A Place in the Sun

We have finally launched our boat, christened Miss Fits, last Saturday afternoon. She is currently resting on a pontoon, until her mooring becomes available. Of course we have our good friends to thank, for assisting us with putting her into the water, and thus saving us plenty of extra work and expense. The boat builders are Cantieri Navali Solcio, and Italian maker that nowadays has subcontracted or assigned its construction of boats to third parties. She is 21 feet long, and has 2 x Volvo Penta engines and a small day cabin. Of course some works remain necessary, but we look forward to using her next weekend. Roll on summer !

BirdLife reports attack on birdwatcher's car

Some time last week I was asked to join on a trip to Sicily in order to acquire a boat. This is a pretty 21-foot Solcio, a boat that is now a classic as it is no longer being manufactured, and is extremely ideal for Maltese waters because of her shape. She is still in very good nick, and we're looking forward to having her registered. Sicily was as lovely as ever, th0ugh it rained quite a lot. We also had some extremely windy spells while we were there. We stayed in San Nicola L'Arena, having driven up from Pozzallo. We rented a small house complete with a locked drive-in and back garden. Very pretty, and very Mediterranean. This served as a much-needed break for us, especially because, being unexpected, we did not have to plan beforehand. Watch this space for pictures later ...

I like to use internet banking to transfer funds between different bank accounts - in different banks too. I recently was disappointed to discover that certain local banks have introduced quite a hefty charge for transfers to other local banks. What a whole load of baloney! This will of course reduce the use of internet banking in favour of cheques - thereby increase use of ATM's, lengthen queues, etc. Moreover it is unfair on the consumer. A person receiving salaries by direct credit has to open a bank account in the same bank as the payor - i.e. his employer - or pay the banking charges himself / herself! People transferring money on a personal basis will also have to follow this procedure. What a way to stifle innovation in Malta !

Today I reminisced about my maritime law course, completed almost one year ago at the International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI), in Malta. This Institute is the brainchild of the International Maritime Organisation , an internationl organisation that brings states and other entities together in the interests of Safer Shipping on Cleaner Oceans. The motto of IMLI is 'Serving the Rule of International Maritime Law', which IMLI graduates vow to observe upon successfully recieving their LL.M. after one competitive year spent studying some of the major conventions and traditions in maritime law. Maritime Law has roots in ancient history, and has developed over time to become the very large and interesting subject it is today. The year spent at IMLI taught me cultural tolerance and has given me friends from all over the world. the Tuition is also vast and I think I've never enjoyed studying anything as much as this. We were also given the opportunity to network with people of ...

Recently I was browsing through some photos and came across pics of the Easter Camp spent in Oliveri, Northern Sicily - not far from Messina - by 'we' I mean St Michael School Scouts Group. The scenery is simply stunning and much can be found to explore on this lovely island full of historic places, a combination of hills and beaches. Oliveri is a camping / touristic zone not far from Messina. During the summer it tends to be busy, but during Easter - which is when we went - it is rather quiet, which I tend to prefer. Not far from Oliveri is the ancient village of Tindari, which lies on a hill top. Legend has it that a ship was wrecked close to this high village, and the Madonna aboard the vessel was a black Madonna (no political incorrectness intended). Until then there had been disputes as to the Madonna's skin colour, and the Madonna in this church is supposed to be the same one that was found on the wrecked ship. To explain, this hilltop village is no more than half an ...

I hear lots of complaints about public transport in Malta, but really it's not that bad any more. The only problem is the lack of direct services, but then again, when they are implemented, it takes a while for them to become commonly used. For example, Bus Route 65 which commutes between Sliema and Mdina via Naxxar and San Gwann is nowadays well used, but I do remember when it was first put in place - people took time to become aware of the service. Another problematic factor is the close proximity with humanity. One does not always feel inclined to sit next to another person that might randomly begin to chat - about the weather, politics or even their personal life. Yet again, others really have no option but to use this means of transport. While the Park & Ride Scheme is quite useful, and the new Controlled Vehicle Access means that one often finds parking, I still find that public transport beats them all. Park & Ride is very convenient - but only for those entering Val...

One month ago, I visited a client who was nursing her friend at home and was therefore unable to move from her house. The lady's friend was apparently seriously ill and awaiting an operation. As it was, this second lady was busy making some hand-crocheted items for a friend and I could not help but notice the precision and the patience she had in making these items. Today I visited the house again and was rather distressed to find the ill lady bedridden. Her condition seems to have worsened from the last time I saw her - or at least this appeared to be the case. I was very moved, however, to find that she had crocheted a number of items for me, simply because I commented on the beauty of her work. What was even more moving was that she did not make one item an entire set. This gesture is one of the few things that will always stay with me. This woman touched my heart with her generosity. If all people were like her, the world would be a much better place. I sincerely hope she gets ...

My little nephew Jacob is currently battling with a very bad virus, giving him extremely high temperatures and gastro-enteritis. My mum and sister were with him in hospital last night, and he was constantly being sick... The viruses going around appear to be quite serious ones. The poor child was apparently very pale with red circles under his eyes.... hope he gets well soon. Attaching a pic of him and me last October.

I guess we all have narrow brushes with something which could hurt us or take our life away. Mine are many in number, and this Valentine's day I experienced another. On Valentine's day four years ago, I had a very bad accident from which I escaped without so much as a scratch. This year I had the scary experience of narrowly being missed by my own car, which was being towed and escaped from the tow-truck. It slammed into a garage a few feet away, just as I was going to approach it to see if the guy needed anything (such as checking if the car was going to hit a wall). Obviously I got a considerable fright, and the garage door in question was badly damaged. Fortunately none of us were hurt, and the matter can easily be consigned to my past...

As of the beginning of this year, plastic bottles have been introduced for soft drinks in Malta. Until recently, only glass bottles were being used, so that there was a system of bottle returns, that obviously saved much on waste being produced. The introduction of plastic bottles has created some dilemma in my mind. While of course some still threw away the glass bottles, their disposal was not half as harmful as plastic bottles. One can argue that, with all this waste separation, we can recycle those bottles into other plastic items, but how much? It will definitely increase the necessity for plastic-skips, which are already often full to capacity as things stood until now. This may of course sound very conventional, and as though the author is not willing to change. However, having studied various aspects of environmental law, including aspects of anti-dumping legislation (though this in the maritime context), one tends to continue to be sensitive to such issues. Let us hope that N...

Yesterday I had the pleasure of working from home. Sometimes I choose to do it when my resources happen to be at home, rather than at the office. Because my office is really, mine (as opposed to being an employer's), it feels hardly any different from home. Indeed, being a freelancer has that benefit of allowing you feel that your office is an extension from home. I have set up office in Qormi last June, and am still in the process of decorating it. I recently hung up a few lovely paintings to try to liven it up. The place is rather old and so I'd like to give it a modern touch while keeping its quaint look. I started to work from an office because the pressure of having people turn up on my mother's or my boyfriend's doorstep was a bit too much to handle. I must say that I am strongly in favour of having a home office, but not at the expense of having an external office, where to keep client information and where to meet clients. www.geraldinespiteri.com

Today I was quite shocked when, passing through our capital, I happened to pass near some toilets and went in to wash my hands. There was one woman trying to force-feed her four-year old child one of these babyfood jars. The public toilet was not, in my view, the best place to force feed this little girl, who was crying and threatening to throw up. The grandmother was telling all who would listen that this child never eats. No wonder, when she is fed in places such as the public toilet in Valletta!! It may not seem much to most. However, in a place where many worry about obesity, I find it hard to accept force-feeding, especially since a child will eat when he or she is hungry. How very strange!!!

When I first started writing on blogspot, I had only one nephew. some eighteen months ago, or perhaps a little more, we had another addition to the family. Julian (Juju) has not yet featured on blogspot, so here is a picture of him for those who are or have been following. I am now the proud aunt of two nephews who are growing fast. Jacob is three and a half years old, and forms sentences relatively well. Julian is eighteen months old, and a crafty little bugger at that!!

I am back again ! I had lost the details of this account and had forgotten even my user name, so I had to reactivate an old email address before re-using, and here I am again Much water has passed under the bridge. The house I used to live in has been demolished and we have nearly completed the three maisonnettes we have built instead. I am looking forward to seeing my place finished, even if I am not sure whether I will be living in it at all. I will soon be telling you of all I have done or been through over the last two years. Watch this space :)

We went on a trip across Europe over Easter week and returned on Good Friday. We started off near Birmingham and travelled to Dover where we crossed to Calais. The Channel Tunnel service is really efficient! After we travelled across France, we went to visit a dear friend in Switzerland. Then we went to Italy and took three to four days to travel down south. A lovely break all in all.

Nikki is a noseless dog. She is completely deaf and partly blind from an eye too, and every seven heartbeats she misses one... she's 14 years old and she lives with gordon...

Today is a BAD HAIR DAY. My hair won't stay in place, and calling it straggly is the underestimation of the year. Im feeling tired and befuddled and not very feminine, not lease brought on by the state of my hair ... Ah well the weather has not been to helpful i must admit and though i washed it yesterday it looks like it needs a lot of TLC ... ah there goes my healthy lifestyle and resolution to start to take care of my self one day....

I was sitting in on some criminal cases today. God how awful! I had to assist a client and I had to hear some criminal cases meanwhile. One of these related to some brothers who went for each other with intent to injure each other, and one of the brothers even went to fetch his air gun. They exchanged insults and their mother witnessed it all, and was even powerless to prevent it. How horrid, I thought, these things exist in a small community like ours? ah well ... Have more sittings tomorrow so i'd better push off. must get my sleep ...

I have one gorgeous little nephew named Jacob. Nickname Bubu. Quite an adorable little child he is, though very naughty too. I take lots of photos of him, which you will be seeing here from time to time. He is expecting a brother in about 2 and a half months, so soon this will change to 'my nephews'. He is so cute that I keep wanting to bite him ... In this photo he was just waking up at 7 am one saturday morning, after having slept over at my place for the night. At the moment he is one year 7 months old, and this photo is about a month old. ...