Senior Times (April 2017) by Times of Malta

SENIOR TIMES April 2017

Malta’s monthly newspaper for the elderly

sky in flaMes The bombs that fell onto the Mosta Dome and Mqabba church. SEE PAGES 4 & 5

qabbilli waħda... It-togħma bnina ta’ kliem Ġorġ Agius bħaċ-ċirasa. SEE PAGES 6 & 7

lenti fuq...

Melody maker SEE PAGES 8 & 9

Il-mibki mużiċist, artist u skultur Salvu Bugeja, magħruf għax-xogħlijiet tiegħu fl-armar tal-festi u opri oħra fil-knejjes. SEE PAGES 10 & 11

SENIOR TIMES ‒ APRIL 2017

EDITOR’S WELCOME

IN THIS ISSUE

Words of wisdom

distinctly remember, some three decades ago, an interruption in class. At that age, any intermission to the drone of multiplication and long division was welcomed – we sat, legs braced for a quick and early escape, as the teacher paused mid-sum and proceeded to welcome a strange man in class. What struck me first was the big smile the man had. It hung on his face, as big – and welcoming – as an embrace. He walked slowly to the front of the class as those sitting at the back of the class whispered: “It’s him – it’s Ġorġ tal-Mużew.” I had heard of Ġorġ Agius but had never listened to him. And for the next few minutes – quick escape forgotten – I watched him as he played with words, in the same manner that we dribbled a football during lunch break. Words flowed from his mouth and he caught them midair and, like an expert florist, arranged them in beautiful bouquets. It was poetry in motion, literally so. In this issue of Senior Times, we meet Ġorġ tal-Mużew. Nowadays, he is 91 years old – 92 in July – but he still has a deft manner of marrying the rhyming form of words with the beautiful function of imparting wisdom in a simple, yet deep manner. We also interview Crispin Attard, a carpenter renowned for his folk guitars – especially the kitarra tattromba – and remember the late Salvu Bugeja, whose religious art adorns various churches around the island. This month is the 75th anniversary of the wartime ‘miracle’ when the Mosta Rotunda was hit by three enemy bombs, and none exploded. Frankie Calleja, then a young boy sitting on the church belfry with his friends, watching the bombs fall, remembers the day vividly. On the same day – April 9, 1942 – more bombs fell on the Mqabba church, killing five villagers. The church’s dome was destroyed and later rebuilt. Senior Times also packs features on art collections, food, books, cars and travel. I wish you a pleasant read and look forward to receiving your feedback and comments.

Stanley

SENIOR TIMES APRIL 2017 EXECUTIVE EDITOR Stanley Borg E-mail: seniortimes @timesofmalta.com CONTRIBUTORS Carmel Baldacchino Ronald Cassar Keith Cilia Debono George Cini Anton B. Dougall Jonathan Farrugia Christine Galea Amanda Grech Jennifer Grech David Thompson Fiona Vella PUBLISHERS Allied Newspapers Limited Strickland House, 341, St Paul Street, Valletta VLT 1211. www.timesofmalta.com DESIGN Krista Aquilina SALES Marion Muscat Tel: 2559 4208 E-mail: marion.muscat @timesofmalta.com © 2017. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publishers is prohibited.

4. The Sky in Flames The bombs that fell onto Mosta Dome during World War II missed some boys by mere metres. In the south, Mqabba church did not escape the fierce enemy bombing.

6. Qabbilli waħda… Il-kliem, kif jgħidu, bħaċ-ċirasa. Imma it-togħma bnina ta’ kliem Ġorġ Agius, magħruf bħala ‘Ġorġ tal-Mużew’, tibqa’.

8. Strings attached Carpenter Crispin Attard may no longer make folk guitars – but their melody lives on, Fiona Vella says.

10. Lenti fuq… Il-mibki Salvu Bugeja, magħruf għax-xogħlijiet tiegħu flarmar tal-festi u opri oħra fil-knejjes.

12. The weekend just got longer For those who love to get away from the everyday routine this year is like no other says Ronald Cassar.

14. Time for watches From the earliest period, the completed watch was the result of combined efforts of skilled and ingenious craftsmen.

18. Stay safe Online opportunities come with risks attached. Dr Keith Cilia Debono gives a few hints on how to surf safely.

20. Ajma! We all face moments in life when we revert to the heavilyloaded interjection “ajma”, says Christine Galea.

24. The rise and fall of the Empire The glorious days of the old Empire Stadium.

26. He is risen! The triumphal Easter Sunday processions.

28. The street of a thousand dreams In the heady days when it seemed the sun would never set on Strada Stretta, ‘the Gut’ was the bedrock of a thousand dreams for young people looking for a job .

30. A good night’s sleep Restoring healthy sleeping patterns is essential to our well-being, registered psychotherapist Amanda Grech says.

IN MEMORIAM

In the March issue of Senior Times, we carried an interview with Eddie Spiteri, former national tennis champion, one of the oldest persons ever to graduate from the University of Malta and overall, a man with very interesting stories to tell. Sadly, Eddie, 95, passed away on April 4. Our condolences to his family and friends. In this photo, Eddie (right) is pictured holding a copy of Senior Times, with his friend Anthony Gatt.

SENIOR TIMES ‒ ApRIl 2017

NEWS

“BEAUTIFUL TO BE OLD!” ALESSANDRA DEE CRESPO These words were spoken by Benedict XVI who celebrated his 90th birthday on Easter Sunday. They are contained in what is perhaps the most significant tribute to old age by a pontiff. It is found in a little known speech to the residents of a home for the elderly in Rome on November 12, 2012 in which he referred to himself as an “old man visiting his peers” for he is well acquainted with the difficulties, problems and limitations of old age. In Scriptures, longevity is considered a blessing of God even though society is frequently dominated by the “logic of efficiency and sometimes views the elderly as non-productive and useless”. A

civilisation is also judged by how it treats its elderly citizens and by the importance it gives them in community life. Whoever makes room for the elderly, makes room for life – for when it becomes frail, life never loses its value and its dignity. The need for help is a condition of the elderly. It is also a gift of the Lord because being accompanied, sustained, and feeling the affection of others is a grace. Benedict XVI speaks about his retirement and his preparation for death in a candid book-interview just published in Maltese: Benedittu XVI: L-Aħħar Taħdit. It is available from all good bookshops and from ĊAK, Triq S. Sommier, Birkirkara. ●

QUALITY CARE Demonstrating quality has never been as important as it is now. In a rapidly changing care environment that is moving from residential needs to a higher nursing care requirement, CareMalta is on the forefront to acknowledge this need and to continue being a leader with care. After 20 years of successful operation of Villa Messina, CareMalta has decided to do a total refurbishment project to this facility as part of its ambition to offer the best quality service. Preparations commenced in May 2016 which led to the official announcement to all residents and families in June. The necessary plans were carried out to arrange for the temporary transfer of all residents by end October 2016. On November 1, 2016, the works for the refurbishment project began. CareMalta appreciates the importance of the environment both from an accessible point of view and from a visual perspective. The project will upgrade all present bedrooms and bathrooms, creating flexible options for accessibility. The new design will incorporate dementia friendly measures while all beds will be upgraded to nursing beds, encouraging further independence and comfort. Although CareMalta plans to retain the ambience and character of the original property, the new design is planned to cre-

ate an environment where residents can enjoy a modern feeling, built to high specifications, based on the experience that the company has in providing this care environment. The facility will also offer a new multi-purpose room, chapel and wellness centre in line with CareMalta’s active ageing philosophy. The new home will feature services to meet the needs of residents and staff. Additional new lifts will be installed while the present lifts will also be enlarged. The new project will also incorporate all the necessary alignments required by the current new legislation. Based on CareMalta’s promise to continue to provide the best care to residents, the refurbishment project will also incorporate new features which will help the operation offer the person-centred approach that the company truly believes in. CareMalta looks forward to April 2017 when the refurbished Villa Messina opens to become a home away from home for residents, their families and all at CareMalta. Villa Messina is operated by CareMalta, which also operates Casa Arkati (Mosta), Roseville (Attard), Casa San Paolo (St Paul’s Bay), Prince of Wales (Sliema), Zejtun Home, Cospicua Home, Mellieha home and Zammit Clapp Hospital Residential Home (St Julian’s). ●

SENIOR TIMES ‒ ApRIl 2017

HISTORY

THE SKY IN FLAMES

The bombs that fell onto Mosta Dome during World War II missed some boys by mere metres – because Frankie Calleja and his friends were up in the church belfry watching dogfights at the time, he tells Jennifer Grech on the 75th anniversary of the wartime ‘miracle’.

t could be called a double miracle. A group of daredevil teenagers had climbed up to one of the belfries of the Mosta church to get a better view of the dogfights when Luftwaffe bombers dropped their load directly above them. It was Thursday, April 9, 1942 – 75 years ago – when the Mosta Rotunda was hit by three enemy bombs. One of them pierced the dome and crashed to the floor below where 300 people were praying together. Miraculously, it failed to explode. The church was hit by another two bombs, both of which also failed to go off. And one of them deflected off the very belfry where Frankie Calleja, who was then 14 years old, was perched along with a group of his equally mischievous friends. At the time, Mosta was in the direct flight path of German bombers heading to or retreating from the RAF base in Ta’ Qali. As a result, the town was heavily bombed in the first four months of 1942, with the count of civilian casualties high. April 9 was a particularly bad one for enemy raids. But that did not prevent the band of teenagers with no fear in the world from deciding to climb the belfry to watch aircraft engage in dogfights. “To us boys, it was all an adventure,” the 89-year-old recalls. “We had become accustomed to the raids. As soon as the air-raid sirens went off, we would run to the fields, looking at the sky and expecting to see a German plane at any minute. The sky would be in flames.” On the day they climbed the belfry, at around 4.40pm, Eucharistic Adoration was being held in the church below. “The first bomb gave us a big fright – falling exactly where we were. It did not explode and only the belfry and frontispiece were slightly damaged.” A second one hit the church soon after, also failing to go off. Then, the third bomb – a 500kg high explosive ordnance – made a hole in the dome and fell where nearly 300 people were praying. “They quickly sought shelter at the sides of the church,” Mr Calleja continues. “God answered their prayers and a great miracle happened that day.” Half an hour later, just as the parishioners were pouring out of church, another two enemy planes were heading to Mosta from the direction of

Frankie Calleja outside the Mosta church. PHOTO: MARK ZAMMIT CORDINA.

There were almost 300 people in the church, all praying

Members of the bomb disposal unit with the 500kg bomb that penetrated the dome on April 9, 1942, yet failed to explode. Picture from the collection of Maria Vella.

Naxxar and barrage balloons – used to counter low-level attacks – were deployed. “Whether the planes were actually hit or not, nobody knows… they changed tack and flew to Salina,” Mr Calleja recalls. That day, the whole nation felt a sense of both shock and awe. A German raid intended to cause utter destruction ended in celebration as 300 lives were saved in what has become one of the most popular stories from World War II.

Not all were so lucky. “Thinking back on it now, the scenes we saw that month were very much like Hiroshima. A whole block of houses between Ta’ Qali and Mosta was completely flattened,” recalls Mr Calleja. “I can still remember the smell of a bombed house, like wet plaster and damp wood.” Nearly 1,500 civilians were killed in the air raids during that period and thousands more injured. But for Mr Calleja and his friends, it was a time of great excitement.

“I was very naughty and used to enjoy going out to crash sites in the nearby fields to collect items from downed planes – coins, suits, rifles,” he recalls with a giggle. “Of course, I knew nothing then about unstable fuses that could blow a hand off even if the main bomb didn’t activate.” Decades have passed since the end of World War II. Yet for many, the conflict rages on, in the form of nightmares and anxious flashbacks. More than 14,000 bombs were dropped on Malta, with at least 30,000 buildings were destroyed, but the Mosta Rotunda escaped unscathed. “No more shrapnel or bombs to collect,” Mr Calleja says. “But there were other things to do. The damage was gradually patched over and life returned to normal – or as normal as could be in a war.” ●

SENIOR TIMES ‒ ApRIl 2017

HISTORY

Death in the village The Mqabba church did not escape the fierce enemy bombing, says Can. Jonathan Farrugia.

pril of 1942 has etched its place in Maltese history as the worst month of the blitz, when over 30 days, more than 6,700 tons of bombs were dropped on Malta. This was the month our country suffered its greatest losses during the war. April 9 is remembered by the village of Mqabba as the worst day in its history. Until that day, even though a handful of villagers had lost their lives due to enemy action while they were at work in military areas, death had not yet visited the village. On that day, however, things changed. Easter Sunday in 1942 fell on April 5 and in Mqabba the three days of Eucharistic adoration, locally known as ilKwaranturi, were held up to the seventh of the month. Next day, the church decorations started to be stacked back in their place and life continued as usual... till Thursday at 12:45pm. The siren’s wail was heard, announcing the 2,042nd aerial attack on Malta. For an hour and a half, bombs rained over the island, especially in the areas around the harbour and the aerodrome in Luqa. From interviews conducted years later with eyewitnesses, it was clear that no one was expecting such a fierce attack, especially on small villages such as Mqabba, which had no military buildings. Proof of the unpreparedness for such horror was the fact that the five victims of that fateful day were surprised on their way to the shelters – their deaths could have been avoided had they rushed to take refuge as soon as the siren was heard. The bombing of Mqabba lasted about 15 minutes and during that time witnesses affirm that unceasing prayers were offered to Christ and Santa Maria by the terrified people and their parish priest, as the

explosions shook the very foundations of the village. Judging by the savage bursts of the bombs, many suspected they would find serious damage, but none of them envisaged the chaos they were about to come across as they exited the shelters.

tives, and for some the worse part of the afternoon started. Giovanna Busuttil and her daughters Salvina and Maria did not hurry enough to make it to the shelter and were in the square when one of the bombs landed there. Salvina and her

Two priests and the sacristan were seen rising from the debris covered in dust. They had been hiding in the belfry and survived the direct hit The first thing to greet those who had sought sanctuary in the underground rooms of the church square was the sight of the parish church missing its dome. Two priests and the sacristan were seen rising from the debris covered in dust. They had been hiding in the belfry and survived the direct hit. Another priest was seen digging his way through the fallen masonry with a couple of men, looking for the pyx containing the Blessed Sacrament, which that morning had been stored in a compartment in one of the main pillars of the church following the suggestion of an altar boy. The more courageous entered the church from the transept dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary and saw more evidence of the damage done: three of the evangelists painted in the pendants beneath the dome in 1896 were gone. Also missing were the main altar made in 1910 in Naples and covered in marble, bronze and malachite, the presbyterium’s floor and three altars made of inlaid marble, the church organ, more paintings and the corpo-santo containing the relics of St Innocentius, which had been brought from Rome in 1779. Further inspection revealed more losses. After the first shock, people started looking for their rela-

mother were found in its crater covered in dust, dead. Maria was found on the roof of a nearby chapel, dead by suffocation and with burnt lungs due to gas she had inhaled.

The badly damaged church following the bombing in which five people were killed.

Lawrence Mangion was hit by a splinter in his back when he was descending into the shelter and died two days later of internal haemorrhage. Pauline Borg was in the narrow streets close to the church and was buried under falling masonry, dying the next day from her wounds, after having lost both legs.

No other raids before or after did such damage. After the war the villagers did their best to move on. The dome was rebuilt following the design of Andrea Micallef and the new parish priest, Fr Gerald – the last parish priest native to Mqabba – saw to it that much of what was lost would be replaced. ●

SENIOR TIMES ‒ ApRIl 2017

INTERVISTA

Qabbilli waħda… Il-kliem, kif jgħidu, bħaċ-ċirasa. Imma t-togħma bnina ta’ kliem Ġorġ Agius, magħruf bħala ‘Ġorġ tal-Mużew’, tibqa’. L-isptar Fi kliem Ġorġ; ‘Il-kelma ħelwa’. Il-pazjenti li kien imur jara l-isptar, dawn ukoll kienu jkunu jistennewh bil-ħerqa biex bit-taqbiliet ħelwin tiegħu kien itaffilhom ftit mill-uġigħ li kienu jkunu għaddejjin minnu. Darba waħda, dejjem b’ton mill-aktar sempliċi, Ġorġ jgħidilna li kien hemm wieħed raġel li meta hu staqsieh minn fejn kien, dan wieġbu li kien joqgħod iż-Żurrieq. U r-risposta spontanja ta’ Ġorġ dak il-ħin kienet: “Miż-Żurrieq?... Mela ma ddumx ma tfiq.” Pazjent ieħor fl-istess sala qallu li hu kien mill-Imqabba u pront pront dan Ġorġ wieġbu; “Mill-Imqabba?...Mela fiha qed titrabba.” Skont Ġorġ, dan id-don huwa kariżma fil-bniedem. Sal-lum il-ġurnata, Ġorġ għadu jmur l-isptar Mater Dei kull filgħodu, jisma’ l-quddiesa tas-sitta u nofs fil-kappella u mbagħad jibda rronda tas-swali tas-sezzjoni tal-outpatients fejn jitkellem ma’ bosta nies. F’waħda mill-visti tiegħu l-isptar, Ġorġ jirrakkonta kif darba waħda, pazjent kien kellmu dwar ieħor li kien ilu 50 sena ma jqerr. Dan talbu u staqsih biex jara jiġiħx il-kuraġġ jersaq lejh u jqabbillu waħda peress li, skont dan, kelma f ’waqtha hi tajba u setgħet tagħmel ħafna ġid. Filfatt Ġorġ, bla ebda telf ta’ żmien, kien mar fuq dan il-pazjent u qallu: “Ħabib, inti tixtieq tqerr? Hawn patri ħabib tiegħi, immur ngħidlu?” Il-pazjent, sorpriż b’din il-proposta mhux tas-soltu, aċċetta mill-ewwel. Ġorġ kien pront niżel fil-kappella fejn kien hemm patri ħabib tiegħu u telgħu flimkien ħdejn dan il-bniedem. Dan, tant kemm ħa pjaċir li kien ħa jqerr li qam minn fuq is-sodda u beda jgħannaq lil Ġorġ. Hekk, bis-saħħa ta’ Ġorġ, dan il-pazjent kien qerr wara 50 sena sħaħ. Jgħaddu xi erbat ijiem u Ġorġ, li jrid jingħad, ma jsuqx u m’għandux karozza, kien qiegħed fuq l-istejġ tal-Blata l-Bajda jistenna tallinja għal Birgu. F’ħin minnhom waqaf stranġier bilkarozza u stieden lil Ġorġ biex jirkeb miegħu. Kif Ġorġ għamel dan, ir-raġel bi tbissima qallu, “Għax permezz tiegħek missieri qerr.” Tal-familja kienu jafu li dak il-pazjent kien dineb, allura xtaqu jressquh lejn il-qrar. B’din l-esperjenza, Ġorġ ħassu sodisfatt għaliex skont hu, kelma tajba tista’ tagħmel ħafna ġid. “Il-qrar, it-tqarbin u l-quddies, iġiegħluna ngħixu ta’ nies”, ikompli b’ċerta vuċi ta’ persważjoni Ġorġ. U jargumenta; “Għax jekk ma ngħixux ta’ nies, ta’ xhiex tridna ngħixu?”

“Bis-saħħa ta’ Ġorġ, dan il-pazjent kien qerr wara 50 sena sħaħ” Darba oħra Ġorġ kien miexi fit-triq u żewġt irgiel ġejjin mid-direzzjoni opposta tiegħu, ħarsu lejh u wieħed minnhom staqsih, “Ġorġ, kif nagħmel biex ma nidgħix iżjed?” It-tweġiba pronta ta’ Ġorġ kienet; “Meta tkun se tintilef, żomm il-brejk, bi sninek u b’xofftejk.” Sieħbu qallu “Veru li qallek dan ir-raġel.” Kif ra li r-raġel baqa’ jħares lejh, Ġorġ tbissem imma ħass li ma kellux jieqaf hemm. Waqt li ħa pjaċir li dawk l-erba’ kelmiet baqgħu jidwu f ’moħħ dak ilbniedem, bil-ħlewwa żied jgħidlu; “Għax l-ilsien qiegħed ‘il ġewwa mis snien. Issa l-ewwel brejk is-snien u t-tieni, brejk ix-xofftejn. Xoffa ‘lisfel u xoffa ‘l fuq, u biex żgur ma nagħmilx ħsara, nżomm il-bieb magħluq. Kelma ħelwa u edukata, tiffrankalek battikata.” Fiż-żmien li Ġorġ kien imur jisma’ lil San Ġorġ Preca, jiftakar li f ’okkażjoni minnhom, fil-Kalkara kien hemm sajda jew konferenza tal-Mużew. Għal ħabta tat-tmienja ta’ filgħaxija, meta l-laqgħa

kienet spiċċat, Ġorġ u sħabu marru salkunvent tal-Kappuċċini, fil-Kalkara. F’ħin minnhom ħabbat il-bieb u meta wieħed mill-patrijiet mar jiftaħ, sab quddiemu ċorma rġiel li xtaqu jqerru. Il-patri skanta mhux ftit għax kien diġa’ dalam. Mistoqsijin x’kien ġabhom l’hemm, dawn wieġbu lil patri: “Għax smajna lil Dun Ġorġ jipprietka u allura ddeċidejna li niġu nqerru.” Hekk kif sema’ dan, il-patri mar sab xi erbgħa minn sħabu mill-kunvent stess, fetħu l-bieb u bdew iqerru lil dawn lirġiel. Ġorġ dejjem isostni kemm ilkelma t’Alla tagħmel ġid.

Ġieħ ir-repubbLika Min jaf lil Ġorġ jaf ferm tajjeb li dan, la qatt kellu u wisq anqas għandu llum ebda pretensjonijiet ta’ xejn. Minkejja l-profil mill-aktar sieket tiegħu, għal dak li fis-sempliċita’ Ġorġ ikkontribwixxa fil-pajjiż, wasal biex kien rikonoxxut. Fl-1997 Ġorġ Agius ingħata l-medalja ta’ Ġieħ ir-Repubblika mingħand il-President ta’ Malta ta’ dak iż-żmien, l-Eċċellenza Tiegħu Dr Ugo Mifsud Bonnici. F’din iċ-ċerimonja li ssir ta’ kull sena fil-Palazz tal-Gran Mastru fil-Belt Valletta, il-President ta’ Malta jagħti dan lunur lil dawk il-Maltin li jkunu ħadmu sfiq għal ġid ta’ pajjiżhom u ta’ nieshom. Meta rċieva l-invit, Ġorġ jistqarr li kien baqa’ skantat għax ma setax jobsor min setà kien li nnominah. Wara dan, l-ewwel ħsieb tiegħu kien li hu qatt f ’ħajtu ma kien libes ingravata! U issa kellu jilbes waħda bilfors! Għalhekk mar xtara waħda li fi kliemu kienet, “waħda kif għandha tkun.”

Ġorġ jirrakkonta li kif wasal il-palazz, kien hemm tliet suldati għassa li hu ma kienx jafhom iżda li huma lilu kienu għarfuh. Għalkemm dawn is-suldati jkunu fuq xogħolhom u ma tantx ikellmu nies f ’mumenti bħal dawn, wieħed minnhom talbu; “Ġorġ, qabblilna waħda.” U kif kien jagħmel dejjem, Ġorġ pront qallu; “Jien u int nibqgħu ħbieb, għax ħa tħallini nidħol mill-bieb.” Dawk tbissmu u wrewh it-triq għal fuq. Ġorġ jiddeskrivi li kif beda’ tiela’ ttaraġ għas-sala l-kbira tal-Palazz, beda jħossu ftit anzjuż minħabba l-fatt li, skont hu kien ħa jkun qalb ħafna nies ta’ skola u hu ħdejhom, ma kien jaf xejn. Malajr serraħ rasu għax kulħadd laqgħu tajjeb u inzerta li kien hemm patri jafu, Patri Rafel Ellul. Hekk setà jgħid kelma miegħu u l-kumplament tal-ħin ta’ stennija biex din iċ-ċerimonja tibda, b’dan Ġorġ ma rahx. Iċ-ċerimonja kienet ħadet madwar siegħa u nofs. Matulha l-President Ugo

SENIOR TIMES ‒ ApRIl 2017

Mifsud Bonniċi ppreżentalu l-medalja, ħadu ritratt flimkien u hekk Ġorġ jistqarr li dak il-ħin imbagħad ikkalma xi ftit. Wara li ngħataw il-medalja l-kumplament ta’ dawk li kien hemm mistiedna biex jirċievu din, sar riċeviment żgħir tal-okkażjoni fejn Ġorġ bis-soltu kariżma tiegħu ma tilifx mument biex ifittex ikompli jqabbel, saħansitra issa, anke mill-Palazz tal-President. U Ġorġ f ’radda ta’ salib beda jgħid lil kulħadd; “Kunu nies ta’ qalb ħanina, ferħanin u bi tbissima.”

Kliem prezzjuż TAgħlIM

B’nostalġija, Ġorġ jiftakar li dakinhar kien iltaqa’ wkoll mal-Arċisqof Emeritu, illum il-mibki Ġużeppi Mercieca. Fl-aħħar taċ-ċerimonja, ħadu ritratt ilkoll flimkien u mbagħad kulħadd erħielha lura lejn daru.

Stejjer ta’ nieS Tonio Bonello fuq il-proġett Maltin. Bosta drabi, l-istorja ta’ bniedem tinkiteb ussir magħrufa wara li dan aktarx ikun miet. Drabi oħra, l-istorja ta’ bniedem tindifen miegħu u ma tkun magħrufa qatt. Huma ftit dawk l-individwi li ħajjithom tasal sal-lapes u lkarta u tibda titħażżeż biex xi darba tingħata l-forma ta’ tifkira ħajja. Ħafna nies ta’ statura, ta’ għarfien, mhux neċessarjament akkademiku iżda ta’ ħila interna, ta’ intelliġenza kbira, mid-dinja kull ma ħadu kien biss dulur u inkwiet. Uħud minn dawn saħansitra kienu mgħoddija b’imġienen. Ironikament, eżatt mal-mewt ta’ xi ħadd, erħilu mbagħad il-popolin jipprova jagħmel minn dak li ħalliena, qaddis. Saħansitra qabel biss jikkunsidra jiftaħlu kawża għal kanonizazzjoni, jew almenu beatifikazzjoni. Maltin se jkun qed iwassal l-istejjer ta’ wħud fost ħutna Maltin u Għawdxin li, saż-żmien tal-istorja tagħhom pubblikata, nittama jkunu għadhom ħajjin, mimlija bl-għomor magħna. Maltin mhux xi kejl li jħares lejn kulur, edukazzjoni jew klassi soċjali. Leżempju ta’ Ġorġ Agius f ’dan ix-xogħol hu wieħed klassiku. Bniedem millaktar umli u sempliċi, sadattant, fost il-ftit li ntagħżel min-nazzjon biex ingħata Ġieħ ir-Repubblika. Maltin se jiddiversifika fl-oqsma u daqstant ieħor fil-personaġġi li se jkun qed iwassal. Minn politikanti sa kantanti. Minn reliġjużi sa kittieba. Minn xandara sa ħassieba. Mhux neċessarjament li setgħu kisbu suċċess b’dak li għamlu, iżda li forsi kienu sens ta’ ispirazzjoni biex laffarijiet fil-ħajja mxew mod u mhux ieħor. Li setgħu wrew kemm fil-profond tagħhom, u li huma tassew Maltin.

Kif iltqajt ma’ ĠorĠ Ġorġ Agius twieled nhar it-28 ta’ Lulju 1926 u llum jgħodd 91 sena. Ftit aktar minn erba’ snin ilu, minn dak li kont smajt dwaru u partikolarment ilfamużi taqbiliet tiegħu, rajt f ’Ġorġ, enċiklopedija oħra umana.

It-tagħlim li tani l-Mulej, nixtieq jasal fil-widnejn. għax jekk inħallih jgħaddi, minnu jien ma nagħti xejn.

Qatt f ’ħajti ma stajt inniżżel kultura fejn għandna fostna tant imħuħ f ’oqsma diversi tal-ħajja, li llum jew għada, bħali u bħalek għad iħallu din id-dinja u magħhom jiġi fix-xejn lgħarfien kollu li kellhom, bla ma jsir xejn. Xtaqt li b’sens mill-aktar modest, nipprova nibdel kultura. L-ewwel fost dawn li messitu din ix-xorti, Ġorġ magħruf bħala ‘tal-Mużew’. Ma kinetx triq faċli. Issib il-bibien kollha jingħalqu quddiem wiċċek. Tħossok qed tgħum kontra kull kurrent. Meta bdejt naħdem waħdi dan ixxogħol (qabel aktar tard bdejt nassenja kollegi oħra) kont qalbi mtertqa Ġorġ għadx ikun għadu miegħi jew le biex itini l-informazzjoni li ninħtieġ. Għal min ma jafx, Ġorġ la jaf jaqra u lanqas jikteb. Dak kollu li għamel tul ħajtu, ħareġ kollu frott intelliġenza straordinarja li għandu ta’ taqbil spontanju, prattikament dwar kollox u kulħadd. Għalkemm dan minnu nnifsu hu sabiħ, iżda ma’ kull siegħa u jum li jgħaddi, għalija kien ifisser sogru dejjem jiżdied. Għajr għal xi karti żgħar li sibt b’xi taqbil minn inħawi diversi, il-maħżen ta’ dan kollu ma kienu l-ebda arkivji, l-ebda kompjuter, iżda biss moħħ Ġorġ. L-ewwel miraklu għalhekk kien li għall-grazzja tal-ħanin Alla, Ġorġ baqa’ magħna u għadu magħna mimli bl-għomor biex seta’ nġabar tant xogħol, li llum li ħdimtu, studjajtu, irriċerkajtu u naf x’inhu, dan ngħidlu teżor imprezzabbli. It-tieni miraklu kien is-sens ta’ ispirazzjoni li Alla dejjem tani. Irrid ngħid li l-istorja ta’ Ġorġ hi waħda mill-aktar sempliċi, umli, bla ebda episodji jirrakkuntaw xi passi kbar ’il quddiem filħajja jew xi suċċessi f ’kuntest ta’ dak kif tifhem is-soċjetà. Imnebbaħ minn dawn it-taqbil u poeżiji żgħar ta’ Ġorġ rajt li l-pass li jmiss kellu jkun dak li nidħol fil-profond ta’ dawn ix-xogħlijiet, uħud minnhom tant żgħar u nipprova nistudjahom taħt diversità ta’ lenti. Dan permezz ta’ numru ta’ professjonisti. Kien f ’dan il-kuntest li involvejt f ’dan ix-xogħol numru ta’ personalitajiet, ilkoll awtorità fl-oqsma rispettivi tagħhom. Dawn tkellmu dwar Ġorġ u

ħidmietu mill-perspettiva ta’ kull studju u professjoni tagħhom rispettivament. Hekk, fost oħrajn, ħadt id-dimensjoni tad-dinamika tal-moħħ u l-element psikjatriku f ’persuna partikulari bħal mhu Ġorġ. L-element filosofiku b’dak li ried iwassal. L-element letterarju bħala xogħol fil-lingwa tagħna, anke jekk qatt ma kien miktub. L-element saħansitra komiku fejn għandek imitazzjoni talkarattru ta’ Ġorġ li tant kien popolari fiż-żmien reċenti. U l-kumplament. Ridt nagħti aktar ħajja lil dan ilkarattru tant ħelu u umli fl-istess ħin. Ħajja fil-kuntest ta’ kif iqis u jifhem biha l-ħajja bniedem. Rajt li persuna oħra, bl-istess qies umli, iżda enerġetika, b’rieda u forza li dejjem tkun ta’ servizz għas-soċjetà kellha tkun l-Eċċellenza Tagħha, il-President ta’ Malta, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca li, bi pjaċir ngħid, mill-ewwel aċċettat li tagħmel daħla għal dan ix-xogħol. Ikkollaborajt dan ma’ dinjitarju ieħor distint Malti. F’dawn l-aħħar jiem kont qed nipproduċi sensiela televiżiva għall-istazzjon nazzjonali u fost ħafna oħrajn irnexxieli nintervista l-Eċċellenza Tiegħu, il-Kardinal Agostinjan Malti, Monsinjur Prospero Grech. Aktar minn kollox, nistqarr kien miraklu ieħor u mhux kumbinazzjoni li nsir naf li l-Kardinal Grech fil-fatt għandu 90 sena u ironikament, bħal Ġorġ huwa wkoll mill-Birgu. Il-fatt li ħajjet il-Kardinal qatt ma kienet hawn Malta, nistqarr kienet diffiċli għalih jipprova jaħseb min seta’ kien dan Ġorġ Agius li jqabbel. Ta’ Kardinal li hu iżda, malajr irnexxielu jasal għal kompromess. Mal-approvazzjoni tiegħu bgħattlu lparti l-kbira tat-taqbil ta’ Ġorġ u fi ftit jiem biss wara l-Kardinal bagħatli ddaħla tiegħu. Qasira kemm trid, iżda daqstant ieħor oriġinali u relevanti. La darba dan ix-xogħol hu dwar personaġġ li jqabbel, il-Kardinal ħass li l-indirizz tiegħu ma kellu jieħu l-ebda sura għajr dik ta’ taqbila. Fil-fatt, id-daħla tal-Kardinal hi sempliċi taqbila b’rispett u apprezzament għal ħidmet Ġorġ, bl-istess sempliċità li dejjem uża Ġorġ fir-rakkonti u t-taqbil tiegħu.

l-iskop tiegħu huwa wieħed, li ngħixu dejjem aħjar. Niddrittaw dak li hu mgħawweġ, nagħmluh permezz tal-qrar. Mill-quddies toqgħodx imbiegħed, il-bieb għal kulħadd miftuħ. ħabib tiegħi, qerr u tqarben, inti bħali għandek ruħ!

l-għANNEj TAl-MulEj Hawn aħna l-aħwa! Bir-rispett lil kulħadd sellem, Tiżbaljax meta titkellem. Filgħodu u filgħaxija, roddu s-salib mingħajr mistħija. Meta jkun se jitlagħlek żomm il-brejk, Kemm bi snienek, u kemm b’xofftejk.

ĠORĠ TAl-ħAxIx Ara kemm kelli, Ful u piżelli u qarabagħli, Ċkejken u tari. u għandi l-basal u l-patata u ħass u invidja u insalata. għandi l-bżar aħdar, brunġiel sabiħ, u kemm hu tajjeb meta taqligħ. Tadam żenguli, aħmar qatigħ, Ma fihx imħassar, kollu sħiħ. u għandi l-għeneb u l-bettiegħ, Ixtri kilo, biex lir-raġel wara l-ikel minnu ttih. ħawħ, għajn baqar u bettiegħ! u għandi l-mandolina, Kemm hi tajba bil-qoxra fina, il-mandolina!

L-istorja ta’ Ġorġ, il-ġabra taqbil, lintervisti, ir-riċerka u l-kumplament ħadu erba’ snin sħaħ. L-istorja ta’ Ġorġ iżda mhix il-bidu u t-tmiem. Hija l-bidu ta’ ġrajja. Maltin hu proġett ta’ 24sevenMedia b’kollaborazzjoni ma’ Miller Distributors Ltd. u negozji Agenda. ●

SENIOR TIMES ‒ ApRIl 2017

STRINGS ATTACHED Carpenter Crispin Attard may no longer make folk guitars – but their melody lives on, Fiona Vella says.

lthough many years have passed, Crispin Attard can never forget the date when he started to make folk guitars. “It is difficult to miss that date because it is written up there,” he said, as he pointed up at the wall of his workshop, where he had hung a fragment of the Royal Air Force Vulcan bomber which exploded on the village of Żabbar on October 14, 1975. On that day, Crispin was purchasing guitar chords from a shop, when a man came in and informed them that an airplane had just fallen on Żabbar. Crispin was shocked at this news because his family lived there – until today, he has no idea how he managed to arrive home in order to confirm that all his relatives were fine. Since childhood, he had showed keen interest to become a carpenter and when he learnt the trade, that was how he earned a living for himself and his family. Initially, he manufactured doors and windows and then he got involved in boat-building. Eventually, some friends convinced him to attempt to repair their guitars, until the day came when he started manufacturing his own folk guitars.

Photos stuck on the walls of his workshop show some of the guitars which he has constructed. One of these photos is very dear to him, showing a particular guitar known as kitarra tat-tromba which has a distinct function since its sound comes out from two sections. Originally, this type of guitar was made by Indri lPupa who was from Qormi but when he passed away, Crispin was requested to continue after him and he learnt how to construct it.

His guitars carry a distinctive design in mahogany and ash inlays There are various types of folk guitars. The guitar (kitarra) is the biggest one in size and depth. Then there is the cutaway guitar – this has a missing part in its body in order to make it easier for the player to pass his hand from underneath it. A smaller guitar known as kiterrina is narrower. This is followed by a

guitar known as terzin and another one named pastardin which is the shortest and narrowest of all guitars. The latter emits a very singular howling

sound which makes is ideal to accompany a particular style of folk singing and is optimal to blend with the voice of some folk singers.

Although some may believe that the chords differentiate between the guitars’ timbre, in reality, this is influenced by their wood. In fact, guitars are

SENIOR TIMES ‒ ApRIl 2017

NOSTALGIA DOWN MEMORY LANE

not constructed from the same type of wood and Crispin spends several hours selecting the best material. As years went by, Crispin became very renowned for his guitars and the best folk guitar players were his regular customers. His guitars were easily identified from the distinctive

design that he created out of mahogany and ash inlays. Crispin has four children, three females and a male, who cherish very much their father’s work but none have continued this work after him. He persevered to construct guitars well beyond age 80 but then there came a time when

he decided to take a rest. Nowadays, Crispin rarely visits his workshop in Triq ix-Xgħajra, Żabbar, where he spent so much time working and welcoming people. The void he left behind is felt strongly by all his loyal customers, as well as by neighbours and friends. ●

Time has an uncanny way of stealing things by simply fading them away from us. As we struggle to hold on to today’s fast paced world, some of us are simply left behind and the rest will only notice their loss when they are gone. A close look at the core areas of our villages and towns will reveal a bygone world hidden behind closed doors of abandoned old shops which once were so popular. Their discoloured signs displaying the name of the business in large lettering and that of the original owner in smaller ones seem eager to re-mind us of their presence. One of the main aims of Miranda Publishers’ latest publication Disappearing Malta: Crafts, Trades and Traditions 360˚ is to safeguard the memories of our dying local customs and the lives of those who were involved in them. Even if it is impossible to stop the steady advance of progress from making some of these crafts, trades and traditions no longer in demand, their documentation in narrative and pictures will defy their oblivion.

SENIOR TIMES ‒ ApRIl 2017

ARTI

Lenti fuq… Il-mibki mużiċist, artist u skultur Salvu Bugeja, magħruf għax-xogħlijiet tiegħu fl-armar tal-festi u opri oħra fil-knejjes.

alvu Bugeja twieled iż-Żurrieq nhar il-15 ta’ Marzu, 1920 (miet fit-28 ta’ Awissu 2010). Huwa studja fl-iskola Primarja taż-Żurrieq u kompla l-edukazzjoni sekondarja f ’St. Augustine School filBelt Valletta. Wara huwa attenda lMalta Society of Arts, Manufacture & Commerce f ’Palazzo De La Salle fil-Belt Valletta minn 1937-1938 fejn akkwista ċ-ċertifikat ‘School of Arts’. Wara mbagħad tgħallem id-disinn tal-figura għand is-surmastrijiet Ignazio Cefai u Edward Caruana Dingli. Fl-1939 bdiet il-gwerra u sab impjieg id-Dockyard. Fl-1942 huwa żżewweġ lil Ġuża u kellhom erbat itfal. Fl-ewwel tmien snin huma għexu gewwa Birkirkara sakemm fl-1950 marru joqogħdu ġewwa tas-Sliema. F’żogħżitu kien ipitter ix-xeni għalpalk għat-teatru fl-Azzjoni Kattolika. Wara l-istudju li għamel, intebah li barra l-pittura kien anke nklinat lejn iddisinn u beda jiżviluppa aktar dan ittalent. Hu kien attiv fil-każin ta’ Santa Katerina ġewwa ż-Żurrieq. Ġara illi l-kumitat ta’ dak iż-żmien ħass il-bżonn ta’ planċier għall-banda u daru lejn Salvu biex jagħmel ħafna

mix-xogħol hu. Hu nħasad għax kien nieqes mill-esperjenza. Pero’ ma qatgħax qalbu, u hawn sar l-ewwel kapulavur tiegħu speċjalment biż-żewġ iljuni fuq kull naħa tat-taraġ. Dan kien fl-1956.

Salvu huwa benefattur kbir tan-nazzjon Malti Minn hemm ma ħarisx lura! L-inklinazzjoni li kellu Salvu għall-arti kienet tremenda. Ix-xogħol ta’ l-iskultura tiegħu kien ikun purament maħluq minnu. Jibda billi joħloq id-disinn u mbagħad wara jgħaddi biex jaħdmu. Barra ħafna xogħolijiet fid-djar privati bħal linef, salotti Louis XVI, u sniedaq, imbagħad beda jikkonċentra fuq xogħolijiet fil-knejjes u għall-festi tradizzjonali bħal ma huma f ’każini u armar ta’ barra. Armar ta’ barra kien jikkonsisti f ’diversi modi. Kien ippinġi l-irħamar fuq kolonni. Kien joħloq ħafna disinji għal

Salvu waqt li jiskolpi l-planċier tal-Birgu.

pavaljuni u bandalori. Kien jgħamel disinji u jiskultura wkoll it-trofej. Għal dak li għandu xjaqsam ma’ każini, ħadem ħafna ilfaċċata ta’ barra tal-każin. Għal dak li hu xogħol fuq ġewwa l-każini, ħadem ħafna vetrini, arkivji u disinji ta’ bandalori għal banda. Fuq kollox, Salvu ħadem ukoll planċieri talbanda. Hu għamel tmienja minn dawn li huma mxerrdin ma’ Malta kollha. L-istil li kien jaħdem ħafna Salvu u kien jagħtih sodisfazzjon kbir kien dak talbarokk. Ngħaddu issa għal ħafna xogħolijiet li għandu f ’ħafna knejjes ġewwa pajjizna. Uħud

L-emblema ta’ l-ajkla talĠimgħa l-Kbira f’Bormla.

minn dawn jikkonsistu f ’ vent’artali, mejda artali, ambone diversi, niċeċ, loppi tal-linef, pedestalli, bankuni tal-forċini u għal lantern u bradelli f ’diversi parroċċi kemm għat-titular kif ukoll għall statwi oħra. Xogħol ieħor prominenti ta’ Salvu huwa konness mal-ġimgħa mqaddsa. Il-bradelli tal-Ġimgha l-Kbira ta’ Bormla u ta’ l-Isla huma kollha xogħolu. Hemm ukoll lemblema ta’ l-ajkla li tinġarr filpurċissjoni ta’ Bormla bl-S.P.Q.R. magħha hija wkoll maħduma minnu. U d-disinn tal-gradilja li tiċċirkonda l-monument ta’ l-Isla. Mal-bradelli li għamel ta’ l-Isla hemm inkluza wkoll dik tarRedentur. Xbieha ta’ puttin klassiku ta’ Salvu.

SENIOR TIMES ‒ ApRIl 2017

Pittura ta’ Salvu. Niċċa tad-Duluri li kien għamel huwa stess fid-Drydocks.

Self-portrait ta’ Salvu Bugeja.

Fuq livell internazzjonali, Salvu wkoll għamel xi xogħolijiet li kien iqabbdu l-gvern tal-ġurnata. Dawn jinkludu id-disinn tal-fanali li hemm fuq Kastilja, Strada Sant’ Anna l-Furjana u postijiet oħra. Għamel ukoll liskultura ta’ l-Arma tar-Repubblika li hemm Kastilja. Barra li kien pittur, diżinjatur, skultur u nduratur, Salvu kien ukoll mużiċist. Huwa daqq ħames strumenti f ’ħajtu: il-vjolinċell, kuntrabaxx, klarinett, saxafown u akkord-

jin. Bis-saxafown u l-kuntrabaxx huwa daqq ma’ orkestri u mużiċisti rinomati ġewwa pajjiżna bħal Jimmy Dowling, Oscar Lucas u Vinny. Pero’ minbarra dawn it-talenti sbieħ kollha, il-Mulej għogbu jżejjen lil Salvu bl-aqwa żewġ affarijiet: l-imħabba li kellu lejn il-familja u l-umilta’. Bniedem b’ħafna doni pero’ mingħajr ma jidher. Salvu ħallielna wirt kbir biex jitgawda minn kullħadd. ●

Salvu fuq il-kuntrabaxx ma’ l-orkestra ta’ Oscar Lucas.

JOSEPH BUGEJA

Salvu jisfuma pavaljun għall-festa ta’ Stella Maris.

Salvu jiddiżinja fil-workshop tiegħu.

SENIOR TIMES ‒ ApRIl 2017

TRAVEL

The weekend has just got longer For those who love to get away from the everyday routine for a couple of days, especially during weekends, this year is like no other says Ronald Cassar.

all it good timing or good luck, but this year, many of Malta’s national holidays start or end between weekends, with endless possibilities to plan a well-deserved short break. So choose your long weekend, start planning, pack your luggage and get ready to go see the continent.

WORKERS’ DAY, MAY 1 The next long weekend is the one starting on April 29 to Monday, May 1, Workers’ Day. If you love a bit of dark drama, celebrate the arrival of spring with witches and warlocks in the Harz Mountains of Brocken, Germany. What better way to signal the arrival of beautiful May than on a mountain top in the German Alps. According to local mythology, witches and warlocks gather on Walpurgisnacht – which takes its name from Saint Walburga, whose feast day is May 1 – at locations spread throughout the Harz Mountains. One of the best places to celebrate Walpurgisnacht is the town of Thale, where around 35,000 people arrive at this time of year for a weekend of rituals, local myths, good food and beer.

OUR LADY OF VICTORIES, SEPTEMBER 8 The feast of Our Lady of Victories gives us another long weekend in the second week of September. At this time of year, the Budapest Wine Festival sees wine aficionados from all over Europe descending to the Hungarian capital. Over the past years the Budapest Wine Festival has truly come of age – or aged well, pun intended – and is now one of the most prestigious events of its kind in

Europe. During this festival, those attending can enjoy many popular events, including a wine university, wine auction, arts festival and several live performances. Last year the festival – held in Buda Castle Hill – attracted tens of thousands of visitors, making it one of the largest wine festivals in Europe. This event is an experience for everyone who wants to learn about the art of winemaking, sample some of the best Hungarian wines, meet local wine makers and enjoy Hungarian gastronomy and folk music, all in a breathtaking setting. This year’s festival showcases more than 200 wine cellars from 15 countries, along with 60 different cultural programmes spread over the course of five days. In addition to domestic wines, many foreign vintages will also be exhibited thanks to renowned wine-traders, as well as the guest wine-region. Award winning wine-makers will be on-hand to answer questions, all against the backdrop of various music events.

cessions makes it hard to believe that Helsinki was not actually founded for the specific purpose of celebrating Christmas.

NEW YEAR, JANUARY 1

Fete des Lumieres in Lyon, France.

CHRISTMAS, DECEMBER 25 Christmas day is coming on a Monday this year – and that’s a good excuse to spend a weekend in Helsinki, Finland, also known as the ‘Christmas City’. The first substantial snow usually arrives during the second week of December in Finland, just in time for Christmas, draping the city in white and creating an appropriately festive ambiance.

The Christmas lights on Helsinki’s main streets, the hustle and bustle of shoppers and the smell of mulled wine at the famous St Thomas’ Christmas Market combine to create a cheering warmth. Although temperatures may plunge below -10 during this time of year, the mood will be one of warm conviviality. Shops and restaurants emit a welcoming glow and carol recitals in churches, including the world-famous Lucia pro-

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, DECEMBER 8 The feast of the Immaculate Conception gives travellers another possibility to get away before Christmas, although by this time of year, festive markets will be already in full and glitzy swing. If you are looking for something different, Lyon in France is the place for you during this weekend for the Fete des Lumieres – the three-day spectacular Festival of Lights. Featuring 80 light projections by different artists, this historical French city draws four million people annually as buildings, streets, parks and squares are illuminated with candles and lights providing a magical atmosphere.

New year ball in the Hofburg Palace, Vienna.

St Thomas Christmas market in Helsinki, Finland.

The New Year is also gifting us with another long weekend. Although most European cities celebrate the beginning of the year with fireworks displays, for the more discerning, the Silvesterball New Year’s Eve ball – a stunning, glamorous and lively event at the magnificent Hofburg Palace in the heart of Vienna, Austria – is the place to be. The event brings top class performers from Vienna’s best opera houses, as well as big name bands and orchestras under one roof for an unforgettable night of waltz and foxtrot. Those attending will also enjoy a gala dinner, open bars and a Viennese coffee house serving local delicacies. ●

SENIOR TIMES ‒ ApRIl 2017

NEWS

RA patients may benefit from using a pedometer

atients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who receive pedometers may be more active and feel less fatigued even if they are not told to use the trackers to aim for a specific number of steps, a small study suggests. Researchers randomly assigned 96 RA to get a pedometer with or without a daily step goal, or to get only educational brochures with advice on becoming more active. After 21 weeks, all people with pedometers were walking more on average each day: 1,441 additional steps without a step goal and 1,656 extra steps with a goal. But the patients who didn’t get pedometers actually got 747 fewer steps a day on average by the end of the study. Patients with pedometers reported statistically meaningful declines in fatigue during the study, but people who only got education did not.

“We found that increasing activity just through walking decreased fatigue,” said lead study author Dr Patricia Katz of the University of California, San Francisco. “Most of us probably don’t realise how inactive we are until we start measuring our daily activity,” Katz said. “Having a concrete goal, such as the number of daily steps, seems to help people become and stay active.” Every patient received the same educational brochure at the start. In the two groups that received pedometers, all of the participants were asked to keep a daily diary to record how many steps they logged. For one group with pedometers, researchers also assessed their activity levels at the start of the study and set goals for them to increase their average daily steps by 10 per cent every two weeks. At the start of the study, participants were 54

years old on average and were typically getting about 4,891 steps a day, which researchers classified as sedentary. Very few of them were getting at least 8,000 steps a day, which the researchers say is a healthy activity level. Beyond its small size, another limitation of the study is that researchers lacked data on how often participants wore the devices, which makes it difficult to get an accurate daily step count, the authors note in a paper in Arthritis Care and Research, April 5. It’s also possible that the pedometer groups might not have improved as much if they hadn’t also been recording their steps in a daily diary, which increases their engagement with the effort to be more active, said Dr. Mitesh Patel, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia who wasn’t involved in the study.

“Research indicates that for most people, pedometers and wearable devices are more likely to help change health behaviours if they are combined with an engagement strategy,” Patel said. Generally, pedometers are most useful for people who are sedentary and unaware of their own level of inactivity, said Dr. Lucas Carr, a physiology researcher at the University of Iowa who wasn’t involved in the study. “This simple intervention helped a very sedentary group of rheumatoid arthritis patients increase their activity at a level that is considered

clinically significant,” Carr said. “The largest health benefits are realised when an individual changes from doing nothing to doing something.” While the study included only people with rheumatoid arthritis, it’s possible pedometers might be useful for people with other chronic medical problems, said Dr. David Geier, an orthopedic surgeon sports medicine specialist in South Carolina who wasn’t involved in the study. “It seems reasonable to think they could help stimulate activity,” Geier said. “Physical activity would be helpful for almost everyone.” (Reuters)

SENIOR TIMES ‒ ApRIl 2017

COLLECTIONS

Time for watches

From the earliest period, the completed watch was, with few exceptions, the result of the combined efforts of skilled and ingenious craftsmen, David Thompson, guest curator of the Watches: From Timekeepers to Timesetters exhibition, says.

he story of the watch is rich and varied, spanning a period of just over 500 years. In that time, it has developed from an unreliable and erratic innovation to a precision instrument which now takes its time from atomic clocks of spectacular accuracy. From the earliest period, the completed watch was, with few exceptions, the result of the combined efforts of skilled and ingenious craftsmen who excelled in the arts of miniature clockmaking, of gold and silversmithing, of spring-making, gilding, engraving and other related and essential techniques. The high level of skill reached by these craftsmen is evident in the work they produced. Exactly when, where and by whom the watch was invented is not known. Written evidence exists for watches first being made in South Germany at the beginning of the 16th century. The most commonly quoted piece of text is that contained in Johannes Cocleu’s Cosmographia Pomponii Melae written in 1512. He refers to a young man named Peter Hele (Henlein) who made ‘objects which astonished the most learned mathematicians; out of very little iron he made timepieces with very many wheels, which, without any weights and in any position, indicated and ran for 40 hours even if contained within a purse or pouch’. During the 16th century, the Germanic watchmakers were centred largely in cities such as Augsburg, Nuremberg and Munich, and benefited from aristocratic patronage. At the same time, clockmaker/watchmaker guilds began to be established in, for example, Augsburg in 1564 and Nuremberg in 1565. While there were watchmakers in the Northern cities, it seems that their output was far less prolific. By the third quarter of the 16th century, watch-making can be seen to have begun in France and Flanders and in the Southern Netherlands, but actual watches from this period

do not appear to have survived, for it is not until about 1580 that there are any watches which can be reliably dated and accepted as authentic. It is in the last quarter of the 16th century that religion plays a big part in spreading the knowledge of watchmaking to England. Following the Spanish occupation of the Netherlands and the beginning of the 80 Years’ War in 1568, a number of watch-makers fled their homeland to settle in London. In France, a similar story was to unfold following the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in 1572 and the continued persecution of protestant Huguenots. In the ensuing years and into the first decades of the17th century, a community of Huguenot watchmakers, engravers and silversmiths established themselves in the Blackfriars area of London, where they made an important contribution to the development and refinement of the art in London. The wars of religion in France and the massive decline of the trade in the Holy Roman Empire brought about by the 30 Years’ War allowed London to grow rapidly in the first half of the 17th century as a major watchmaking centre. At the same time, there was an exodus of skilled craftsmen from Lyon and other centres of watchmaking in eastern France to Calvinist Geneva. The middle years of the 17th century can be seen as the age of fabulous and flamboyant decoration. Watches, particularly those made in Paris, Blois and Geneva, were housed in beautiful enamel, rock-crystal and engraved silver cases. Perhaps unexpectedly, there seems to have been little use of gold in this period unless it was as a base for enamel work. However, it may simply be that as items of fashion – as these watches undoubtedly

which is worn to be seen was more impressive when highly ornate. A watch worn in a pocket and used primarily to tell the time did not need to be. It comes as no surprise, therefore, to see the emergence of a new form of plain cased watch with an outer protective case. A new era had arrived in which the watch’s prime function was as a timemeasuring instrument. In 1657, Christiaan Huygens had introduced the pendulum as the revolutionary timekeeping element for static clocks, transforming them into machines capable of marking time to within a minute per day. In 1675, it was to be Huygens in The Hague who introduced the spiral balance. That his adversary, Robert Hooke in London, claimed to have invented the device some years before and commissioned Thomas Tompion to make him such a watch containing his invention, is to this day a subject of debate in the horological world. This new device produced a revolution in timekeeping. The watch

were – when they ceased to be in vogue, they were broken up and the gold reused for other purposes. In the third quarter of the 17th century, another innovation came into being, that of the integral pocket in clothing, and it is perhaps not surprising to find that watches changed their appearance to fit their new location. A watch

before this time had been erratic in performance and with deviations from the accurate to a quarter of an hour per day. Now, minutes and even seconds could be viable as units of measured time on a watch. In 1687, the quarter-repeat mechanism function appeared, which allowed the owner to hear the hours and quarters struck on a bell inside the case, when the pendant was pushed in. During the 18th century, the alarm watch and the striking clock-watch became far less popular, but the watch with quarter-repeat became perhaps the most desirable. The 18th century was one of consolidation and expansion. London saw a rise to eminence which had begun in the last years of the previous century. Religious intolerance in France, culminating in the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, produced a further exodus of Huguenots, particularly to England, and among the refugees were numerous watchmakers who set up in business in the 1690s, swelling the growing numbers of indigenous craftsmen. The French industry went into a decline which would last for most of the century. In Switzerland, in the 18th century, the industry similarly saw a fall in for tunes which was not to be reversed until the next century. Watchmaking in Flanders and the Southern Netherlands would not recover. During the 18th and 19th centuries, there were many and varied technical improvements to the watch, mostly involving the introduction of new escapements and attempts to eliminate the everpresent effects on accurate timekeeping caused by changes in temperature. In 1842, in London, Pierre Frédéric Ingold

SENIOR TIMES ‒ ApRIl 2017

From Timekeepers to Timesetters

introduced a process of making watches using precision machines to manufacture the components. This process, already under way in the manufacture of clocks in America and in France, revolutionised the rate at which watches could be produced. Ingold was not received well in London and after a short time, he left for America. It was not long before he was back in his native Switzerland, and it was both there and in the United States that his processes were adopted. By the later years of the 19th century, Switzerland and America were leading the world in the manufacture of huge numbers of affordable and reliable watches. The English makers were reluctant to adopt this new technology and, as a

result, fell into rapid decline. Towards the end of the 19th century, a new fashion began for wearing the watch on a bracelet or strap around the wrist. This fashion gained popularity in the years leading up to World War I, and afterwards became pretty well universal, although the pocket watch continued in use until well into the 1950s. It was also in the 1950s that the development of electro-mechanical and electronic watches was made possible by the introduction of a battery small enough to fit inside a wristwatch, but powerful enough to provide electrical energy over a long period. Electro-mechanical watches, however, had only a short

period of popularity because they were quickly over taken dramatically by a revolutionary new technology using a vibrating quartz crystal as the timekeeping element. From its introduction in 1969 by Seiko in Japan, by Hamiltons in America and by the Centre Électronique Horloger in Neuchatel, Switzerland, the quartz watch set new standards in accuracy. The watch has come from half an hour a day approximate time to one second in the history of the universe all in the space of half a millennium. The mechanical watch, however, was not to be consigned to oblivion. In the face of all opposition, it is still a much sought after and admired form of time-keeping. ● This article has been extracted and summarised from the essay published in the catalogue ‘Watches: From Timekeepers to Trendsetters’ by David Thompson.

The 2015 temporary exhibition at Palazzo Falson, held from November 2015 till February 2016, in collaboration with Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti, was the fifth in the series of shows which took as its starting point an artefact or collection at Palazzo Falson, building around it by loaning several other artefacts from Maltese private and public collections. The exhibition, entitled Watches: From Timekeepers to Timesetters, was about antique watches. Palazzo Falson has a small but varied collection of such watches, which includes one of the earliest watches found in Malta, made by Isaac Haas of Haarlem and dating to around 1690. The star of the collection was the Museum’s extremely rare decimal dial watch by Robert Robin, which was made to measure French Revolutionary time, based on the decimal principle. The exhibition was curated by David Thompson, senior curator of Horology at the British Museum until his recent retirement.

SENIOR TIMES ‒ APRIL 2017

CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

EASY CROSSWORD 1

29. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36.

6 7

7 8

8 10

24 27

DOWN 1. Abyss (5) 2. Fabric (5) 3. Strongbox (4) 4. Post off (5) 5. Month (4) 6. Profession (6) 9. Implant (6) 11. Encountered (3) 12. Flowering plant (5) 13. North Star (7) 15. Manipulate (3) 16. Beseech (3) 18. Man’s name (6) 20. Incompetent (5) 21. Metal (3) 22. Cover (3) 23. Swimming costume (6) 25. Vehicle (3) 28. So far (2,3) 30. Humble (5) 31. Leaven (5) 32. Net (4) 33. Indian dress (4)

13 15

15 17

34 35

34 35 36

ACROSS 4. To keep it trim, work out! (6) 7. Release a document as a matter of choice (4,4) 8. When not working, I had fish (6) 10. Take up or perform in a suitable case (5) 13. Bobby’s named after him (4) 14. Peruvian mail-sorting centre (4) 15. Thanks to the navy, one might sail on it (4) 16. In college, little girl, you have more than one! (3) 17. Does such travel mean trouble at the tourist centre? (4) 19. A layer of cake? (4) 21. Sneer, making the girl’s dad blow his top! (9) 23. A dish incompetently made? (4) 24. Demand for telephonic communication (4) 26. A month of uncertainty? (3) 27. Some civic reward for the sailors (4) 29. Stone means nothing to a pet dog (4) 32. It’s raised when one is in sad disarray (4) 33. The porpoise’s tail is for balance (5) 34. Opens up to get extra points (6) 35. Old Nat (4,4) 36. Sea song a six-footer’s bashful about (6) DOWN 1. A vegetarian wouldn’t take it from a Labour leader (5) 2. Maybe one figures out it’s poisonous (5) 3. Tease the silly fellow (4) 4. Airman adjusting a rifle (5) 5. Something bitter that’s good for everybody (4) 6. One bell resembling another? (6) 9. Have such surgeons a theatre in Deal? (6) 11. Pickpocket’s chance to get lucky? (3) 12. Where grisettes go around in pairs? (5) 13. They house a beginner in space, possibly (7) 15. It turns soft in the end (3) 16. In general, it keeps you out of the draught (3) 18. A receptacle (One holding cash, perhaps?) (6) 20. A cold house (5) 21. One dealt with intermittently in a diary? (3) 22. Are such materials for making war? (3) 23. The Scottish corn is high (6) 25. The “town” variety, as at Gateshead? (3) 28. To start rising above a certain limit is chancy (5) 30. Spike with a broken point (5) 31. Look out for midwives in a bar (5) 32. Chaldean cleric? (4) 33. They’ve a fat chance of flying! (4) MARCH ISSUE SOLUTIONS: ACROSS: 1. Torch 6. Spa-W-n 9. Hop-eful 10. Strap 11. Nudge 12. MInds 13. Minera-L 15. Cos 17. Edit(-h) 18. Tale-NT 19. To-we-l 20. T-revor 22. Semi 24. Her 25. (i-)Slander(-s) 26. Pi-e-ty 27. Magic 28. A-toll 29. S-alien-t. 30. I-Deal 31. Tying. DOWN: 2. Outb-I-d 3. Ch-ale-t 4. H-Op. 5. Devil 6. Sundial 7. Plus 8. WIgeon 12. Manor 13. Me-ath 14. N-ice-r 15. C-eded 16. Stair 18. Telly 19. Topical 21. Reward 22. S-not-ty 23. Merlin 25. Staid (stayed) 26. P-is-a 28. Ant.

ACROSS 4. Decline (6) 7. Migraine (8) 8. Colliers (6) 10. Grin (5) 13. Yearn (4) 14. Bill of fare (4) 15. Decomposes (4)

16. 17. 19. 21. 23. 24. 26. 27.

Amuse oneself (4) Untidy state (4) Shop (5) Stringy (6) Gemstones (8) Faulty shot (6)

Sleeping place (3) Bucket (4) Row (4) Bell sound (4-1-4) Tie fast (4) Anger (4) Flipper (3) Loot (4)

MARCH ISSUE SOLUTIONS: ACROSS: 1. Spite 6. Douse 9. Halibut 10. Treat 11. Bison 12. Music 13. Reveres 15. Pew 17. Odes 18. Humane 19. Pleas 20. Angers 22. Mead 24. Lee 25. Legally 26. Milan 27. Hades 28. Buxom 29. Reviser 30. Ceded 31. Teeth. DOWN: 2. Parted 3. Thames 4. Eat 5. Minus 6. Dubious 7. Otic 8. Spoken 12. Meals 13. Royal 14. Verge 15. Panel 16. Weedy 18. Haven 19. Praised 21. Negate 22. Mature 23. Almost 25. Latin 26. Mere 28. Bet.

WORD SEARCH U

Abject Abolish Acute Arisen Begun Colic Cosmos Delta Deters Earns

Ended Engraver Evoke Excel Finales Incline Judge Lands Leery Melody

Moral Neural Occupation Ocular Omega Oneself Overly Phone Prerequisites Queue

Recur Redone Rivet Saved Scorn Slowness Swindle Valuable Walnuts Yield

SENIOR TIMES ‒ APRIL 2017

Ngħidu kelma

COMPETITION

QWIEL MALTIN U XI JFISSRU Fid-dinja pinta ħelu u bettija morr. Life gives you a pint of sweetness and a barrel of bitterness. M’hemmx warda bla xewk. There is no rose without thorns. Il-grazzja aqwa mill-ġmiel. Charm is stronger than beauty.

Wiġi u t-Teżori ta’ Kemuna by Monica Gatt.

Il-qalb tal-bniedem bosk. The human heart is like a forest. Tmiem tajjeb isewwi kollox. All’s well that ends well. Aħjar uff milli aħħ. It’s better to be bored than to be in pain.

Kliem ġdid

Presenting the past This month, we are once again giving away a set of 12 replica prints by Richard Ellis. To win, identify the locations (street and city) of the photograph on this page and send your answers via e-mail to seniortimes@timesofmalta.com or by post to ‘Senior Times Competition’, Allied Newspapers Limited, Strickland House, 341, St Paul Street, Valletta VLT 1211. The first correct answer that we receive will win a set of 12 replica prints by Richard Ellis. The second and third runner-up win one of the above-mentioned books, courtesy of Book Distributors Limited (BDL).

Il-Misteri tat-Tabib Gustav Harding by Elio Lombardi.

The winners of the March Senior Times Richard Ellis competition are Ian Zammit (wins a set of 12 replica prints by Richard Ellis), Henri Coleiro (wins a copy of Il-Bravu ta’ Venezja by Giuseppe Cumbo) and Anthony Fleri (wins a copy of Għall-Magħmul M’Hemmx Kunsill by Liliana Risiott).

Kull lingwa tirrifletti l-użanzi, xewqat, u taqlib li kull poplu jgħaddi minnhom. Skond ilpaġna tal-Facebook ‘Kelma’, li jieħu ħsieb Michael Spagnol, għalliem fl-Università ta’ Malta, dawn il-kliem, u ħafna oħrajn, qed isiru ferm popolari.

Borrinu F’każ ferm remot illi jagħmel is-silġ Malta, issa għandna kelma għal ‘snowman’.

Stramħabbat Meta jkollok ħafna x’tagħmel.

Ġobnuż

SUDOKU

1 6 3

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9

6 8 3 4 5 2 9 1 7

4 1 2 6 7 9 3 5 8

7 9 5 1 3 8 4 2 6

9 2 6 5 1 4 7 8 3

5 3 4 8 6 7 1 9 2

8 7 1 9 2 3 5 6 4

1 6 7 3 8 5 2 4 9

2 4 8 7 9 1 6 3 5

3 5 9 2 4 6 8 7 1

2 8 9 4 8

9 9 8

4 7

8 9 4 3 2 1

3 4 6 2

7 2 1

Maqluba b’mod dirett millkelma ‘cheesy’, din tirreferi għal xi ħaġa li hija romantika iżżejjed.

Ir-rebbieħa tax-xahar lieħor hija Marion Higgins, li rebħet kopja talktieb Fil-Kċina m’Anton: Ikel Bnin Għall-Kontroll tal-Kolesterol, grazzi għal Book Distributors Limited (BDL).

SENIOR TIMES ‒ ApRIl 2017

TECHNOLOGY

Stay safe

DR K

BO NO

Qis mitt darba u aqta’ darba Think twice before you act. When online, be wary of who to trust – cyber criminals hide

Mhux kull ma jleqq hu deheb All that glitters is not gold. Free online goodies or gifts may serve as tricks to entice you to fall into traps designed for malicious intent. Also, be wary of fake support calls claiming to be from a reputable organisation and who claim that that there is a technical problem on your computer that needs to be fixed. In the process, they will seek to obtain personal details about

HOW PROVERBS KEEP YOU SAFE ONLINE

as possible after affecting an online purchase. Refrain from accepting friend requests from unknown persons on social media – they may not necessarily be whom they claim to be.

To surf safely, use your common sense.

behind the anonymity of the internet. Whoever poses himself or herself online may not necessarily be whoever you may be led to believe. Be wary of e-mails purporting to be from a known authority or reputable organisation asking for sensitive information or asking to confirm personal details such as passwords. Institutions such as banks do not ask for personal information over e-mail. It is best to verify in case of doubt from the source from where the communication is purported to have been sent. Such e-mails may also ask you to follow a website link which may look familiar. Double check that the website link is spelt correctly – for example mitrosoft.com instead of microsoft.com. Cyber criminals often pose seemingly legitimate websites so as to deceive you. In any case, do not follow links via e-mails but type in the website link – the URL - that you usually use.

C IA

ver the past three decades, technology has evolved in a dramatic manner – and it is set to continue doing so in the foreseeable future. Through the internet, technology is now increasingly part of our daily lives, bringing endless possibilities, from instant connectivity and communication with our relatives and friends far and near to easier shopping from the comfort of our homes and finance management. However such opportunities do not come without risks as ultimately we are one global village on the internet – like in real world, not every individual is well intentioned. Cybersecurity is generally about internet safety. This includes the protection of anything connected to or that is accessible online, including networks, devices such as computers and mobiles, data stored or exchanged, and last but not least, the users themselves. The internet is ultimately a public domain and hence it needs to be treated with awareness, prudence and caution. Just like you use locks and possibly also take other security safeguards to keep burglars away from home, so should be the case with your personal devices such as the computer or mobile. A number of crimes nowadays are being perpetrated online. Possible forms of online crimes targeting the elderly include fake phone calls and e-mails or websites which often seek to gain personal sympathy or trust to elicit sensitive information for fraudulent purposes. As with everything, the best approach to avoid becoming a victim is to use common sense and the words of wisdom used in our language.

Online opportunities come with risks attached. Here is how to surf safely, says Dr Keith Cilia Debono, MITA’s consultant on cyber strategy.

E IT

you, access your computer, possibly infect your computer with malicious software and end up claiming payments in order for them to ‘fix’ the same problems they created. Reputable organisations do not call to conduct such activities. Do not feel ashamed of hanging up. Do not trust what cannot be immediately verified. For example, is it true that a friend, acquaintance or even a relative has sent you an e-mail claiming they have had his passport and wallet stolen overseas and that they need money immediately? Do not double-click on attachments inside e-mails, especially if such communication is unexpected or unsolicited. Such attachments may serve to infect your device and extract personal information. Il-mistoqsija oħt il-għerf When in doubt or suspicious, do not feel ashamed to ask or to verify. Take care what is said or done online as it is visible to others and worse still, cannot be erased. Refrain from revealing any personal information such as name, address, contact numbers, identity card number, or any other sensitive information to strangers online. Avoid visiting questionable online sites. One quick clue to determine whether a site is safe is if the Website link – the URL - begins with https://. Additionally, in case that you

would wish to visit sites such as those related to physical wellness and health, it would be best to look for sites ending in .edu (for education) or .gov (for government). For shopping online, apart from checking whether a site is safe, it is also recommended to use a credit card for online purchase as they have some level of protection that debit cards do not. It is also recommended to check the credit card statements as often

Bniedem avżat, nofsu armat This advice may not be fully exhaustive, particularly considering the opportunities, and of course, the challenges of modern technology. It is not intended to cause a high level of alarm either. The use of technology as a way to stimulate interest and facilitate easier interaction with the wider world beyond the confines of our home is highly commendable. However, we all need to keep ourselves informed, understand the dangers we face online and convey such advice to others who may still not be very familiar with the use of technology. If we all become aware of who we are talking to, what we are saying and what we are sharing, online, we can all make a difference. ●

DON’T BE DECEIVED These recommendations are more based upon practical advice, given that cyber criminals increasingly tend to apply deceptive tactics or as they are better termed within the cyber security domain as social engineering methods to be able to reach their malicious ends. There are also a number of technical precautions that are recommended. It’s important that a mobile or tablet are treated as devices susceptible to the same security risks as a desktop computer. Hence, for all devices, it is thus strongly recommended to: • install anti-virus software. Such software is updated by its suppliers from time to time – the updates of which are sent online. Allow such updates, so as to ensure the effectiveness of the antivirus software in the light of the ever evolving malicious software in circulation. • allow for operating system or application software updates, or patches, as they are more widely known. These are aimed to address security vulnerabilities within the operating systems or software applications and are rendered available from time to time by respective suppliers. • Apply security access safeguards such as the use of passwords or security PINs (in the case of mobile) to make unauthorised access more difficult. Keep in mind that such devices are a personal belonging, containing at least a small amount of your personal identity that merit safety attention just like a normal wallet.

SENIOR TIMES â&#x20AC;&#x2019; ApRIl 2017

SENIOR TIMES ‒ apRIl 2017

OPINION

Ajma! As humans, we all face moments in life when we revert to the heavily-loaded interjection “ajma” in order to relieve ourselves from an unbearable situation, says Christine Galea from the Cana Movement.

It is mostly at our own discretion how we withstand trying circumstances.

On the one hand, we can choose to say “Ajma, it hurts uffa” (another untranslatable interjection) and withdraw with resignation into our shell. Or worse still, complain to all and sundry about how difficult our life is at that moment in time. On the other hand, we can acknowledge that yes, it is difficult, but choose to transcend that suffering by looking at our existence as a blessing, by trying to focus upon the positive aspects of our life. Transcending suffering does not mean that no suffering is present – rather in the midst of our anguish, we need to acknowledge that the situation is indeed challenging and painful, but it is an experience that has a great value. To transcend suffering, we cannot afford to judge or make logical sense of our painful feelings or our emotions, but rather, just be totally present with them and accept them as part and parcel of human existence. As human beings, we are used to resisting or thinking our way out of negative emotional states, or we try to distract ourselves with other more pleasant diversions, such as food, social media or other people’s company. But it is better to create a space in which we befriend our pain and identify with it. This will eventually lead us to be at peace with the circumstances as they actually are, not as we wish them to be. Once we accept our pain, then we will be able to offer it up as an expression of our love for others. We will be able to

attribute a value to our suffering which transcends the actual A

the idea that, if Jesus were Maltese, he could have easily drawn upon this word to express all the pain – both emotional as well as physical – that he felt in his last moments of suffering on Good Friday. In our human condition, we all face such moments in our life, moments which, mercifully, are sometimes fleeting, but others which we are compelled to endure for much longer. Yet it is mostly at our own discretion how we withstand trying circumstances.

ħej, look who’s coming” – to announce the arrival of disagreeable company. Yet for the purposes of this article, I wish to focus on one very particular articulation of “ajma”. When the accent falls on the first ‘a’, the word is uttered either as a sigh of relief, as a form of release from what we feel is an intolerable burden; or in a more pessimistic form, it expresses insupportable anguish or grief – “Ajma, I cannot bear to live like this much longer”. How many times have we found ourselves in a situation that we simply cannot tolerate facing a particularly difficult state of affairs, only to find momentary relief in articulating this short, but so heavily loaded interjection – “ajma”. At Eastertime, as a Catholic, I find myself pondering over

“A

jma” is one of those Maltese interjections that are frustratingly impossible to translate accurately into the English language. Not only. Even in our own language, it takes on a myriad of meanings, depending on the tone in which it is expressed. One could say that in its simplest form, spoken in staccato, the word “ajma” is exclaimed as an instant reaction to physical pain – “ouch, it hurts”. But there is so much more to the word than just that. Spoken with a long ‘j’ sound, it expresses contempt – “U ajjjma, who does she think she is” – almost as if one is scorning the other person. A long ‘a’ at the end of the word alters its meaning to express displeasure – “Ajmaaa

CH R I

pain. As a result, we will enhance our positive attributes such as kindness and compassion, rather than focusing inwardly on our grief and suffering. I must admit that I have struggled greatly with the question of suffering throughout my own life (and I still do at times), and I used to be very angry about any sort of distress which seems to ail most people at some time or another in their lives. However, the more I began to understand the value of suffering that is offered up for a greater glory, the more I began to appreciate its awesome and true value (for example, our afflictions can be strengthening, developing and moulding us for something greater that we must do later on in life), and I gradually opened myself up to suffering as an experience which enables me to be a stronger and better person, kinder and more compassionate towards the pain of others. Particularly during Easter, which will end on Pentecost Sunday, I augur that all those readers who may be passing through times of tribulation may begin to understand suffering in the light of the full picture, and that together with Jesus Christ, be empowered to suffer their trials with a sense of peace, in order that, they too may reap the fruits of their suffering on the day of glory. ●

SENIOR TIMES ‒ APRIL 2017

DENTAL CARE

Cavity causes, risks The replacement of a failing tooth due to gum disease with a dental implant

ery often we are unaware of tooth or gum disease. We pick up signals, but there is often no pain and in our opinion no real urgency to head to the clinic. When we finally dedicate time and effort to visit the dentist it is often too late.

SIGNS OF TOOTH/GUM DISEASE Colour of gums: Dark greyish border around teeth with bright red ulcerated gums with loss of the pink triangular gum inbetween teeth. Teeth are often mobile. Large holes in teeth: Unrestored cavities keep growing and generally give symptoms of pain however not always. Normally within a three-year period the cavity would have reached the nerve of the tooth requiring a root canal treatment. Multiple missing teeth: On-going carelessness and lack of concern for tooth loss would often land you many missing teeth. You realise that by your early 40s, you have lost many of your teeth, especially posterior ones. At the time you wouldn’t be very concerned as the teeth might not show on smiling but in time you notice you are being more selective on your food due to not being able to chew properly. Remaining teeth often overerupt, drift or space out leaving spaces and food traps. Tooth movement: This is common in later years as teeth move throughout our life. There is, however, a limit to natural tooth movement. Common complaints include spaces in the front upper teeth, inclining teeth. Patients often say their upper front teeth have always protruded but not as much, and they have somewhat worsened. Halitosis: This is often brought to someone’s attention through a partner or a member of the family. Although the cause of bad breath may come from the stomach or tongue, it is more likely to be poor oral health and gum disease. It is common and necessary to visit the dentist twice a year for a routine scale and polish but in many routine cases a more thorough scaling is required below the gum line. A hygienist performs this. The technical term used is periodontal treatment involving hand scaling

DR JEAN PAUL DEMAJO IS A DENTAL AND IMPLANT SURGEON. HE HAS TRAINED IN LONDON AND WORKS IN PRIVATE PRACTICE IN MALTA.

and root planning. Patients who undergo this treatment regularly feel an immediate difference, not only in the colour and smell but also in taste and comfort. Longer looking teeth: Gum disease causes the bone to be lost and the gum follows suit exposing the roots, appearing longer. Teeth are also left more sensitive. Mobile teeth: loss of bone and supporting tissue causes teeth to move.

A CASE SCENARIO A middle aged woman notices her upper front middle tooth is rotating, moving outwards, looking longer and has become more spaced out. Radiographs show little to no gum and bone attachment. Luckily she had good bone above the root. The tooth is mobile but symptomless; no pain. Aesthetically she wants it sorted and looking good. She is very conscious of it. Her options were using a removable denture or a fixed bridge or dental implant. She opted for the best option, a dental implant. Here is the sequence of events.

Of course prior to replacing any lost tooth, the initial cause must be eliminated or at least stabilised and kept that way. Gum treatment is mostly simple and straightforward. All you have to do is brush you teeth twice daily using a proper technique and have them cleaned professionally at the hygienist. Ask your dentist! ●

• Extraction of tooth and same day insertion of implant with same day placement of a fixed plastic tooth. The tooth was placed in the correct alignment and angle. • Four months later the plastic tooth was changed to an all-ceramic highly aesthetic metal-free crown with a customised zirconium post. • Extraction and immediate placement of conventional dentures (one week). • Placement of four upper and three lower implants: two months post-extraction of teeth while retaining her previously fabricated conventional dentures as a temporary measure. • Elimination of the conventional dentures and construction of new overdentures to be supported by the implants. Four months post-implantation.

SENIOR TIMES ‒ ApRIl 2017

NEWS

EU’s food safety watchdog says pesticide residues remain low Food consumed in the European Union is largely free of pesticide residues or contains levels within legal limits, posing little or no risk to consumers, the region’s food safety watchdog said. In its annual monitoring report on pesticides in food, the European Food Safety Authority found 97 per cent of food samples collected in 2015 were within legal limits, and just over 53 per cent were free of quantifiable residues. Foods tested included aubergines,

bananas, broccoli, virgin olive oil, orange juice, peas, sweet peppers, table grapes, wheat, butter and eggs, EFSA said. A total of 84,341 samples were tested for residues of 774 pesticides. For products from countries within the EU and the European Economic Area, legal limits were exceeded in 1.7 per cent of samples, an increase of 0.1 per cent from the previous year. For organic foods, 99.3 per cent were residue-free or within legal limits. ●

Easter celebrations Leaning forward during phone use may cause ‘text neck’ Spine surgeons are noticing an increase in patients with neck and upper back pain, likely related to poor posture during prolonged smartphone use. Even young patients who shouldn’t yet have back and neck issues, are reporting disk hernias and alignment problems, the study authors write in The Spine Journal. ● Pope Francis holds the Book of the Gospels as he leads the Easter vigil mass in Saint Peter’s basilica at the Vatican, April 15, 2017. PHOTO: REUTERS/MAX ROSSI.

THE ART OF SALT Artists at the Domus Pius IX in Cospicua put the finishing touches on a Mejda talAppostli exhibition, using coloured cereal grains, rice and salt. PHOTO: MATTHEW MIRABELLI.

Unexplained chest pain may signal higher heart risk Most people who complain to their general practitioner about first-time chest pain don’t get additional diagnostic testing to determine the cause, according to a recent UK study. But doctors should take it as a possible warning sign because even when the pain is not readily explainable by heart-related or other causes, these people have a higher risk of heart attacks and other cardiac problems over the next five years, researchers say. ●

SENIOR TIMES ‒ ApRIl 2017

tiSJir

Fil-kċina

Anton B. Dougall jixtieqilkom l-ikla t-tajba. makkarell bl-għaSel u l-lumi

Spagetti bit-tadam u żebbuġ iSwed

Għandek bżonn: 2 biċċiet makkarell • 2 sinniet tewm • 2 kuċċarini għasel • Kuċċarina żejt tal-ġulġlien • Bżaru aħmar milli jaħraq • Meraq u qoxra ta’ lumija • Flieli tal-lumi

Għandek bżonn: 400g spagetti • 300g tadam • 120g żebbuġ iswed bl-għadma • Sinna tewm • Mgħarfa żejt taż-żebbuġa • Ftit weraq tal-ħabaq • Bżar u melħ

Kif issajjar: Aħsel il-bżaru, neħħilu iż-żerriegħa u qattgħu biċċiet żgħar ħafna. Qaxxar it-tewm u qattgħu biċċiet żgħar. • Naddaf il-ħut. • Saħħan it-taġen jew grilja. Idlek ittaġen jew il-grilja b’ imgħarfa żejt. Sajjar il-ħut sakemm ikun jista’ jitfarrak b’furketta. • Sadanittant, lesti iz-zalza. Poġġi l-bżaru, it-tewm, l-għasel, il-lumi u ż-żejt tal-ġulġlien ġo skutella u ħawwad tajjeb. Neħħi l-ħut mit-taġen bil-galbu u poġġih fuq dixx tawwali u ċatt. • Ferrex it-taħlita tal-għasel fuqu u ħallih joqgħod għal madwar ħames minuti. Servi bil-flieli tal-lumi.

Kif issajjar: Għalli l-ispagetti, saffi u żommu f ’post sħun. Qaxxar it-tadam u t-tewm, qatta-għhom biċċiet u poġġihom ġo skutelli separati. • Naddaf iż-żebbuġ mill-għadma u qattgħu f ’biċċiet żgħar. • Saħħan iż-żejt go taġen kbir u fond u qalli t-tewm. Żid ittadam u ż-żebbuġ u ħawwad. • Żid l-ispagetti ma’ din ittaħlita, roxx ftit bżar u melħ u ħawwad tajjeb mingħajr ma tfarrak l-ispagetti. • Servi millewwel imżejjen bil-weraq talħabaq. ●

Dawn ir-riċetti meħudin mill-ktieb Fil-Kċina m’Anton: Ikel Bnin GħallKontroll tal-Kolesterol (BDL Publishing).

SENIOR TIMES ‒ ApRIl 2017

SPORT

The rise and fall of the Empire Carmel Baldacchino laments the fortunes of the once glorious Empire Stadium.

rom the very first day after its inauguration in 1912, competitive football in Malta was always played at the Mile End. However, by the end of World War I, the ground had been badly neglected. Many people began to complain and to promote the idea that the ground should be pulled down and another one build in its place. The end of the war brought with it a great surge of interest in football. The game in Malta in the 1920s was booming and the old ground had become too small for the thousands of spectators who flocked to the Mile End every weekend. Someone with imagination and enterprise could exploit the situation with positive results. Fortunately, such a man was at hand: Carmelo Scicluna or ‘Is-sur Meme’ as he was affectionately known by Maltese football lovers. There is a story which shows that faith played a part in the opening of the Empire Sports Ground. It so happened that one day in 1920 Carmelo Scicluna went to the Mile End to watch the league game between Floriana and Hamrun Spartans. This was a key match which drew to Pieta` the biggest crowd of the season. There was only one entrance to the ground and since queuing was never an attribute of the Maltese there was a lot of pushing and shoving. It took Scicluna a long time to enter the ground and when he finally managed to make his way through, he discovered that his clothes were torn and that his gold watch and chain had been stolen. Since his childhood Scicluna was always dreaming of building a new stadium but it is said that this unsavoury incident finally encouraged him to take

the plunge and go ahead with his plans of building his dream stadium. He built his ground on the spot where during the last months of World War I, the RAF had its balloon station. The land belonged to the Testaferrata Moroni Viani family. His wife Elvira was the daughter of Salvatore Moroni Viani and Carolina Barbaro Sant. Scicluna therefore, obtained a lease for 40 years from his brother-in-law, Petrino Testaferrata Viani and after he obtained the necessary permits he embarked on his scheme of building a modern football ground in Gzira. In its best days, when compared with the Mile End, the Empire was a paradise. At the time of its inauguration it was still not quite completed but nevertheless, it already had a grandstand, four spacious and comfortable dressing rooms, and a well-provided first aid station. More importantly, the ground had a full-sized pitch with ample space behind the goalpost and at the sides for taking cornerkicks and throw-ins. An eight-foot high wall was erected around the pitch and this served as a deterrent to anyone who wished to rush on to the pitch to congratulate the players or to protest with the referee. Those old timers who remembered this ground used to say that it resembled a Roman arena and that the general arrangement of the ground was like that of the Recreation Ground at Portsmouth. The ground was inaugurated on November 5, 1922 with a match between the MFA XI and HMS Ajax. For the record, the game ended in a fair 2-2 draw. Present for the inauguration was the Governor of Malta, Field Marshal Lord

A typical scene at the Stadium after renovations were made in 1950. It was the era of the Ajax and the crowds filled every nook and corner of the Stadium no matter which team was playing.

One of the huge crowds which queued outside the Stadium in its heyday.

Plumer. In June 1922 when the ground was still under construction, Lord Plumer wrote an encouraging letter to Scicluna expressing his interest in the project. The Governor in an obvious attempt to bolster up Scicluna’s enterprise offered to transfer the Army League matches from Marsa to the new stadium. Season 1933-34 saw the end of the old Empire Sports Ground. Scicluna signed a contract with a British syndicate to hold greyhound racing at the Empire. Extensive alternations were needed and during the summer of 1933 the Empire was pulled down and work started on a new stadium.

The 1930s were the most glorious period of the Gzira stadium. It was a time when Maltese football went through a great revival and when some of the best Continental teams of the era came to Malta in connection with the Christmas Tourney. Then came the war and although the ground was still used periodically no competitive matches were played. The ground suffered from the ravages of the war and when the conflict was finally over it soon became apparent that it needed another facelift. The 1950-51 football season went down in the records as one of the busiest

Those were the good old days when the roar from the Valletta side could be heard from the other side of the harbour” The new stadium was larger and at the time it compared favourably with other football stadiums on the continent. With the ground undergoing restoration, it was not possible for the MFA to start the First Division League before January 1934. The Mile End was available but it was not deemed fit to stage any big matches. The new stadium was officially opened on December 24, 1933 when the Pick Malta met SK Pilzen of Czechoslovakia in the opening match of the Christmas Tourney. From that moment on, the Empire Stadium became a hive of activity. All the senior competitions organised by the MFA were held at the new venue. In addition, all the tourneys and visits by foreign clubs were held there and later when Malta became part of FIFA and UEFA all international events were held there.

in the history of the game on the island. So many things were happening at the same time that one was at times left almost breathless. The game was growing fast. The season started on a good note. At long last, much needed renovations were made at the Stadium bringing it in line with the improvements made in the organisation of the game in the 1940s. The old wooden fence around the pitch, a relic of pre-war days when the Stadium was used as a greyhound racing track, was replaced with a barbedwire fence. This made it easier for the spectators to follow the game and for the players to take out-balls and corner-kicks. The new fence was placed nearer to the stands, giving the spectators a better line of vision. New stands were built on the Sliema and Floriana

SENIOR TIMES ‒ ApRIl 2017

The ground now stands forlorn and abandoned, witness to the insensitivity of the Maltese to their history and culture.

Carmelo Scicluna, ‘Is-sur Meme’. Photo: Courtesy of the Scicluna Family

sides of the ground and better facilities were provided in the dressing rooms. Another milestone was reached when, on Tuesday, March 6,1951, a football match was played at the Stadium under artificial lighting. On that historic occasion, Sliema Wanderers lost 1-2 against an Army-RAF selection. The reaction to the experiment was favourable but the 26 reflector lights were not enough to illuminate the centre of the pitch. In those days, tungsten lamps were used and the powerful halogen floodlights were still something of

the future. The floodlights were used for only a short while. The ball was whitewashed to be more visible but improvements were never carried out and the experiment died a natural death. In those days, Sliema and Floriana were still the leaders in the local game but they were seriously challenged by Hibernians, Valletta and Hamrun Spartans. It was the era of the Ajax and the Maltese filled every nook and corner of the Stadium. Those were the good old days when the roar from the Valletta side could be heard from the other side

of the harbour and the cheers of the Sliema and Floriana fans filled the streets of Gzira and Msida. The old ground continued to serve Maltese football faithfully until 1981 when it finally had to make way for the new stadium which was build at Ta’ Qali. Very few renovations were made during this period except perhaps those made in 1971 in preparation of the classic European Nations Cup match between Malta and England. By this time the ownership of the ground had passed from the Scicluna family to the Testaferrata family.

The notorious pitch of the Stadium was given a general turn-over and steps were taken to increase the capacity of the ground. I don’t know how this was achieved but I can vouch for the fact that two hours before the start of the game the ground, which at the best of times could hold about 15,000 spectators, was already packed with more than 30,000 people. This was the last fling of the famous old ground. After this date, it started on its last lease of life until it was abandoned and left to slowly rot away. The gates of the Empire Stadium were closed for the last time on November 29, 1981 at the end of the Premier League game between Sliema Wanderers and Senglea Athletics. The famous old ground had seen almost 60 years of regular sporting activity. A great tradition had come to an end. The game between Zurrieq and Senglea went down in the record books as the first Premier League match at the new National Stadium at Ta’ Qali. The Empire Stadium now stands abandoned, a relic of an era long gone and forgotten. It played a big part in the modern social history of the Maltese and it is a shame its owners have left it to become a ruin. It’s about time that the authorities should think of restoring the place and perhaps turn it into a national monument and perhaps a museum of football. ●

SENIOR TIMES ‒ ApRIl 2017

EASTER SPECIAL

He is risen! The triumphal Easter Sunday processions with the Risen Christ were enjoyed by many families on Sunday, April 16 in localities all over Malta and Gozo. One of the more popular is the procession held in Senglea, where the final stretch of the procession is traditionally a run. During the celebrations, figolli and easter eggs were blessed. PHOTOS: JONATHAN BORG

SENIOR TIMES ‒ ApRIl 2017

NEWS

Caring for your sight Added mobility With 17 years of experience in the provision of all accessibility products, Apex Lifts Limited is a market leader in this sector, offering a wide range of products and equipment designed to help people move easily about their home. The products offered by Apex Lifts include stair climbers, chair lifts, platform lifts, step lifts, pool lifts and passenger lifts. The company also supplies goods and industrial lifts. All installations done by Apex Lifts are CE certified. One of the company’s renewed products is the stair climber. Apex Lifts provides two different models of stair climbers: seated person or person in a wheelchair. Both products guarantee movement stability and fluidity on the stairs, ease and ergonomics with no risk to damage the stairs

thanks to special tracks that provide good adherence without leaving any marks. Both stair lifts are battery operated and both are mobile – in fact they can be carried in a standard car boot. They can also be dismantled in three manageable parts without the need of any tools. Both models can be used on different stairs including spiral stairs. These products are very easy to manoeuvre and the person driving the stair climber bears no load when handling the product. It also requires minimum effort for seating the passenger. For the person being carried, the stair climber works with constant speed and with no jerking movements. For further information contact Apex Lifts Limited on 2145 5051 or simply email on info@apexlifts.com.mt. ●

A life full of sound The gift of sound is an important part of life, taken for granted by many of us. Once hearing loss becomes a reality in a person’s life, the effects and ways one handles the situation are different. Hearing loss can happen for a multitude of reasons, with statistics showing that this affects one in five people – no matter the age or lifestyle they lead. Thankfully hearing loss is one of the few senses which

can be restored thanks to medical and technological advances. Depending on the level of hearing loss, OK Medical can offer a wide range of hearing aids and accessories as well as other implantable solutions, allowing a person to enjoy a life full of sound once again. Stocking a wide range of models of hearing devices from renowned brands such as Unitron, Bernafon, Widex and Cochlear, OK Medical

offers not only quality products but also a long-lasting service to ensure each client remains happy with their hearing. OK Medical is currently offering free hearing tests to any client with no obligation to buy as well as various monthly offers on hearing aids and related products. OK Medical is situated in Swatar and can be contacted on 2147 0200 for any medical device-related needs. ●

Sight is one of the senses we prize most. That is why routine eye tests play a substantial part in making sure your eyes stay healthy regardless of age and physical health. Not only are tests important for indicating whether you need glasses or need to change your prescription, but also for detecting some common medical conditions. Early signs of eye conditions may be picked up by an eye care specialist before you become aware of any symptoms – this improves your chances of successful treatment. Generally it is important to have a routine eye test once every two years. However certain groups of people may need routine eye exams on a more frequent basis. These groups include: those aged 40 and over who have a family history of glaucoma; those aged 60 or over; and those who have a medical history of diabetes. Your eyes are the window to your general health. During retinal assessment, signs of both common ocular and general health conditions can be detected. These conditions include diabetes. Diabetics are at risk of developing diabetic retinopathy, a retinal complication caused by uncontrolled blood sugar levels or longstanding diabetes. Diabetic retinopathy can lead to sight loss if untreated – therefore, a yearly eye retinopathy screening is a key part of your diabetes care. Other conditions are high blood pressure, other vascular diseases within the retina and cataracts – with age, the transparent lens within our eye may become cloudy causing a blurring of vision. Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that damage the optic nerve (the nerve which connects the eye to the brain). These are mainly caused by high intra ocular pressure. Another condition is macular degeneration – this condition affects your central vision. The macula is found at the centre of the retina, where incoming rays of light are focused. ●

Someone’s going to need it Whether you’re an athlete or just accident prone, you’re probably going to need Olfen Gel. If you’re suffering from a sprain, strain or joint pain, speak to your pharmacist about OTC remedies such as Olfen Gel which actively relieves acute pain and reduces inflammation. Olfen contains Diclofenac Sodium 10mg. It is used for the treatment of pain, swelling and inflammation in a variety of conditions affecting the muscles, joints, tendons and soft tissues. Apply three to four times daily and spread onto the affected part of the body, without rubbing in. Olfen is for external use on healthy, undamaged skin only and is not for oral use. Olfen Gel should be applied only to intact non-diseased skin, and not to skin wounds or open injuries. Always read the package insert carefully. ●

SENIOR TIMES ‒ ApRIl 2017

MEMORJI

The street of a

thousand dreams GE O R

CI N

In the heady days when it seemed the sun would never set on Strada Stretta, ‘the Gut’ was the bedrock of a thousand dreams for young people looking for a job and wanting to make money on the side or as the street cred went, ‘biex taqla’ lira’. Author George Cini, who has penned two books about Strada Stretta takes us down this entertainment strip of yore.

own Strait Street, there were bars and music halls whose names bore a close affinity with Great Britain and the Royal Navy such as Portsmouth Arms Bar, Colonial Restaurant, QE Restaurant, Wembley Lodging House, Cinderella Dance Hall and Lord Nelson Music Hall. Others recalled iconic names for members of the American Sixth Fleet such as the Metro, the Cotton Club and in later years, Playboy, 007 Bar and Four Aces. A section of bar owners went for the exotic such as Egyptian Queen while others opted for the more risqué like Dirty Dick’s. One of today’s excerpts comes from Joe Attard’s story. Joe’s father, Ġużeppi ran the Dirty Dick’s Bar which was about four doors on the right as you turned into Strada Stretta from St Lucia Street. We’ll also meet Frank Camilleri, ilBibi, one of the top musicians of his era, who started performing along the Gut, aged 12. The excerpts in English are reproduced from the book, Strada Stretta: ‘The Gut’ which for many years lit up Valletta (2013). The passage in Maltese comes from the book Strada Stretta: Aktar dawl fuq it-triq li darba xegħlet ilBelt (2015).

Joe AttArd of dirty dick’s “Opposite Roy’s – the bar run by Roy Marmara and his wife Mananni – was the British Bar run by a man called Ġużeppi who previously used to drive a taxi. “Further on, on your right, at the corner with Archbishop Street, was the Splendid Bar and Restaurant and then, the Metro, as you left Archbishop Street, where the Maltese frequently went to dance. “The Smiling Prince Bar was run by Lonzini together with her husband and

Joe Attard, in a white jacket at Dirty Dick’s.

their daughters. They were all involved in the bar. Then there was a club which had a billiard table. And then the Lucky Wheel Bar run by Ġilardu Mackay, corner with St Dominic Street along the steps on your right. Next to the Lucky Wheel was a hairdressing salon. The hairdresser who was from Arċipierku – on the other side of Valletta, close to the Great Siege Bell and Lower Barrakka Gardens – died of a heart attack at the salon. He just dropped dead. I’ve forgotten his name. “Before going that far down, on the left-hand side, was the Silver Horse which belonged to the Mackay brothers, Ġilardu and Toni. Yes, all these people were from Valletta. Ġilardu was father to Ronnie, the hairdresser who had a salon at Due Balli. The salon is still there on St Nicholas Street corner with Strait Street. Ron-

nie played the drums in Strait Street. The Cape Town Bar was close to St Christopher Street. “The United Services was run by one named Berfleur who was an Italian married to a Maltese woman. “As a special attraction, at the United Services there was Bobbie the piano man who impersonated Carmen Miranda, the Brazilian samba dancer and film star. “The Lord Nelson was in St Nicholas Street, on the left hand side as you turned left from Republic Street at Due Balli. It was run by Vincent Palmer. “The Windsor restaurant, which was in Strait Street, on the corner with Bishop (now Archbishop) Street, was managed by Marie Borg Bonaci of the Morning Star.” Joe, what are your memories of Strait Street as a young man?

“If that time was ever to return, I would not work there because the street spelled trouble. What’s the use of earning good money? It you were not a fighter, you’d get a beating. I had a brother who was older than I was but I had to look after him. If a fight broke out, he’d rush for cover in the room upstairs.”

frAnk cAmilleri, il-BiBi, piAnist Inti mill-Belt, Frank? “Mill-Belt jien, iżgur. Mit-Triq talFranċiżi. Aħna jgħidulna tal-Budella. Missieri, Pawlu tal-Bajd. Kien jarma fuq il-Monti, forsi tafu. Kien ibigħ kollox. Jgħidulu ‘ibigħ l-imbarazz’. Ija, kollox kien ibigħ, żraben, qomos, kollox. Il-ħajja kienet tajba però ma rridx ngħid li aħjar kważi dak iż-żmien. “Aħna ngħidu aħjar dak iż-żmien. Imma mhix vera, għax biex taqla’ lira

SENIOR TIMES ‒ ApRIl 2017

Frank Camilleri, il-Bibi u l-mara tiegħu, Najni.

dak iż-żmien trid taħdem ħafna għaliha u ma taqlagħhiex malajr, kif jaqalgħu llum, sebgħin lira, tmenin lira, itilqu li llum (il-flus) ma jiswewx. “Jien naħseb illum aħjar. Però dak iżżmien ma kienx hemm dak it-taħwid li haw’ illum. Daqqa għandek tifla, eżempju, iżżewġet u ma tantx damet, daqqa hekk u daqqa hekk, ħafna inkwiet. Kien aħjar dak iż-żmien għalhekk. “Imma llum qed ngħidlek, biex tgħajjex il-familja trid taqlagħha tajjeb.” Hawnhekk Najni tmieri lil Frank. Tgħidlu li dak iż-żmien, in-nies kienu mħallsin tajjeb. Najni, x’taħseb fuq din tal-flus li qed isemmi Frank? “In-nies kienu mħallsin tajjeb.” M’intomx taqblu, Frank…

insomma, b’xi ballun taċ-ċarruta. Ma kellix ċans nilgħab ħafna għax jien kont indoqq. Ir-Rediffusion (li kien cable radio) kienu l-ħin kollu jibagħtu għalija biex indoqqilhom ‘by request’ għan-nisa tad-dar. Programme fuq irRediffusion kien, qed tifhem? “Bil-pjanu kont indoqq live, laqqas recorder ma konna nużaw. Kelli grupp ma’ Mannie Spiteri, kienu kollha żgħar. Kelli tnejn u għoxrin sena? Tlieta u għoxrin?” Frank, kif qalgħuhielek Bibi? “Jien kont indoqq mas-suwed – ma’ Levy Wine li kienu jgħidulu Tony lIswed – u ma’ Juice Wilson.” Wine u Wilson kienu Amerikani suwed. “Das-suwed kienu jkantaw tip ta’ mużika, ngħidulu Bebop jew Rebop. U

Ir-Rediffusion kienu l-ħin kollu jibagħtu għalija biex indoqqilhom ‘by request’ għan-nisa tad-dar “Najni ma kinux jaqalgħu paga, f ’ġieħ il-qaddisin. Ħalliha li jien, ħamsin sena ilu, kelli erbatax -il lira fil-ġimgħa jien, qed tifhem? Ħamsa u tletin sena ilu kont il-Caravel (Qui-Si-Sana, TasSliema). Kelli ħamsa u tletin lira filġimgħa. Kienu flus, ħames liri kuljum.” Frank, ejja mmorru iktar lura. Kif kienet il-ħajja għalik bħala tifel? “Jiena kont immur nitgħallem liskola privat. Inħallas ġiex xelini filġimgħa. Hawnhekk Sada Forni, il-Belt. Kien hemm patri, insejt x’jismu. Konna nitgħallmu bl-Ingliż u bil-Malti. “U tgħallimt ta, imma ma tgħallimtx kwantità bħat-tifla l-kbira. Għandi lkbira taf l-iskola jien u da’ Joey tgħallem ħafna skola. Bħala tifel jien dejjem indoqq u nilagħbu l-ballun

jien ħlief ‘bib bab babab bab’ ma kontx ngħid, għax kien jgħidli l-Iswed x’għandi nagħmel. Kont ngħidlu: ‘Ma nafx inkanta jien.’ U qalgħuhieli hekk, Bibi. U kelli oħti ngħidilha Bibi, ukoll. Levy Wine kont il-pjanista tiegħu jien. Kellu l-OK Bar id-Diju Balli, ħdej’ ilMorning Star preċiż. Levy Wine kien joqgħod Sada Sant’Anna kif iddur fuq il-lemin mill-aħħar biċċa ta’ Sada Stretta, id-Due Balli. “Levy Wine kien ġie mill-Amerka u ġie l-Furjana, Balzunetta l-ewwel darba. Kienet ġabet lilu u lil Juice Wilson, Alla jaħfirlha, waħda Missus. Ma nafx x’jisimha.” ● Interviews were transcribed verbatim by the author.

Il-Bibi fil-Las Vegas nightclub li kien Triq it-Teatru qabel iddur għal Strada Stretta.

George Cini may be contacted on gcini400@gmail.com or on 9943 0578. There is also a Facebook page on Strada Stretta where you can share your memories and learn about the other facets of the street: https://www.face book.com/Strada-Stretta-449008088636143/

SENIOR TIMES ‒ APRIL 2017

HEALTH

A good night’s sleep Restoring healthy sleeping patterns is essential to our well-being, registered psychotherapist Amanda Grech says.

rom the smallest bumblebee bat to the biggest elephant in the world, sleep remains a vital activity across species. Some of us sleep like a log, snoozing on cue and resting blissfully until the morning. For others, sleep is not so sweet as they struggle to fall into the coveted restful slumber. Reasons as to why some of us have difficulty to sleep vary. When people are experiencing a difficult phase in their lives, such as trouble at the workplace or marital problems, they are more likely to have problems related to sleep. Stress and poor sleeping patterns often go together for many reasons such as mulling over problems late at night or waking up frequently during the night with difficulty returning to sleep. When people are going through a crisis, it can be tempting to go to bed earlier than usual, in the hope that sleep will alleviate the anguish. However, under stress, cogitation about relationship issues, troubles or mistakes often rob people of a good night’s sleep. Consequently, individuals who find it difficult to fall asleep may experience anxiety that gets worse when they try to fall asleep and end up waking up much earlier than they intend. Another common element that often sets off problems related to sleep is trauma. Traumatic events, such as a car accident or assault, could trigger off sleep disturbance. Difficulty to fall or stay asleep are deemed to be one of the hyperarousal symptoms that follow a traumatic event. Research links heightened arousal and a low sense of safety to poor sleeping patters, and this could be is a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder. This is a mental health condition that can develop after people experienced or witnessed a traumatic event. The sleep problems experienced by people suffering from PTSD vary from difficulties to fall asleep, waking up repeatedly during sleep and early morning awakenings to poor quality of sleep and nightmares. It is often helpful for individuals going through PTSD to give themselves time to come to terms with the event and reach out to other people for support. They can also talk to their doctor or therapist if they feel they cannot cope with the experience. On the other end of the continuum is oversleeping and not being able to get out of bed. Sleeping too much, or too little, could be a symptom of depres-

Sleeping too much, or too little, could be a symptom of depression sion. The desire to oversleep can be a way to avoid daily challenges that could range from cleaning the house to work or taking care of the children. Depression is not a personal weakness that can be worked away by the individual as people suffering from depression cannot just pull their socks up and get better. On a positive note however, psychotherapy or medication are highly effective treatments for depression. Poor sleeping patterns can be experienced even when individuals are going through exciting times in their lives, such as pregnancy or having a new baby. Sleep deprivation is often a characteristic of new parenthood, as sleep certainly does not come easy when caring for a newborn baby. Yet its impact is often underestimated. Time and again, research links persisting patterns of less sleeping time to symptoms of depression in new mothers, and to fatigue in both fathers and mothers. It is important for new par-

ents to accept support as much as possible when they feel that they are struggling to cope with the new situation. When caring for a newborn for instance, the primary caregiver, most often the mother, may not even find the time to shower or eat a decent meal without the help of a family member watching over the baby. Managing exhaustion within the couple is equally important, as well as talking openly about feelings even if there are sentiments of distress or boredom around parenthood. While babies do tend to sleep more as they grow, sleep problems seldom come to an end in infancy as bedtime can be a ritual that brings about parental struggles with children. At times children will not fall asleep alone, preferring to doze off in the living room with the parents. Others have problems to stay asleep, or they wake up often during the night and go into their parents’ bed. Sleep problems are

common and are often transitory, fading out as children grow and become more independent. Nonetheless, like in the case of adults, poor sleeping patterns can reflect difficulties children are going through in their lives. Such troubles could range from grief, illness in the family, or something happening at school. Thus it is useful to look at triggers that could be at the root of the child’s worries. If the child cannot sleep on particular days of the week for example, and not on the weekend, one needs to see if something is happening in the life of the child that could be causing him to worry. This could be a sport event that the child wants to avoid or a weekly school dictation. Adults can support children by reaching out to them, encourage them to share their concerns, and help them solve their problems. Whether it’s a situation where sleep and kids are not mixing in the household, life crisis or trauma, the impact of sleep problems could be very upsetting for children and adults alike. Yet sleep patterns can improve. Consulting an expert when the situation is very testing as well as reflecting on what could be at the root of the problem is often beneficial to restore healthy sleeping patterns. ●

SENIOR TIMES ‒ ApRIl 2017

NEWS

Help yourself to help others Caring for yourself is one of the most important – and often one of the most forgotten – things you can do as a family caregiver. When your needs are taken care of, the person you care for will benefit too. Researchers know a lot about the effects that giving care has on health and wellbeing. They predict that a combination of loss, prolonged stress, the physical demands of care giving, and the biological vulnerabilities that come with age place you at risk of significant health problems as well as an earlier death. Older caregivers are not the only ones who put their health and well-being at risk. If you are a baby boomer who has assumed a caregiver role for your parents while simultaneously juggling work and raising adolescent children, you face an increased risk of depression, chronic illness and a possible decline in quality of life.

Despite these risks, family caregivers of any age are less likely than non-caregivers to practise preventive healthcare and self-care behaviour. You cannot stop the impact of a chronic or progressive illness or a debilitating injury on someone for whom you care. But there is a great deal that you can do to take responsibility for your personal well-being and to meet your own needs. Ask yourself what good will you

be to the person you care for if you become ill or if you die. Recognise warning signs early. These might include irritability, sleep problems and forgetfulness. Know your own warning signs and act to make changes. Don’t wait until you are overwhelmed. Identify sources of stress, which might include a heavy workload, family disagreements, feelings of inadequacy, or the inability to say no.

Taking some action to reduce stress gives us back a sense of control. Stress reducers can be simple activities like walking and other forms of exercise, gardening, meditation or having coffee with a friend. Take a break from care giving. Get help with care giving tasks like bathing and preparing meals. Engage in activities that will make you feel healthier. Seniors Helping Seniors Inhome Services are here to help. Seniors Helping Seniors In-home Services can provide a variety of services designed to help seniors remain independent while living in their own home or other living arrangement Seniors Helping Seniors inhome services match active seniors who can provide a service in the community to other seniors who would benefit from receiving those services. This matching is carried out in the best possible way in order to match personalities

and activity levels and to encourage a strong friendship that is developed as seniors complete various activities throughout the day together. It’s like getting a little help from your friends. Don’t wait until you are overwhelmed and exhausted or your health fails. Reaching out for help when you need it is a sign of personal strength. Also, discuss your health with a doctor. While caregivers will discuss their loved ones’ care with the physician, caregivers seldom talk about their own health, which is equally important. Remember that it is not selfish to focus on your own needs and desires when you are a caregiver – it’s an important part of the job. Seek supportive counselling when you need it or talk to a trusted, friend, or priest. For more information contact Simon Fiorini Lowell at care@fiorinilowell.com or call 2738 3161. ●

Post-operative, convalescence and respite services There will be a time in our lives when we, or even our relatives, may need an operation for some reason or other. It is also a fact that the older we get, the more susceptible we become to suffering from certain conditions which in turn may require an operation. These may for example be joint operations for hips and knees or cataract operations because of failing eyesight. On the other hand, life may present us with the unexpected and we find ourselves faced with situations where because of an unfortunate incident or sudden discovery, surgery is needed. Such incidents and other acute episodes, which occur in our lives and in those of our loved ones, catch us completely off-guard. Hospital stays all over the world, especially post-operatively, are getting shorter. This is mostly driven by the common problem of demand on hospital beds balanced against supply. However shorter hospital stays have also shown that there is a decreased risk of a patient suffering from adverse events and also from acquiring an infection which in operations like joint operations can be fatal. The focus these days in fact is not on how long a patient is in the hospital –

rather, it is on ensuring they get the care they need as efficiently as possible, in order to get them discharged out of hospital as soon as they are ready. However early discharge brings with it other issues the patient or their families must face, especially if the patient is elderly. Some patients may have to go back to housing which is unsuitable for their needs or need to have structural changes done to cope at home. Daughters and sons may be worried about their mum or dad coming out of hospital freshly operated on and spending days alone, while they are at work all day. With people living longer, the children or spouses may often be elderly themselves and cannot care for their relatives when they are at a certain dependency post-operatively. Most elderly patients are frail and weak after major operations and need time to gain strength, require regular physiotherapy to regain better movement and a safe environment which is conducive to them gaining their independence. It is for these reasons Simblija Care Home has developed tailor-made postoperative packages. Many families and clients often are in a dilemma when their

loved ones are discharged and feel that they needed that little more time in a sheltered environment to convalesce. These post-operative packages do just this. They are all inclusive of all hotel services and all professional care needed, provided by a team of professionals including physiotherapists, whose input is so critical during rehabilitation. At the same time this convalescence and rehabilitation does not happen in a hospital environment, but surrounded by beautiful open areas and lovely interiors, where family and friends can visit all day. Above all, there is the peace of mind that there are nursing professionals and trained care assistants 24/7 to see to client needs and that at a push of a buzzer someone is there to assist in whatever is needed. There are also families who may not go through the operative experience but have family members they care for everyday because of frailty, chronic ill-

ness or social situations. These family members themselves may need at times to have a short break of respite as they are tired, others may need to go away on work commitments or on a family holiday. Whatever the reason may be, they need to do so with the peace of mind that while they are away their spouse, mum or dad, are being cared for. Simblija Care Home provides such respite services and a home away from home, by putting together tailor made packages which may vary both in length of stay and in the level of care, depending on the client need and dependency. At Simblija Care Home, all members of staff are aware of the importance of offering peace of mind and reassurance to clients and their families – they also believe in a partnership in care, at times when it is most needed, by offering peace of mind, when a person is the most worried about health outcomes or time away from those they care for and love. ●

SENIOR TIMES ‒ ApRIl 2017

PENSIONS

Taking pension reform to a higher level DR MICHAEL FARRUGIA, MINISTER FOR THE FAMILY AND SOCIAL SOLIDARITY.

PHOTO: JASON BORG

am proud to be a member of a Labour administration that took pension reform to a higher level – and in doing so achieving major results. All acknowledge that in the 2000s the previous government took steps to stabilise the adequacy and sustainability of our pension system. Nevertheless, by the first strategic review on the solidarity, sustainability, and adequacy of the system in 2010 the reforms run out of steam. Out of the 45 or so recommendations presented in the review by the end of the legislature, not one of these recommendations was implemented. By contrast this government is a whirlwind of activity. Immediately on coming to office, we studied the 2010 review and invited members involved to be part of our team to ensure continuity where relevant. The first immediate step we took in 2013 was that we built on the recommendations in the review on the third pension –voluntary pension scheme: which the previous administration for reasons best known to it, refused to implement.

For the first time since decades we increased pension income for single and married pensioners By early 2015, MFSA, following consultation, issued the governing framework and by the end of 2015 the first two pension schemes were on the market. Today, there are over 10 schemes, with an overall membership of 1,500. Our policy approach to reform departed significantly from that of the previous administration. The Nationalist government focused only on future generations. We focused on both current and future pensioners. For the first time since decades we increased pension income for single and married pensioners. Our goal is to extend the guarantee against at-riskof-poverty to all pensioners – limited by the previous government to persons born on and after 1962. Our focus was since 2016 to target initially those pensioners who are at the lower end of the pension income. This left more than

PHOTO: OMAR CAMILLERI

€6m per annum in the pockets of such pensioners, excluding other measures to supplement pensioner’s income. The second major shift was the removal of tax on pension income: up to €10,500 – which in 2018 will increase to €13,000, and €13,000 for single and married households. The removal of income tax will increase on average the disposable income of pensioners by more than €8m. Our reforms had one momentous outcome: since Malta joined the EU, the European Commission, this year, in its Country Specific Recommendations, for the first time, did not spotlight the sustainability of our pension system as a policy concern. This

weighty decision by the EC is not the result of chance. It stems from the careful design of recommendations presented by the independent technical group and as subsequently enhanced in policy implementation by the Government. The kernel underpinning the strengthening of the sustainability of our system is the legislating of the principle of securing a balance between benefits and contributions amongst current and future beneficiaries. This results in an incremental increase in the contributory period of future generations – where beneficiaries are informed of such an increase 15 years in advance for life planning purposes.

The first increase, to 41 years, of the contributory benefit will affect persons who are born on or after 1969. The sustainability of our pension system is also the result of the successful implementation of our labour market strategy. Full employment, the increase of women in the labour force to over 50 per cent (spurred by our free childcare policy) of females, and with the labour force employing 16 per cent foreigner workers, the revenue from contributions increased considerably. It is impossible in a short article to discuss all we have done in pensions reform. I will highlight one other important measure. Our pension system is gender discriminate: it penalises the female member of a household as a full pension is based on a full contributory history. In our society it is generally the female who places her career on hold to bring up the family. Cognizant of this, we increased child rearing credits to four years for every child up to the third child unconditionally; and a further two years for every child subject to the person’s re-entry into the labour market for a similar period. Additionally, a widow on retirement who qualifies for a contributory pension in her own right, will now receive the full and not five-sixths pension income. Over the past five years we revolutionised the pension landscape. A new Labour administration in government guarantees the strengthening of the solidarity, sustainability, and adequacy of our pension system. ● This is sponsored content