Ta’ Qali Reservoirs and the Pembroke RO Plant. A national campaign for water conservation worth €18 million will increase awareness about the scarce resource around the Maltese islands. Investment in the University of Malta and MCAST will continue, namely through a research and innovation project worth €52 million in UoM, and a number of different projects in MCAST. Works on three different buildings for MCAST are ongoing with a €30 million investment, while EU funds are also being used to support vulnerable students to improve their skills, as well as for new vocational courses. The Reach High Scholars Programme Post-Doctoral Grants will also continue. In Gozo, the inauguration of the research and innovation hub in Xewkija is expected imminently. The €10 million investment will give space for new enterprises and workshops within the industrial zone. Different schemes, such as Erasmus+, Business Enhance, Endeavour, and many others, will be ‘rolled over’ to 2020, thereby allowing students, families, and businesses to continue to further benefit from European Union investments. The proper management of European Union funds has had an undeniable impact on the country’s economic success – and recent budgets have been a testament to this.

Works on the Marsa Junction will continue with an EU investment of €49 million from the Connecting Europe Facility.

EXHIBITION

COLOUR MAGICIAN

Joseph Bellia, Farmhouse – Limits of Siggiewi (1996), acyclic on paper.

JOSEPH BELLIA: A RETROSPECTIVE 2-12 DECEMBER AT THE ISTITUTO ITALIANO DI CULTURA, VALLETTA

Described by art critic Emmanuel Fiorentino as ‘one of the most consistent exponents of Maltese landscapes’, late artist Joseph Bellia’s palette is full of energy and life. Like the Impressionists who he greatly admired, his bold dashes of paint celebrate colour intensified by Maltese sunlight. Vivid blues hit against orange, purple-violet meet yellow, and greens bounce with distinctive flecks of red and purple. Now a new retrospective examines the immediately recognizable Joseph Bellia. he long-awaited retrospective of the work of late Maltese artist Joseph Bellia (1932-1999), Joseph Bellia: Painting his Own Brand of Authenticity, comprises 40 paintings which reveal the panoramic range of colour and emotions addressed in his art. The exhibition provides a rare opportunity to purchase a work by the immediately recognizable artist. Bellia’s palette gives life and a sense of vibrancy to his subjects, using colour expressively - making it the main component of his work. Bellia’s landscapes are executed in bold free strokes which celebrate colour intensified by Maltese sunlight. His vibrant skies and the lushness of his countryside define nature at its 26

best. Bellia’s subjects shift with the seasons as well as the time of day, capturing the fleeting effect of the moment with a few bold colours and broad brushstrokes. Many of the paintings possess tactile qualities as they are rendered in thick impasto and executed with a palette knife. According to art critic Dominic Cutajar ‘Joseph Bellia builds up his scenes of rural Malta with bold strokes and thick impasto making each stone and the vegetation palpable realities.’ Joseph Bellia: Painting his own Brand of Authenticity, 2-12 December at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, St George’s Square, Valletta under the auspices of the NGO Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar.

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CATWALK

SPRING SUMMER 2

HANDCRA

The spring summer collections offered up several new trends for 2020. One key whimsic handcrafted artisanal finishes with designers mixing fabrics, hand embroidered details romantic feel reminiscent of the 70s.

10 1, 2, 3, 4 Missoni Spring Summer 2020 collection, Milan Fashion Week, Photo Antonio Calanni/AP. 5 Dolce & Gabbana Spring Summer 2020 collection, Milan Fashion Week, Photo Antonio Calanni/AP. 6 Marc Jacobs Spring Summer 2020 collection, New York Fashion Week, Photo Mary Altaffer/AP. 7, 8 Dior Ready To Wear Spring Summer 2020 collection, Paris Fashion Week, Photo Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP. 9, 10 Oscar de la Renta Spring Summer 2020 collection, New York Fashion Week, Photo Frank Franklin II/AP. 11 Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2020 collection, Paris Fashion Week. Photo Facebook/AlexanderMcQueen. 12 Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2020 collection, Paris Fashion Week. Photographed backstage. Photo Facebook/AlexanderMcQueen. 13 Elie Saab Ready To Wear Spring Summer 2020 collection, Paris Fashion Week, Photo Francois Mori/AP.

CATWALK

R 2020 TREND

AFTED

whimsical and very spring trend is a renewed look at details, lace, straw and natural fabrics to give a craft and

AP.

on, er n. 29

CATWALK

VIRGINIE VIARD’S YOUTHFUL BREEZE OF LIBERTY AT CHANEL “The roofs of Paris remind me of the atmosphere of the Nouvelle Vague. I saw silhouettes walking on the roofs. I thought about Kristen Stewart playing Jean Seberg and all the actresses Gabrielle Chanel dressed at that time,” says Virginie Viard, Artistic Director of the Chanel Fashion collections. Photography courtesy of Chanel. he theme for Virginie's Viard's first solo readyto-wear collection for Chanel following the death of Karl Lagerfeld was the Nouvelle Vague – the New Wave. And indeed Viard went in a young direction for the show, with a leggy, very playful French silhouette, and a focus on shorts with a reinterpretation of the tweed suit. Stripes, checks, vibrant block colours – red, orange, pink, blue – illuminate the collection and the emblematic black and white of the House. Ever present, couture jewellery is worn in accumulation: pearl sautoirs and brooches, necklaces in coloured crystal or punctuated with strass-covered balls and cuff bracelets signed Chanel Paris. Feminine, urban, in motion, never the same and yet always identifiable, the silhouette of Chanel’s Spring-Summer 2020 ready-to-wear collection has the nonchalant grace of a cinematographic heroine. Inspiring, contemporary, eternal and fun. 30

FASHION NEWS

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Born in France and fostered in Turkey, LC Waikiki is a multi-cultural fashion brand which has continuously grown in the global market over the last 17 years. The brand’s ethos is simple and accessible: high-quality clothes for women, men and kids at great value! Today LC Waikiki trades in 976 stores in 47 countries, building on the company’s philosophy that “Everyone deserves to dress well”, enabling people to enjoy accessible fashion through quality products at affordable prices.

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SPOTLIGHT

BAUBLES. HANDMADE BAUBLES BY MDINA GLASS will add style to your festive décor. Select baubles can also be personalised with engraving. Mdina Glass also offers a wide range of other unique Christmas decorations to make it a season to be jolly indeed. See options in-store or online at www.mdinaglass.com.mt. For more info tel: +356 2141 5786, email onlinesales@mdinaglass.com.mt or find Mdina Glass on facebook.com/mdinaglass

LOACKER CHOCOLATE. A NEW KIND OF GOODNESS! Experience unique moments of pleasure with the new Loacker chocolate! Loacker have re-defined pleasure, creating a chocolate made of premium quality milk and the finest ingredients. Its creaminess, crispiness and delicious chocolate flavour are unequalled. Albert FS Manduca Ltd. Tel: 2123 3909.

CANDLEHOLDERS. Great Christmas gift ideas at Mdina Glass, including these brand new handmade ‘Cresta’ candleholders that come in a selection of shapes and colours. The elegant ribbed contours cast wonderful patterns in the dark when lit with a candle and they’ll also grace any display space during the day. Check them out at the Mdina Glass outlet at Ta’ Qali. For more info tel: +356 2141 5786, email onlinesales@mdinaglass.com.mt or find Mdina Glass on facebook.com/mdinaglass LOOKING FOR UNIQUE CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEAS? Check out HENRI Luxury Gift Boutique where you will find a wide range of mugs, cups, espresso cups and other stylish table accessories, decorative objects and much, much more. HENRI Luxury Gift Boutique. Unique gift ideas for him, for her… or for yourself. Mdina (next to Palazzo Falson). Tel: 2010 6307 or facebook/henrimalta KISS YOUR SKIN SPOTS GOODBYE. THE LUMINOSITY RANGE BY ANESI LAB INSTITUTE is a cosmeceutical range that effectively targets pigmentation blemishes and lack of brightness. Available at salons as a professional treatment and home use skincare to prevent the irregular production of melanin for radiant skin. For more information on your nearest Anesi therapist contact: Beauty Culture Group, Sta. Venera. Tel: 2144 0424 or 2744 0424, email: info@beautysuppliesmalta.com, www.beautyculturecentre.com, Facebook: beautyculturegroup

FASHION

M&S SNAKE PRINT DRESS. LC WAIKIKI SUEDE COAT. 34

FASHION

FIERY PIZZAZZ A kaleidoscope of pattern and texture energises the new season with a hint of orange zing. Styling by Adriana Calleja. Photography by Matthew B Spiteri. Hair by Gordon Mayo. Makeup by Federica Spagnoli. Model Tiffany Pisani (Models M). Shot on location at a private home in Gzira.

FASHION

PUNT ROMA FLORAL PRINT SCARF. KWADDRO JEANS. LC WAIKIKI BELTS AND BAG (ON SHELF).

LC WAIKIKI BOHEMIAN DRESS. SCARF AND NECKLACE STYLIST'S OWN.

FASHION

PUNT ROMA PUFF JACKET. KWADDRO JEANS. M&S BAG. CHARLES AND KEITH BLACK BOOTS. BELT STYLIST'S OWN.

M&S GEOMETRIC PATTERNED POLO NECK AND KNIT PENCIL SKIRT. LC WAIKIKI BIKER JACKET. HAIR CLIP AND EARRINGS STYLIST'S OWN.

FASHION

LC WAIKIKI KNIT WRAP AND BOOTS. KWADDRO JEANS. ROSE GOLD METAL BELT STYLIST'S OWN.

MENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S HEALTH

101

MEN’S HEALTH

MOVEMBER MORE THAN JUST ABOUT GROWING A MOUSTACHE AND TACKLING PROSTATE CANCER, MOVEMBER IS ABOUT CHANGING THE FACE OF MEN’S HEALTH AND ALSO ADDRESSES THE LESSER-DISCUSSED ISSUES OF TESTICULAR CANCER, MENTAL HEALTH AND SUICIDE PREVENTION. READ THIS IF Y OU ARE A MAN. READ THIS IF Y OU HAVE A FRIEND OR PARTNER WHO IS A MAN. ONE SENTENCE MAY HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT Y OU NEVER THOUGHT POSSIBLE. PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF MOVEMBER.COM ovember is the leading global men’s health charity. The charity raises funds to deliver innovative, breakthrough research and support programmes that enable men to live happier, healthier and longer lives. Committed to disrupting the status quo, millions have joined the movement, helping fund over 1,250 projects focusing on prostate cancer, testicular cancer and suicide prevention. In addition to tackling key health issues faced by men, Movember is working to encourage men to stay healthy in all areas of their life, with a focus on men staying socially connected and becoming more open to discussing their health and significant moments in their lives. The charity’s vision is to have an everlasting impact on the face of men’s health. MEN'S HEALTH. Across the world, men die an average six years younger than women, and for reasons that are largely preventable. Which means that it doesn’t have to be that way: we can all take action to live healthier, happier and longer lives. Here are five things to know, and do. Spend time with people who make you feel good. Stay connected - your friends are important and spending time with them is good for you; catch up regularly, check in and make time. Talk, more - you don’t need to be an expert and you don’t have to be the sole solution, but being there for someone, listening and giving your time can be life-saving. Know the numbers and when to talk to your doctor about prostate cancer and whether it’s right for you to have a PSA test. Get to know what’s normal for your testicles and give them a check regularly and go to the doctor if something doesn’t feel right. And finally, move more - add more activity to your day: take a walking meeting, park further away from work, get off the bus a stop or two earlier, instead of the lift take the stairs, cycle to work instead of driving.

PROSTATE CANCER: THE FACTS. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in

Europe and early detection is key. When detected early, prostate cancer survival rates are better than 98%. Find it late, and those survival rates drop below 26%. Your risk of developing prostate cancer increases with age, but that doesn’t mean it’s a disease that only affects old men. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men worldwide. Men who are of African or Caribbean descent, and men who have a family history (a brother or father with prostate cancer) are 2.5x more likely to get prostate cancer. If you’re 50, you should be talking to your doctor about PSA testing. If you’re of African or Caribbean descent, you need to start that conversation at 45. And if you have a brother or father with prostate cancer in their history, do it at 45. A PSA test is a simple routine blood test used to determine the measurement of Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) concentration in the blood, it is the primary method of testing for prostate cancer. The prostate gland is usually the size and shape of a walnut and grows bigger as you get older. It sits underneath the bladder and surrounds the urethra, which is the tube men urinate and ejaculate through. Its main job is to help make semen – the fluid that carries sperm. Prostate cancer occurs when some of the cells in the prostate reproduce far more rapidly than normal, resulting in a tumour. Prostate cancer often grows slowly to start with and may never cause any problems. But some men have prostate cancer that is more likely to spread. These prostate cancer cells, if left untreated, may spread from the prostate and invade distant parts of the body, particularly the lymph nodes and bones, producing secondary tumours in a process known as metastasis. Not everyone experiences symptoms of prostate cancer. Many times, signs of prostate cancer are first detected by a doctor during a routine check-up. Some men, however, will experience changes in urinary or sexual function that might indicate the presence of prostate cancer. Some signs and symptoms include a need to urinate frequently, especially at night; difficulty starting urination or holding back urine; weak or interrupted flow of urine; painful or burning urination; difficulty in having an erection; painful ejaculation; blood in urine or semen; frequent pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips, or upper thighs.▶ 41

MEN’S HEALTH

Left: Get hosting. Raise funds for men’s health with a get-together; any chance you can get together with friends is a chance to raise much-needed funds for men’s health. Right: Move this Movember by running or walking 60 kilometres over the month. That’s 60 kilometres for the 60 men lost to suicide each hour, every hour across the world. You don’t have to be an ultra-athlete - move is simpler than that and you can go fast, slow, alone or with a team. Call on friends and family to back you with a donation.

◀Treatment options are many and varied. If you have been diagnosed with prostate cancer, it's important to keep in mind that many prostate cancers are slow-growing and may not need surgery or other radical treatment. Because a side effect of treatment may include erectile dysfunction, prostate cancer can have a serious impact on intimate relationships. As many people who have been through the journey will tell you, prostate cancer isn’t just a man’s disease, it’s a couple’s disease. Make sure you involve your partner as you think through the various treatment options.

TESTICULAR CANCER. At greater than 95%, the odds of survival for men with testicular cancer are better than good – but for some men, long-term treatment-related side effects, mean quality of life is severely compromised. Movember focuses on getting these predominantly young men back to living full and healthy lives. Testicular cancer strikes young and is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in young European men. Quite simply, the best thing you can do for your testicles is to give them a bit of a feel each month or so, and if something doesn’t seem right, head to the doctor. Men with undescended testes at birth, or who have a family history, like a father or brother who has had testicular cancer, are at an increased risk. And if you’ve had testicular cancer before, there’s also a heightened risk it could return. Testicles are responsible for the production of male hormones (mostly testosterone) and sperm. Testicular cancer starts as an abnormal growth or tumour that develops in one or both testicles. There are several types of testicular cancer, but the most common is the germ cell tumour. If you've been diagnosed with testicular cancer the most important step is to talk to your doctor about treatment choices. You may consider getting a second or third doctor’s opinion. Testicular cancer is a highly treatable cancer and can be effectively treated, and often cured, if diagnosed and treated early. Advanced testicular cancer can also be cured with treatment including orchiectomy (surgical removal of the affected testis), done under general

anaesthetic; chemotherapy or radiotherapy, often prescribed after surgery to treat any remaining cancer cells that may have spread to other parts of the body, such as lymph nodes. Testicular cancer and the removal of one testicle should not alter your ability to have sex or have children. The effect on fertility following removal of one of the testicles is minimal as a single testicle produces such large numbers of sperm.

MENTAL HEALTH & SUICIDE PREVENTION. The results of poor mental

health can be deadly. Globally, a man dies every minute from suicide. The rate of male suicide is alarmingly high: 6 out of 10 suicides are men. Men, regardless of age group, often don't recognise when they’re experiencing a mental health issue, and may not be comfortable asking for help. There are a number of factors that have been linked to an increased risk of experiencing poor mental health, including previous family or personal history of mental health problems; drug and alcohol use; serious medical illness; isolation or loneliness; and unemployment, homelessness, conflict or other stressful life situation. The uncomfortable truth is that some stereotypical forms of masculinity are killing men. Many men find it difficult to share their problems and try to remain ‘strong and silent’ rather than getting support when it’s needed, despite the detrimental effect this can have. It’s important to be proactive about your mental health, be aware of risk factors and symptoms, and stay connected with your friends and family. The issue of suicide is incredibly complex. But we know this: improving overall mental health and helping men establish better social connections can reduce the risk of suicide. If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health problem, the most important first step is to talk to someone. Whether it’s your doctor, your family, your friends, or an anonymous person on a support line. Information provided courtesy of Movember.com; to donate or learn more, please visit Movember.com.

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Christmas,

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DIABETES & HEALTH

A large number of studies have shown that habitual physical activity reduces the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, colon cancer and mortality from all causes. Physical activity also positively affects the metabolism of glucose in both healthy people and those suffering diabetes mellitus. In Type 2 diabetes mellitus, regular aerobic physical activity is an effective tool for both prevention and treatment and needs to be fully implemented. Intervention trials have demonstrated that in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance diet plus exercise programmes reduce the risk of developing diabetes by over 60%. In subjects with overt Type 2 diabetes, diet and exercise produce greater weight loss and allow greater reductions of hypoglycemic medications than diet alone. Nevertheless, despite the evidence about the benefits of exercise, many diabetologists do not spend time and efforts convincing Type 2 diabetic subjects to practice physical activity regularly. This may be due to the poor adherence of older adults to comply with their recommendations. Survey studies have shown that adults with diabetes are less likely than adults in general to engage in regular physical activity and that only 23% of older adults with Type 2 diabetes reported more than 60 minutes of weekly physical activity. In Type 2 diabetic patients that do exercise regularly, reductions of BMI, HbA1c (glycated haemoglobin), coronary risk and treatment costs occurred. Data of literature showing that modest increments of physical fitness in diabetic subjects reduce by twofold the risk of overall mortality, urge the implementation of physical activity programmes in the cure of Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Long-term effects of regular exercise are particularly advantageous for Type 2 diabetic patients. Regular aerobic exercise reduces visceral fat mass and body weight without decreasing lean body mass, ameliorates insulin sensitivity, glucose and blood pressure control, lipid profile and reduces the cardiovascular risk. For these reasons, regular aerobic physical activity should be considered an essential component of the cure of Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

ardio or strength training? Both aerobic and resistance training are recommended to control blood glucose in people with diabetes. However, only a few studies have attempted to compare the benefits from the two forms of exercise. A study by Bweir and colleagues published in 2009 directly compared the effects of 10 weeks of resistance training or treadmill workouts on blood sugar levels before and after exercise and also on HbA1c. Both intervention groups met three times per week for 10 weeks under supervision of an exercise therapist. In both groups, exercise intensity progressively increased over the course of the study. Special care was taken to ensure that total energy expenditure, perceived exertion and heart rate were equivalent between treatments.

esults. Pre- and postexercise blood glucose levels as well as HbA1c values were improved in both groups. However, the resistance training group clearly had greater benefit in achieving glycaemic control. After the 10-week resistance programme, 80% of the subjects had post-exercise blood glucose levels within the normal range, while only 20% of the aerobic group reached this goal. Additionally the resistance training group had significantly greater reductions in HbA1c compared with the aerobic group. Although aerobic training did result in statistically significant reduction in HbA1c, none of the subjects in the aerobic group reached the target HbA1c < 7.0% while 40% of the resistance exercise group achieved this goal. Indeed, resistance training reduced the value of HbA1c by an average of 18% compared with an 8% reduction in the aerobic group.

onclusion. Ten weeks of resistance training resulted in significantly better improvements in glycaemic control compared to isocaloric and equally difficult aerobic exercise. Exercise provides a powerful means of controlling or even reversing Type 2 diabetes when combined with supportive eating, provided this becomes a long-term lifestyle choice. All we have to do is move!

DIABETES

MOTION MOTIVATION

EFFECT OF CARDIO AND STRENGTH TRAINING ON TYPE 2 DIABETES Exercise provides a powerful means of controlling or even reversing Type 2 diabetes when combined with supportive eating, provided this becomes a long-term lifestyle choice. All we have to do is move, explains Richard Geres, Fitness Consultant & Registered Nutritionist. 45

DIABETES HEALTH

A MALTESE PERSPECTIVE

LET’S TALK ABOUT DIABETES We all hear a lot about diabetes and its prevalence in Malta. Most probably we have a friend or someone in our family living with this condition. Diabetes is a chronic condition in which the body does not produce sufficient insulin to regulate the blood glucose levels or where the insulin it produces is unable to work effectively.

f it is not controlled it can lead to very severe consequences, including cardiovascular disease, blindness, kidney failure, and lower-limb amputation. Unfortunately today it is a leading cause of these conditions. Unsurprisingly, therefore, diabetes has a significant impact on the quality of life of the individuals affected as well as their families. Today about 10% of adults in Malta suffer from diabetes. This rises to over 20% in persons aged 60 years and over. In 2016, (late 2015), the Ministry for Health launched the National Strategy for Diabetes. This was a first for these islands. Today, three years down the line much has been achieved. A specialised ward was launched in 2017 at Mater Dei hospital specifically designed for Foot complications in diabetes patients. Around 1,000 patients are admitted to this ward annually. Since its inception in 2017, the rate of major amputations has gone down by 30%. The introduction of a broader range of medications provided free of charge to all persons living with this condition was another measure of paramount importance. Up to a few years ago persons prescribed gliptins and repaglinide had to buy these as they were not available free on schedule V. Today a total of 4,379 patients receive these medications via the POYC scheme. By the end of this year, new insulin analogues will be added to the government formulary. This means that this family of medications will also be available free of charge. It is anticipated that around 1,500persons will benefit from this initiative. The strategy focused not only on treatment but also on the monitoring of the condition and during 2017 and 2018, all persons taking medication for this condition became entitled 46

to a glucose monitoring meter. An average of 1 million free glucose sticks are issued each month to the 30,292 diabetic patients registered with POYC. This amounts to over 11 million free glucose sticks dispensed per year. This initiative is part of government’s policy to continue to encourage and support patient’s participation in the management of diabetes mellitus in recognition that the on-going monitoring of blood sugar levels by the patient is key to avoiding the complications associated with this condition. In the coming weeks we will achieve another national milestone in the strategic management of this condition. A fully fledged, Remote Patient Monitoring Service, will be introduced as a pilot project for Type 1 diabetic minors. Remote patient monitoring is at the forefront of the next wave of healthcare innovations aimed at supporting improved health management directly by the person living with a condition. It provides patients or their guardians with a 24/7 tier of support that facilitates the management of the condition and allows patients to take better control of their own healthcare. By flagging anomalous readings in real-time to the patient and as appropriate to care-givers, Remote Patient Monitoring can dramatically improve the management of chronic conditions and patient’s quality of life. It allows patients to maintain independence, reduce the number of times they visit their healthcare provider in-clinic, prevents complications and minimizes personal costs. Remote patient monitoring can also make it easier for care teams to track, manage and engage with patients who need extensive and continuous care, like in case of Type 1 diabetic patients. Information provided by The Ministry of Health.

POP CULTURE

A MARKER OF HOW POP MUSIC GREW UP IN THE 1960s

BEATLES

50 ABBEY ROAD at

The front cover, shot by photographer Iain Macmillan, was based on a sketch by Paul McCartney. Taken outside EMI Studios on Abbey Road Iain was given ten minutes standing on a step-ladder while a policeman held up traffic to catch the now iconic image. 48

The 50th anniversary re-issue of the seminal Beatles album Abbey Road – remixed and with a slew of alternative takes – along with the celebrations by surviving band-members and fans alike, illustrates the recording industry’s preoccupation with nostalgia says Newcastle University’s Adam Behr. It’s also an opportunity to cash in on both the vinyl resurgence and the wave of anniversaries that accompanies the canonisation of Baby Boomer rock pioneers. The Beatles lead the pack but Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones have also put out anniversary re-releases and documentaries. It’s easy to be cynical but Abbey Road is a musical moment with an anniversary that warrants marking. It received mixed reviews on release in September 1969. The Guardian found the record “a slight matter”, although Rolling Stone remarked that it showed that the band was “still unsurpassed”. Commercially, there was no question. It entered the UK charts at number one, where it spent a total of 17 weeks, with similar performance internationally. The album’s effect on musicians was both immediate and longstanding. Booker T and the MG’s recorded and released an instrumental cover of the album – McLemore Avenue – within a year, featuring themselves crossing the road outside their own Stax Studios. Frank Sinatra, meanwhile, made “Something” a feature of his concerts for years, recording it twice and calling it “the greatest love song of the last 50 years”.

ublime swansong. Abbey Road’s reach into the popular consciousness is long. It has immortalised the former EMI studios, now taking the name of their address, and the zebra crossing that featured on the iconic cover is a tourist attraction today. Its real emotional and musical weight, though, comes through the combination of songwriting and production craft with historical placement. Although Let It Be was released in 1970, Abbey Road was the last album the band recorded – a mixing session for Lennon’s portentous “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” was the last time all four members were in the studio together. They were mired in financial difficulties – their Apple venture (a portfolio of ventures from record label to a shortlived boutique) was struggling after a ramshackle launch period. Their increasingly divergent social and musical lives were also shot through with legal disagreements, and whether to take on Allen Klein as their manager – as favoured by Lennon, Starr and Harrison – or, McCartney’s preference, the Eastman family of his new wife Linda. Their recording swansong followed fragmentary, disparate work on 1968’s White Album and the fractious Get Back sessions in the early months of 1969. That was an attempt to rekindle their early, live energy first in Twickenham film studios and latterly their Apple building on Saville Row although it collapsed into discord, leaving hours of tape that would eventually surface as the 1970

album Let It Be, with Phil Spector tasked with finishing the job. Work on Abbey Road in summer 1969 wasn’t free of discord but, unlike the preceding Twickenham sessions, it didn’t result in sloppy and incomplete recordings. This was due in no small part to the reinstatement of George Martin as producer and the band’s return to EMI studios. Martin instilled a sense of discipline. His involvement came with the condition that the band “let me produce it the way we used to”. The band, unable to face returning to the Get Back tapes – “none of us would go near them”, remarked Lennon – concurred. As Harrison would recall: “We decided, ‘Let’s make a good album again’.” It’s plausible that, sensing the end was near, they wanted to go out on a high. The extent to which Abbey Road was planned as a finale is debatable. As with much of the Beatles’ final days, matters are shrouded in contradiction. The mix of schoolboy friendships, working relationships, a strained legal partnership and creative inspiration meant that the months of recording were unlikely to be either unremitting contention or unbroken harmony. It’s also almost impossible to discount hindsight and the tendency to read their final moments as a band into the music – “The End"’s elegiac conclusion to the medley on side two in particular. Regardless, they were reaching the end of the road. All were involved in solo projects by the time they recorded Abbey Road and Harrison and Starr had already temporarily left the band during recordings for the White Album and Get Back.

nd of an era. Abbey Road, though, reveals the possibilities and strengths of the "band” as format – the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. It’s the first time after perhaps Sergeant Pepper that their creative impetus is audible as merging across one another’s songs – the Beatles as an entity, beyond the group of individual musicians. Abbey Road fuses song-craft and recording innovation with the confidence that the group dynamic brought to the table. Their first forays into eight-track tape and transistor technology gave the album a fuller sound than previously, while it was one of the first mainstream albums to feature a synthesiser. Sonically, it was as much the first album of the 1970s as an artefact of the late 1960s. Few, acts are as synonymous with a decade as the Beatles are with the 1960s. And while this is partly historical accident – their creative collaboration ended with the decade – it also means that Abbey Road signposts the passing of one era into another. As we stumble uncertainly towards a new decade ourselves, there’s comfort in that album’s uneasy synthesis of sunshine and strife into a coherent musical statement. In 1963, The Beatles had recorded their first album Please Please Me in one lightning 13hour session. By the time they walked out onto the zebra crossing in 1969, they had expanded the parameters of popular music, helping to turn it a recording art form. Their success also solidified the concept of the band as a preeminent creative unit in popular music. Even at the end, they continued to point the way forward. 49

Originally published on The Conversation. Adam Behr is a Lecturer in Popular and Contemporary Music, Newcastle University. Photography by Vinylmeister.

POP CULTURE

COFFEE TABLE

HAUTE BOHEMIANS Who, exactly, is an haute bohemian? Leave it to the discriminating eye of photographer Miguel Flores-Vianna, one of the world's most fashionable photographers of interiors and lifestyle, who reveals the original taste of 20 contemporary bohemians. This 312 page treasure trove of inspirational interiors allows access into magnificent repositories of diverse cultures and visions. Photography by Miguel Flores-Vianna, courtesy of Vendome Press.

Haute Bohemians, by Miguel Flores-Vianna. Foreword by Amy Astley. Published by Vendome Press. Hardcover 254 x 330 mm portrait, 312 pages, 250 color illustrations. GBP ÂŁ45.

Nathalie and Amir Farman-Farma's London home bursts with textiles and colour.

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Left: The hallway to Carolina Irving's home in Paris. Top: The kitchen of antiques dealer Andrew Allfree's Normandy home. Bottom: Carolina Irving's home in Paris.

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Above and below: Various views of editor Marian McEvoy's Hudson River Valley Home.

or Haute Bohemians, Flores-Vianna journeyed through four continents to capture an extraordinary group of writers and editors, landscape designers, artists and artisans, art and antiques dealers and collectors, and interior designers, where they live – country cottages, beach houses, city apartments, and a ranch, as well as assorted châteaux and palazzi. Some of these spaces are grand, others are modest, but all are original, stylish, charming, and above all authentic, in the sense that they reveal their owners’ care and taste. From artist Alexander Twombly’s idyllic farmhouse and studio in the Italian countryside to textile designer Nathalie Farman-Farma’s enchanting London house, from furniture designer and art dealer Osanna and Giangaleazzo Visconti di Modrone’s contemporary art and design filled Renaissance era home in Milan to landscape designer Madison Cox’s retreat and garden library overlooking the coast of Spain in Tangier, from World of Interiors founding editor Min Hogg’s color-saturated hideaway on Gran Canaria to editor and tastemaker Marian McEvoy’s cottage on the banks of the Hudson River – everything in it created with her own hands - from boiserie restorers Delphine and Guillaume Féau’s maze-like Paris workshop and luminous villa in Versailles to the Aldao family’s storied Argentine finca, all twenty of the homes featured in Haute Bohemians are, in Miguel FloresVianna’s own words, “magnificent repositories of diverse cultures and visions and beautiful descriptions of the geography of their owners’ lives. It is the ‘geography of a life’ that renders them unforgettable because they, like unforgiving mirrors, reflect who their owners are in a most personal way. They are like maps of their desires and like images of how they see themselves. All the houses in these pages are poetry.” ABOUT THE AUTHOR. Argentine-born Miguel Flores-Vianna is a photographer and writer and has been an editor for more than twenty years. His photography is regularly published in various magazines including T, AD, World of Interiors, Vogue, and Town and Country. In 2013 he was one of the creators of “In the Air,” a popular-trend column in T magazine. He lives in London. Here, Flores-Vianna's work is introduced by Amy Astley, editor of Architectural Digest.

ART ANNIVERSARY

MUZA

A Celebration of Success and Inspiration

The National Museum of Art MUŻA, pioneered by the Ministry for Justice, Culture and Local Government’s Heritage Malta has just celebrated its firstyear anniversary. MUŻA, whilst being an acronym and the Maltese word for inspiration, is also a clear reference to the muses – the mythological creatures from classic antiquity inspiring creativity, but also stands for MUŻew Nazzjonali tal-Arti, the Maltese name of the National Museum of Art.

UŻA is a hybrid of public spaces, galleries and entertainment facilities, equally relevant within one interconnecting weave that defines MUŻA as a national community art museum. MUŻA, a flagship project for Valletta’s European Capital City of Culture title in 2018, also serves as an art gateway to our capital city and represents a significant development in the history of museums in Malta, as a new museum typology – in line with the latest developments in Europe and elsewhere. This ambitious €10 million project was partially financed through EU funds, and completely restored and transformed the former Auberge d’Italie, a historic building originally dating to the late sixteenth century and used as the seat and residence of the Italian knights of the Order of St John. MUŻA seeks to adopt and purposely develop a participatory museum model for the arts, with particular reference to its national museum remit. By highlighting narratives, MUŻA aims to empower participants to experience, engage and

co-create irrespective of knowledge levels, turning traditional museum audiences into participants. The story content of MUŻA can be classified in four parts, Mediterranean, European, Empire, and the Artist, a span that collectively add up to over 20,000 works of art. This community art museum’s interpretation strategy is to be a knowledge ladder; acknowledge the museum’s visitors as participants, to have a shared museum experience as co-creators of knowledge; to recognise the diverse motivations that might inspire participants to engage with art and culture; to cultivate the ability to think critically and analytically; and to promote social bridging amongst diverse cultures and communities. This is all part of a strategy aimed at strengthening Malta’s culture sector, creating new spaces where Maltese artists can inspire and be inspired, nurturing a highly dynamic sector with more opportunity to expand audiences and creating careers. MUŻA is a real-life testament to our country’s vision and legacy, which we are passing on to future generations. 55

PLATES TO SHARE

Middle Eastern Flavours Kale, Feta and Gbejna Filo Pie This pretty swirled pie may look daunting, but once you get the hang of using filo you will always want some in the fridge. Taking minutes to prepare this pie is always a hit with my dinner guests, and as I always say, if it cracks while coiling, it’s amazing what a little honey and sesame seeds can hide!

These recipes are a good introduction to using Middle Eastern ingredients which are great pantry additions to have on hand to transform everyday cooking. With minimal effort you can create a colourful spread of dishes that provide interesting flavours and contrasting textures that will keep everyone satisfied, says Mediterranean Culinary Academy's Debbie Schembri. Photography by Robert Pace.

1 onion, thinly sliced garlic clove, finely chopped 6 leaves Italian kale, de-stemmed and chopped roughly 6 large sprigs thyme, chopped roughly 1 soft sheep's milk ġbejna 100g feta cheese 5 twists black pepper 2tbsp zaatar 6 sheets filo pastry 3tsp honey handful sesame seeds olive oil salt

1. Preheat oven to 200C. 2. Cook the onion and garlic in a pan over medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil for 3 minutes or until golden brown. 3. Add the kale with a splash of water if things start sticking. 4. Add the thyme and cook until the kale has wilted. Remove from the heat and cool for a few minutes. 5. Combine the ġbejna and feta in a bowl and add the kale mixture, pepper and zaatar. Taste and season with salt. 6. Lay a sheet of filo on a clean work surface and drizzle with a little olive oil. Overlap a second sheet over a third of the first to end up with one much larger sheet. Repeat until you end up with a large sheet with three layers. Spread the cheese and kale mix along the bottom edge of the filo. 7. Starting from the bottom roll into a sausage. Lower one end into the outer edge of a pie tin and allow the roll to fall naturally into a coil. 8. Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with sesame seeds until a nice layer has formed. Sprinkle with a little salt and some more olive oil. Bake for twenty minutes or until a deep golden brown.

PLATES TO SHARE

Butternut Squash and Chickpea Salad Serves 2

Not many salads can be described as comforting but I think this one just is. The earthy notes from the chickpeas and onions and the sweetness of the butternut squash are brightened with preserved lemon and zingy sumac. It's an easy dish to prepare with complex flavours. 1/4 butternut squash 2tsp sumac ½tsp harissa 50g dried chickpeas 1 onion, finely sliced ½tsp tahini 2 sprigs mint 1/4 preserved lemon salt

1. Soak the chickpeas overnight. 2. Pre heat oven to 200C. Peel and cut the butternut squash into 1 inch cubes. In a bowl toss with sumac, harissa and a drizzle of olive oil. Season with salt. Spread onto a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes or until a knife pierces easily. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. 3. Cook the chickpeas in salted water until tender. Drain and cool. 4. Fry the onion until dark golden and crispy in a sauté pan with 2cm of olive oil. Drain on paper and season with salt. 5. Combine 2/3 of the onions, chickpeas, butternut squash and the tahini. 6. Remove the flesh from the preserved lemon and slice finely. Rip the mint and add to the bowl, seasoning with salt as needed. 7. Serve in a bowl garnished with the remaining onion and extra mint leaves.

Crunchy Salad with Harissa and Pomegranate Molasses Dressing Serves 2

A vibrant salad which pairs radish mustard notes with sweetness from carrots, while the brine from olives is brought together with a spicy, tart dressing with a floral note from orange blossom water. Packed with herbs this salad is anything but boring and serves as a refreshing bite before tucking into everything else. 1 carrot 4 radishes, quartered and halved half kohlrabi, peeled, sliced and cut into matchstick strips 4 olives, chopped roughly 2 sprigs mint, chopped roughly 6 sprigs parsley, chopped roughly ¼tsp lemon juice 2tsp olive oil 1tsp pomegranate molasses ½tsp harissa 5 drops orange blossom water

1. Peel the outside layer of the carrot and discard. Using a peeler continue to remove strips of carrot till you are left with the heart. 2. Combine the herbs, vegetables and olives in a bowl. Refrigerate until needed. 3. In a small jar combine the lemon juice, olive oil, pomegranate molasses, harissa, orange blossom water and a pinch of salt. 4. Dress the salad just before serving, coating it thoroughly.

If you are interested to attend one of Mediterranean Culinary Academy's hands on workshops or team building events covering recipes like these or are just looking for some more recipe ideas visit www.mcamalta.com or email contact@mcamalta.com 58

DINING OUT

PORTO LOUNGE

he newly opened Porto Lounge, right on the water’s edge opposite the Gozo Ferry Cirkewwa terminal, is Paradise Bay Resort’s brand new restaurant offering a fusion of Asian, French and Mediterranean cuisine. The well stocked bar can also prepare a good selection of carefully crafted signature cocktails which are perfect to enjoy in the relaxing and attractive ambience, with picturesque views of Gozo and Comino. The property also has a private sandy blue flag beach which offers a variety of facilities including water sports and diving. Situated above the restaurant, Porto Terrace Café offers a variety of fresh snacks as well as sweets. The expansive view from the vast terrace competes with the view at Porto Lounge downstairs. Both venues are available for group bookings as well as special private events. Porto Lounge and Porto Terrace Café at Paradise Bay Resort, Marfa Road, Cirkewwa. Open for lunch and dinner. For bookings tel: 2289 5000. www.paradise-bay.com, Facebook paradisebayresorthotel

The Place To Be This Christmas 30 Nov 2019 - 6 Jan 2020

www.visitgozo.com

COFFEE KLATCH

ROMAN TUG OF WAR

Caffè Greco Opened in 1760 on Via Condotti in Rome, Caffè Greco’s burgundy walls have welcomed everyone from Casanova, Hans Christian Anderson, Charles Dickens and John Keats, to Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor, Princess Diana and even Buffalo Bill in 1890. Now the eternal city’s oldest coffee shop fears closure in a court case riddled rent hike tug of war.

Since 1760 Caffè Greco has welcomed a spectacular and colourful who’s who list. Everyone from Casanova to Princess Diana has visited, including Buffalo Bill in 1890. Image source Instagram Antico Caffè Greco. Main image: Mia Martini photographed in the Sala Rossa of Caffè Greco for the cover of her 1973 45rpm single “Minuetto”. Image source Instagram Antico Caffè Greco.

amed after its Greek owner, Caffè Greco is the oldest bar in Rome and the second oldest in Italy after Venice’s Caffè Florian. Its burgandy walls and gilded framed artworks have been protected since 1953. Italian government law stipulates that regardless of who manages the premises, the bar must remain intact. According to Greco’s website “Casanova, in his ‘memoirs’, recounts the occasion of his very first visit to the Caffè in Via Condotti. In 1779, Goethe became a regular, spending time there with the large number of German artists living in the area at that time. But the true golden age for Caffè Greco was to come in the nineteenth century, when its tables played host to the most eminent painters, sculptors, musicians and literati of the age, who flocked there from across Europe.” Caffè Greco has witnessed wars and uprisings over the course of its history, but eviction problems for the current management team, Antico 62

Caffè Greco, started in 2017 when the property’s owner, the privately run Israelite Hospital, wanted to increase the rent from €18,000 to €120,000 per month. The situation reached a head when a court ruling ordered that the management company should have vacated the property this past October as their rental contract had expired. According to la Repubblica, eviction has now been postponed to the end of January, thanks to a quibble in the judicial act. “We are willing to increase the fee – says Carlo Pellegrini, the owner of the Antico Caffè Greco management team, but it is impossible for us to pay €120,000 a month… at most we can offer 10 percent of our turnover – that is at most €350,000 a year”. Meanwhile, Fabio Perugia, a spokesman for the Israelite Hospital, insists that the bar will not close. “Caffè Greco has been here for 250 years and will continue to be here. The law says that nothing can be changed. The only difference will be a new manager.”

#ThisIsYourTime

Tissot Le Locle lady Automatic. PAYS TRIBUTE TO ITS HOME AND HERITAGE.

TI S S OT WATC H E S .CO M TISSOT, INNOVATORS BY TRADITION