Big deal. We have been reduced to a nation of spoilt brats after 25 years of glorious PN government.

Unfortunately the spoilt brats are, in the majority, also peasants who cannot even see the transformation the country has undergone.

Dalle stalle alle stelle.

Biskuttini f’halq il-hmir.

I too was sceptical about the open air theatre at the entrance to Valletta until I happened to go in on a cold night at about one o’clock in the morning on new year’s day.

The place was packed. There was music going on, people singing and dancing and others sitting enjoying the spectacle. Everyone was wearing thick jackets or overcoats because it was so cold but everyone seemed to be having a good time.

A real theatre for everybody. Anyone can put up a performance and anyone can drop in.

That was my thought. It was also Renzo Piano’s. I clearly remember him saying that he doesn’t want a gate to Valletta because he wants it to be open and welcoming to everybody. If there’s something good going on, people will come, regardless of the weather.

Many people think of theatres as stuffy places full of Kenneth Zammit Tabonas. This is something different. Yes, there’s the chance of rain. Brave performers might carry on. Others might not. It’s not the end of the world. Open air performances are performed everywhere and acoustics for such performances are very good these days.

For those who prefer more traditional theatres, there are others around Valletta, and it’s not like they always pull full capacity crowds. There’s always space.

The bottom line about the Renzo Piano project is this. It would have been unnecessary had Mintoff and his Labour scum not taken such disastrous decisions.

I’ll remind you of just one instance:

Labour pulled down the rather elegant City Gate so that carnival floats could pass through. They built a communist like monstrosity instead.

I’ll leave the rest up to Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith:

“The British government had sent out two architects, Messrs Harrison and Hubbard, who were charged with the task of supervising reconstruction. They soon left the island and handed over the building projects to their assistant, Dom. It is largely Harrison and Hubbard’s and Dom’s fault that so much of what could have been saved, was not, and so much that was modern and ugly and ill-suited to Malta was built. Malta still has some priceless architectural heritage, but much was lost thanks to the vandalism of these three. It is a tragedy that the destroyed buildings – such as the Auberges de France and Auvergne, and Barry’s Opera House – were not rebuilt, as they could easily have been. Another tragedy is represented by the various government housing schemes built by the pair and Dom: Malta had and still has some lovely domestic architecture, but Dom pioneered the modern and hugely inferior.

If I were to give one reason for my dislike of Dom Mintoff, it would be this: his part in the catastrophic destruction of the Maltese environment, which, even if it had been planned, could not have been more triumphantly successful”

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2012/08/22/dom-mintoff-a-dominant-figure-in-malta-for-30-years-did-great-harm-to-his-country/

The tag line for Labour.

And no, that’s not an insult but a standard idiomatic expression.

______________

really?

[Daphne – Yes. Queer and gay both have real meanings that have nothing to do with sexuality.]

Not much point in offering bistecca Fiorentina to a culture that considers hamburgers to be great eating.

Incidentally, Joseph Muscat, by his own declaration and by his behaviour in general, puts himself firmly in that group.

Perfectly agree with you. Kenneth Zammit Tabona is not attracted by the MLP’s manifesto or policies but by Joseph Muscat himself.

Joseph’s teddy bear persona attracts many gay men, unlike the well-defined looks of men like Jason Micallef. Now join the dots.