John Bundy's ladies
You're so lucky you married a successful woman, Joseph!
If you have plans for Saturday night, rush to the telephone and cancel them. John Bundy has a real treat in store with his show Affari Taghna:
NISA TA’ SUCCESS (successful women)
His guests – examples of the genre, apparently – are:
the Labour leader’s wife;
Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando’s companion;
Jesmond Mugliett’s wife;
Silvio Scerri’s (tan-Nexos) girlfriend;
the kap (kapa?) of Labour’s Business Forum;
and…
Miriam Gauci.
Poor Miriam Gauci. Has she seen the list of her ‘peers’? Maybe she only got the call because the missing person on this list – Robert Musumeci’s companion – for once decided to turn down an invitation to make a public spectacle of herself.
And yes, I wouldn’t ordinarily describe a woman as being a man’s wife or companion (‘John’s wife’ instead of ‘Mary’), but in this case, I have to do so. It’s the reason they’ve been picked.
But oh, I almost forgot Jason Micallef sends the Super One cameras in hot pursuit of any cookery writer he can find, hence Karen Mugliett.
Tal-biki.
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‘Success’ in what . . . . .
[Daphne – Snaring the ‘right’ man, it seems. So 21st-century.]
So Deborah dropped out and in came Silvio Scerri’s girlfriend…
Yes, Miriam Gauci is a woman of great success but the rest are all il-mara ta’ ……………….
I wonder if the glass ceiling is being shattered here…methinks not. I do feel sympathy for Miriam Gauci also.
What? No Miriam Dalli?!
The “show” (I had to kick myself to write that) is on Friday. So it’s probably part of a “PR” (had to kick myself even harder) effort for the Muscat couple.
Joey will be on Xarabank.
It’s on Saturday, of course, because Joseph Muscat will be on Xarabank on Friday.
Are you sure Affari Tagħna is being screened on Saturday?
Usually the show airs on Friday nights, in direct competition with Xarabank.
[Daphne – Yes, I’m sure. It’s only this edition apparently, because Joseph Muscat stars on Xarabank this Friday.]
Affari Taghna will be live on Friday night apparently. Saturday is a recording for the following Friday.
Isn’t Bundy’s programme aired Fridays? You said Saturday night. Not that it matters, mind you. I find Affari Taghna even more (can’t find one word for this: catering for the least common denominator) than Xarabank.
“Silvio Scerri’s (tan-Nexos) girlfriend;” Silvio is hard core PN as as far as I know.
[Daphne – Then you don’t know much.]
Tan-Nexos mhux Bondin? Met his daughter once. Charming creature.
Are you sure you met his daughter? His estranged wife is Charmaine Parnis who reads the news on Net TV may be the one you met.
Nah, this was no Net tart. No strained nasal accent. And none of that Benghazi look. I thought she said Nexos. Could it have been “naff off”?
Nisa ta’ success? So he’s talking minority groups now. Will he be following this up with a “Pufti ta’ success” edition?
I wonder what that invitation list would look like.
That’s easy. The invitation list will be printed off the Labour LGBT Facebook, and there will be an internal circular at One.
I am surprised Daphne let you post such an insensitive, useless comment! What were you thinking by making jibes at gay people? Do you think your comment is funny?
[Daphne – It’s ironic. That’s why I uploaded it. It’s how your average Labour voter thinks of gay men.]
Cheer up axuereb, could be worse
http://newsthump.com/2011/06/17/iran-to-send-live-homosexual-into-space/
All they need is a guest star in the form of Silvio Ber…. from Italy , he can come along with a choice of companions .
Daphne, I sincerely hope you have got your list of names completely wrong… for Miriam Gauci’s sake.
[Daphne – I haven’t. Ms Gauci has been badly advised.]
We still have no idea what equality is over here. The very fact that someone saw it fit to make a programme about successful women is proof of that. The dismal choice of guests just adds insult to injury.
Is Mrs (I clarify, not Miss) Jason Micallef not invited?
Daphne, why do you say Saturday night? Is Affari Taghna not a Friday night show?
Or has One moved it to Saturday so that people can watch a special edition of Irgiel Ta’ Success on PBS this Friday night?
Miriam Gauci mara ta’ success – why exactly?
Soprano
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miriam_Gauci
Miriam Gauci is a world renowned soprano.
Madonna santa, how cringe-worthy! –
“Toward the end of the meal, they were joined by Franco Debono, a local politician, for a quick chat. “I love Malta!” Pitt raved to Debono. “Glad to be here.”
PHOTOS: Angelina’s parallel life with one screen legend
(The stars posed for a phone pic with Debono, second to left, a staffer, and restaurant owner Francis Cutajar, far right.)” http://www.usmagazine.com/celebritynews/news/inside-angelina-jolie-and-brad-pitts-romantic-dinner-in-malta-2011156
Isn’t Affari Taghna on a Friday night usually? So why should I cancel my plans for Saturday night, Daphne? Please confirm date as I must not miss the show ;)
[Daphne – John Bundy gave the date as Saturday on ‘his Fejsbuk’. He moved the show from Friday because Joseph Muscat is on Xarabank that night.]
So he switched the programme from Friday to Saturday, because The Great Leader is on Xarabank on Friday and so tal-Labour will be watching that and not Super One. Fil-veru sense tal-biki.
Madame Gauci timsah l-art bihom kollha kemm huma. Why on earth she consented to attend in the company of that bunch of chav wannabes is incomprehensible.
Will the programme have a follow up entitled “IRGIEL Ta’ Success”?
Yes. Those invited will include men who made the news in the past year.
1. JPO – for his divorce bill and for working hand in hand with Maria l-Maws “across the party divide” promoting a new era of “bipartisan” politics.
2. John Dalli – for receiving European-wide media coverage after statements he made about Libya and his success with restoring the honour to the Spanish cook-emberrrssss.
3. Joseph Muscat – for his novel concept of the living wage.
4. Karmenu Vella – for making a comeback in his party despite his tender age of 60 or so.
5. KMB – for his unarmed defence of the Gaddafi regime.
6. Robert Musumeci – for his ability to bring about national reconciliation.
7. Jesmond Mugliett – for his ability to challenge the government because there is a one seat majority and he didn’t get made a minister.
8. Saviour Balzan – for his ability to repeatedly serve as the mejda tal-qubbajd on prime time Super One TV shows.
Did I leave anyone out?
How about adding these to your list?
1. Lawrence Gonzi, for showing us what he meant by “a pair of strong hands”.
2. Tonio Fenech, for his capacity of surviving the many insinuations against him (thanks to his Madonna).
3. Tonio Borg, for his great skill of pussyfooting (Libya).
4. Austin Gatt, for his achivement in being named as the most arrogant M.P.
5. Dr.Stephen Spiteri and Dr Adrian Vassallo, for winning the”M.P.award” for being too busy to do their duty in parliament.
6. Joseph Muscat, for being the first M.P.to have a hair transplant.
Yes, you forgot to mention your father, for bringing such an intelligent person in this world.
@Tonio Psaila,
“The intellect is not a serious thing, and never has been. It is an instrument on which one plays, that is all.”
Oscar Wilde.
Dom Mintoff – for the way he beat the Grim Reaper.
ma tithajjarx Daphne? int mara ta success Allajbierkek!
Tonio Psaila, thanks for your compliment regarding my intelligence. But a small point I feel I must make. In my part of the country it is the mothers who bring children into this world. It might be otherwise where you come from. Of course, if you don’t happen to come from some other planet, or happen to need some help (you know the type I mean).
[Daphne – Mr Psaila doesn’t come from another planet. He lives in Malta, where it is naturally assumed that if somebody is intelligent, then they have inherited their father‘s genes. ]
Daphne-So Tonio Psaila comes from planet earth,but why had it to be you to tell us,couldn’t he have done it himself?
I agree that we inherit our fathers’ genes. As a matter of fact{without being personal} when I was young I was a friend of your father,we even spent some time together at the Lyceum,so I can vouch as from whom you got your genes.
You surely do him honour as I remember him as a bright and intelligent boy.
[Daphne – So do you see what I mean? My mother is actually extremely sharp, perceptive and intelligent, so was her mother and so was his mother, but for some reason, people in Malta – a chauvinistic culture – assume that the genes for intelligence are carried in the male line. I find that people don’t even realise how insulting these remarks are, to the other parent, who is usually the woman.]
Mela. Defni esperta fil-kukri. Ayo Gorkhali!
Affari Taghna will be live on Friday night apparently. Saturday is a recording for the following Friday. Shame we all jumped to conclusions.
His standards are pretty low anyway.
Interesting, Daph, but I’d rather have your two pennies worth (figuratively, of course, as your opinion is worth more than that to me) on the honoraria saga, which many consider as being one of the biggest political scandals ever.
Bondi and ABC conveniently chose to ignore the matter completely as if it’s too mundane a matter to occupy their attention. How about your good self?
[Daphne – B-O-R-I-N-G. To me it’s just a major PR f**k-up, and I said so back when it started m-o-n-t-h-s ago. If they want to be paid more, then fine – because as the current scenario proves, if you pay peanuts you get the proverbial.]
Oh my, the biggest political scandals ever!
A little bit more effort and your underpants will change colour. I suggest you take your grey matter out of its original packaging and attach a power supply to it.
Two if not three editions of Bondiplus dealt with the subject since the story broke.
Bajd u laham, apart from paying peanuts getting you monkeys, as Daphne is saying, there’s another side to the story which you overlook.
What would you say if you witness Minister Pullicino who is an architect , defending his client in front of the MEPA appeals board?
Can you for a moment imagine accountant/ Minister Tonio Fenech presenting the accounts of a big firm to the MFSA or the VAT department , or lawyer/ Minister Karm Mifsud Bonnici defending his client in front of the Appeals Court?
Keep in mind that a minister has to renounce his/her private practice when he/she is selected for the post. Are you claiming that ministers should not be paid for their full time job as ministers and that they should start doing their previous jobs?
Would they cope with the demanding job of a minister and their private practice?
I think that if one calculates the hours of work they do with the normal overtime rates for after hours, Saturdays and Sundays, they will end up with a basic pay of around 5 Euro per hour.
[Daphne – The difference being, of course, that senior-level jobs are not subject to over-time payments no matter how many hours you work, even on weekends. You’re paid a lot precisely because you are expected to work whenever required and all the hours God sends. Cabinet ministers fall into this category. They should be paid a lot because they’ve got a great deal of responsibility.]
Daphne – I agree with you completely, but on one condition, that they do what they are paid for.
If you honestly think that the scandal behind this is simply the amount itself or whether MPs are paid peanuts as opposed to a merited salary, you’re missing the point, or dodging it altogether.
The issue here boasts all the possible political no-nos imaginable. Lack of transparency. Check. Lack of accountability. Check. Bad timing. Check. Conflict of interest. Check. Misappropriation of public funds. Check.
@ Lou Bondi
“Two if not three editions of Bondiplus dealt with the subject since the story broke.”
Yes, Lou, but when the issue hit its climax and all the media was abuzz about it, you decided to look the other way.
[Daphne – I’m going to answer this one. The trouble with individuals like you is that you think what is interesting to you is interesting to everyone and worse, that newspaper columnists and television talk show producers somehow have the same duties as political lobbyists or pressure groups. We don’t. Our job is to work out what is interesting to our readers/audience and then to talk/write about it. We are, basically, glorified entertainers. And when people are good at this job and have done it for years, they develop an instinct for the stuff that will bore the pants off their readers/audience, if they didn’t have that instinct to begin with. Trust my judgement on what I think people will read and what I don’t think they will read, and believe me when I say it has nothing to do with how important politicians or lobbyists think or don’t think a subject is. The fact that people are still talking about what I write 21 years down the line might just be a clue that maybe, just maybe, I know what I’m doing. Another point I find VERY interesting is that instead of writing a newspaper article on the subjects you find so terribly galvanising, when you are clearly capable of stringing words and thoughts together, you carp and gripe because I don’t write one ‘for you’.]
Well said, Daphne.
Bajd u Laham should thank his lucky stars he’s got meat and not just pizza.
“They (people in senior level ) should be paid a lot because they’ve got a great deal of responsibility.”
I say “of course”, but how much? I still say that all this hullaballoo on the ministers’ pay is the result of crass ignorance coupled with envy.
Two engineers who are friends of mine once had this discussion.
Ray: “How much are you working, Ramon?“
Ramon: “Well, I go in at half seven and leave at around six and sometimes eight in the evening.”
Ray:”Saturdays?”
Ramon: “Yes, I go in at nine and leave at four.”
Ray: “Sundays?”
Ramon: “A few hours every now and then.”
After this brief interview Ray got out a calculator from his briefcase and in no time concluded ”You’d better change your job. A cleaner with Bad Boy on minimum wage would earn more than you do if he works those hours.”
I was surprised at Vanessa McDonald’s lame argument when she ‘calculated’ Stephen Spiteri’s hourly ‘wage’ by dividing his ‘pay packet’ with his attendance in parliament on TVM’s Bongu.
It has become fashionable to lambast government.
In no time we will have some bright spark in “journalism” calculating how many times the prime minister ‘siefer’ on government business and comparing it to how many times a poor worker with a Lm0.50 COLA pay rise went to have a burger at MacDonalds.
We’re becoming a stupid country, where a TV programme presenter is more important than an economist.
I am scandalised with the way the well-off Joseph Muscat is depriving his people (foot soldiers, who really have their ears to the ground) like Ms Coleiro Preca from earning a decent honorarium. Who would pay the rent for the office she uses in Luqa for example?
And Marisa Micallef Leyson? Isn’t she Labour’s idea of a mara ta’ success?
Yes. Highest paid Labour functionaire. Probably.
She’s working a lot from home. Guess she doesn’t like the glass house.
Why is anyone surprised by Miriam Gauci appearing on the programme?
Think ‘Sunset Boulevard’, Think Gloria Swanson. Now think Hamrun.
Meta nara dan ir-ritratt ta’ fuq l-istonku jdum gimgha mhawwad.
Li bniedem ikun blu u ma jibqax nasal, forsi biex nifhimha. Anki li bniedem ikun ahmar u ma jibqax….tista’ tifhimha. Imma li nara bniedem li minn blu skur isir ahmar skur…nies bhal dawn ma niflahhomx. Jien cert li nies bhal dawn ma jkun jahmilhom hadd…la l-homor u anqas il-kohol. Nies bla sinsla!
Do I smell a tiny bit of jealousy?
[Daphne – What of and why? You will recall that when John Bundy wrote to invite me to be a big audience draw on his show, I ignored his email.]
If it as you say, I ask for your pardon.
[Daphne – Don’t worry about it.]
May I suggest if he ever repeats his invitation, you should consider accepting. It takes somebody like you to take the S..T out of him.
[Daphne – I don’t need to go on Super One to do that. This website has a bigger audience than Affari Taghna, though of course, unlike Affari Taghna’s it is by definition literate.]
Jealousy by Dorall?
Our Daphne deserves better.
Yes
Norman Lowell
Ijsa Joseph, taqtax qalbek. Issa nghidlek jien x’ taghmel biex ma taqalekx xaghrek. Ara jien ta’ hamsin l-anqas xaghra wahda bajda m’ ghandi
http://www.flickr.com/photos/direzzjonisuccess/3519126979/in/photostream
U issa ejja ha mbusek wahda qalbi.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/direzzjonisuccess/3519123425/in/photostream
Yes, it is tal-biki. How pathetic and sad can one get. Yes, you’re right. Karen Mugliett is a cookery writer (at least, not a wannabe one) but she has also published a cookery book which went into a second edition after two months.
She has also a doctorate in this field, a high-flying career, a wonderful family, three beautiful kids, she’s charming, beautiful and smart, she has a husband who adores her, she feels comfortable in all company (be it the local grocer or the Queen) and she has better things to do with her time than tilhaq salib in-nies. No wonder you’re so envious.
[Daphne – Funny how people who move in the Muglietts’ chavtastic circles, so far removed from my own (sorry, but you really asked for it) appear to think I’m some ugly, childless, brainless and talentless spinster from an impoverished working-class background of second-generation literates, who has never achieved anything, so much so that I would be jealous of…..Karen Mugliett. Though of course, I can fully understand why she might be cheesed off at me, given that I have never shown the slightest bit of interest in asking her to work for me, leaving her reduced to writing recipes for – no surprises here – Malta Today. That’s not because she’s married to Jesmond, incidentally, but because I don’t think she’s right for the Taste brand. She’s more a Malta Today brand sort of person, if you know what I mean (but clearly, you don’t).]
Er, what have you achieved exactly, Daphne? And Karen Mugliett’s book focuses on healthy and nutritious food, so no wonder you ‘don’t think she’s right for the Taste brand’.
[Daphne – Now let’s see, what have I achieved? Go on, you tell me. Non-chavs don’t boast. It’s crass and vulgar.]
Simon, I had the following in mind the minute Daphne put up this post, but I refrained from sending it because I hate flaunting other people’s feathers particularly if I consider them well above average intelligence.
I invite you to stop for a while and think about this. If you make a relative comparision (that is take into consideration things like time, human, capital and technological resources) this blog is most probably, that is 99.9%, the most visited and popular site in Malta. What is even more incredible is that Daphne has total control on the numbers that visit this blog
Try and match that and then ask the same question.
And that is only this blog!
I am really sad to see even the words “nisa ta’ success”.
It’s so chauvinistic – why do “nisa ta’ success” deserve to be mentioned more than “irgiel ta’ success”?
[Daphne – This is why: http://www.samueljohnson.com/dogwalk.html ]
I mean, a mara ta’ success worthy of mention would be one who did something extraordinary – a Mother Theresa or an astronaut or something like that. As a “ragel ta’ success” for that matter. Does a person who does well at his job or career or business deserve a programme?
Don’t think it’s envy – I have whatever I wanted from life – and more so I don’t care about others having more. However, this is just my mind whirling: why have a programme for “nisa’ ta’ success”. It is soooooo demeaning for women and humankind in general.
The more I see the above picture the more I agree with Bundy that Malta is a Mickey Mouse country.
What about Grace Borg?
Why, is success measured by the length and colour of one’s nails?
……………….or by how much one can shout and be heard?
‘Carry on’ is still running….I suppose you consider yourself a woman of substance? Viva il-Bidnija!
[Daphne – Can you people get over your obsession with the fact that I live there? I mean, I know you’re consumed with jealousy, but get over it. I’m not about to move into a four-room Fgura maisonette on a car-polluted main road to keep a bunch of lanzit-ridden Socialists happy. Don’t you have your doled-out plots of requisitioned land to be getting on with? At least you got those for free.]
I live in a detached building in the North ,nothing to brag about; come from a staunch Nationalist family- it could have easily been Labour-but I do not feel bitter towards my friends-Nationalists and Labourites like you do.
Your self- destruct innuendos nullify your otherwise intelligent commentaries. Stop your’ rahal’ attitude, stop having an opinion on everything-typical Maltese malaise-, and concentrate on what you usually do best: good day and good luck.
[Daphne – We obviously come from completely different cultures and it has nothing to do with politics. I can’t possibly have a ‘rahal’ attitude because I don’t come from one (just I don’t come from a ‘staunchly Nationalist’ family) and there was nothing remotely rahal about my upbringing. That is precisely where we part company. I am afraid that it is your attitude which is ‘typical Maltese malaise’: keep your head below the parapet. As for innuendos, you had best look up the meaning of the word. If I’m known for anything, it’s for being 100% direct.]
As if we, lesser mortals, care for Muscat’s diminishing hair line, or Gonzi’s facial craters!
[Daphne – In fact, we don’t. It’s the wigs, hair volumiser, dye and transplants we’re interested in.]
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110616/letters/Political-history-keeps-repeating-itself-1-.370746
On another subject, in which planet is this Laivera living? To suggest that this legislature is a ‘carbon-copy’ of the 1981-87 Labour is downright crazy.
[Daphne – Victor Laiviera lives on Planet Red. As I told him once, I can’t help but dismiss outright the views and opinions of somebody who voted for Dom Mintoff to remain prime minister in 1981 and worse, for KMB to remain prime minister in 1987, and – this one is unbelievable – who voted to bring back KMB as prime minister in 1992. For a while back in 2008, around election time, Mr Laiviera would pop into this website and comment scathingly about the Nationalist Party. And I would reply with a simple ‘Oh hi, Victor – so tell me, why did you vote for KMB in 1987 and 1992?’]
It’s time for the PN to talk more about its achievements during these past three years. Whereas past PN governments had good results, my impression is that during this legislature much more has been achieved.
In any case, this was most certainly a zillion times better than the 1981 – 1987 Labour government.
It’s not just politics, Victor Laiviera is Malta’s answer to Victor Meldrew.
Isn’t Miriam Gauci from a Labour family? So no surprise that she’s appearing on Sooper Wann.
The only self made woman in public life whom I consider successful, who beats all the others mentioned in this post hands down, is Dr JOANNA DRAKE.
The sequel will be “tfal ta’ sucess”, starting with the twins. I think that’s where Bundy got his idea: Joe’s Muscat speech about how all children should be successful like his own.
.
“I’m going to answer this one. The trouble with individuals like you is that you think what is interesting to you is interesting to everyone”
Daph, forgive me for being “interested” (concerned or more so scared shitless) about the fact that, as a taxpayer, I’m footing the bill to pay for the salary increases of the likes of Tonio Fenech, Cristina, Edwin Vassallo and Gonzi.
[Daphne – I can’t see why. Other taxpayers are paying for your choices. They’re also paying for Adrian Vassallo who never turns up to parliament, for Joseph Muscat who wasn’t even elected but bummed a seat off somebody else, for Anglu Farrugia, for Silvio Parnis and for thousands of Labour bums who were put on the public service payroll between January and May 1987, most of whom are there still today.]
But if your readers find more interest in knowing what’s on Bundy’s TV show tonight, then, what can I tell you, keep up the good work!
[Daphne – I certainly shall.]
Why a woman who has achieved so much as Miriam Gauci chose to be on this kind of shallow programme baffles me.
http://www.um.edu.mt/newsoncampus/?a=127820
“The course is open to women and men”. You don’t say.
[Daphne – Unbelievable.]