A Place in the Sun

In an article published in Maltese by inewsmalta , it was revealed that a report proves that small chemical dozes which affect hormones are found in a multitude of products we use daily. These include plastic containers, detergents, toys and cosmetics, and can all have an effect on our health. The study was carried out by The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, a medical journal, and shows that chemicals known as EDCs can potentially cause neurological damage and can even result in autism and/or ADHD. While these chemicals are invisible, they have been described as very dangerous and can also result in obesity, diabetes, certain types of cancer and male infertility.  So, how about thinking of both the environment as well as our own health, and reduce the use of plastic ?

Blogging has somehow lately become the trendy thing to do. Everyone seems to feel the need to create a blog – a space which belongs solely to themselves, and which one can use for many purposes. Be it for professional reasons, as an artistic portfolio, as a creative display, or even just as an online diary where the individual vents their frustration and inescapable tirades as a way to try and deal with an uncaring world, this virtual area, which is always online and available to the general public, can be said to be first and foremost a way of reaching out. It’s a means of defining ourselves amongst the faceless multitudes; the hoards of other people navigating the endless universe present within the internet, not to mention social media . I have heard blogging being mentioned as 'online journalism' or, eve, online journal-keeping.  The ability to express ourselves online has entailed an inundation of information all over the web - with people's opinions being publis

I do love the concept of using buses , and the possibility it provides to save having to park.  I must say that frequency has improved around my home, and with the new Tal-Linja App , this has become easier indeed as I can get a good idea of scheduled transport times. The problem is that increased traffic gridlocks are making transport impossible - especially since bus stops are so frequent: if one only thinks that from my home to Valletta, there are as many as 25 stops, it's downright madness.  Stops are a couple of hundred meters - if at all - and while this makes it easier for persons who have difficulty walking, it does mean that the buses are also slowing down traffic.  The streets are too narrow to allow safe overtaking when a bus stops, particularly the seafront road, which is one-lane each way and the bus lanes are not always wide or, even, available.  It doesn't help that there is a practice not to use the bus lanes, but just stop in the middle of the carriageway,

Cannot wait to visit the Valletta Boat Show this weekend! Although I am currently not doing much in terms of yachting, I still have a passion for the yachting world, boats and the sea.  This event is being held between Friday and Sunday, at Dock 1 in Cospicua .  There should be a number of exhibitors and, I bet, a number of people I know from the world of boats and yachting.  It is nothing like the Monaco Yacht Show , at all, but it's a welcome event indeed. I couldn't attend this last one, so Valletta Boat Show will have to do ! (I can never stop gazing at the lovely Ulysse Nardin watches... I would prefer that to any other brand of expensive watch, I tell you ! ) In any case, I am glad there is something open-air to do this weekend, and I am hoping that the weather will be nice ... I think that this is where I will spend my Saturday evening! 

This yo-yoing of my weight is driving me round the bend! I have recently found that I am becoming far too lazy to actually go into strenuous exercise and, when I do, my head begins to ache and my blood pressure really soars.  I wonder, is it lack of fitness or is it simply that I am meant to exercise more gently and for longer periods rather than the 'short sprint, high impact' style ? I used to go to Zumba this time one year ago, and Wesley and Ilona are great teachers, providing plenty of motivation and fun. I am also aware that Maria is coming back to Zumba - plenty of reason to get motivated and start a variety of classes.  Other than swimming, dance is the only form of exercise I can do consistently and not get bored, but I do need to change between types of classes as having the same routine each time I go tends to be a bit boring (especially considering that I used to dance at a rather higher technical level with ballet). I recently found my will to charge the Wii

This weekend I attended the 25th, and last, Voices concert at the MFCC auditorium in Ta' Qali, Malta.  In its own words, published before the event, VOICES celebrates its 25th anniversary this October. In our largest and final concert, we shall be revisiting some of the most memorable moments and numbers from past years. 250 former VOICES choir members re-unite for one last time to perform some of the most iconic and renowned songs including tunes by Michael Jackson, Queen, Adele, and Coldplay amongst others. and, what's more, they have donated 2M Euro to various philantropic organisations, both in Malta and abroad. This year, the 25th anniversary from the very first Voices concert (which began in order to raise funds for the St Aloysius Sixth Form premises - which I very happily attended between 1993 and 1995, bringing some of the sweetest memories) - is the year when the curtain falls on this stunning show, bringing an era to an end.  I still remember Tony Vella guidin

The traffic keeps making the headlines , but really, it is no 'news'. While traffic management is not optimal, it has not been in a while and the increased use, by the public, of cars has created a vicious circle: there is now so much traffic that a bus journey can never make sense because the bus gets stuck in traffic as much as any other car (bus lanes are not sufficiently continuous to guarantee that they truly are effective). School transport is perhaps too expensive for those on the lower scales of income so they have less incentive to use it.  But the less it is used, then the more traffic is created as parents barge through traffic to try to get their children to get to school on time.  The more traffic there is, the longer do journeys take, driving up prices of this important service. While tax incentives are a welcome introduction, the current incentive hardly makes up for the yearly cost of using school transport since it is only an allowable deduction, not a rebat

Watch: Malta, stuck in a jam : Traffic misery continued for thousands of motorists across the island yesterday as massive tailbacks were reported around Malta. Police and wardens were out in force but motorists said their presence did little to mitigate the problem. Numerous readers told this paper that they would be waved...

And so I've started reading again, something i hadn't done in quite a while.  I had been marvelling at my addiction to technology - TV, tablets, phones, even having my laptop in bed to watch a film or browse the Internet for some interesting tidbit or some gossip. As things go, I recently travelled without my phone (bust it), forgot my tablet and had chosen not to carry my laptop.  I only had my copy of Reader's Digest and my Kindle.  How to fill a lonesome night in a hotel room if not read?  I wasn't about to watch BBC or Euronews loop their news stories endlessly, nor was I about to start watching an entire film or talk show in French. Read it was, and now I'm hooked!  I read 3 books - well, 2 and a half since one had been started) in less than a week.  Well, travelling for long plane journeys with plenty of airport time helps and so does sitting alone in a hotel room in an area where it may not be safe to go out, or where there is nothing much to do after 9

... and I am so, so tired.  Weekends are just not long enough and the working day in the summer appears to be just too long.  I have so much to do that the 48 hours from Friday night to Sunday night just fly too fast and I end up lying in bed for 12 hours - from 7/8 pm to 7 am and still find myself unable to drag myself out of bed.  Weekdays leave me with little time to be able to do anything much other than go to work, come home and do a few chores. In any case I'm glad Friday's here ... I have much to look forward to this weekend.  Boat will be back in the water after having been taken up for some repairs and I will hopefully be able to enjoy it...