Joseph Muscat – weighed down by the affairs of state
No, I didn't get this tie at Primark. It's an axpansive one.
Ma tistax tb*ss Londra.
The thing about being Maltese is that other Maltese spot you immediately, and if there’s one place that’s teeming with Maltin, it’s London, the old colonial capital and (ahem) our cultural and spiritual headquarters.
Any Maltese person who thinks he or she is going to have any privacy in, say, Oxford Street, is sadly deluded.
Joseph and Michelle – what did I tell you about their taking time out from laqghat with Ed Miliband to do naqa xopping? – have been spotted at Primark’s flagship store at Marble Arch.
I can’t say I blame them. I love that place – the mad crowds, the Tower of Babel of languages, people tearing things off the rails like it’s the end of the world, tag-along husbands looking like they’re about to pass out or file for divorce, clothes, shoes and handbags strewn across the floor while people walk over them, security guards swearing under their breath, collisions with other people’s suitcases, and some great finds at stupid prices.
But it’s not really the sort of place you’d expect to find somebody who’s going to be prime minister in a couple of years. Certainly, I have yet to see Ed Miliband there, or David Cameron. But if I do, I’ll let you know.
P.S. There’s no hair volumiser, either.
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Next stop: McDonalds, 2-4 Marble Arch.
http://www.allinlondon.co.uk/mapping/map.php?pc=W1H+7EJ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t90SfnAQ1TI
But Joseph is not a snob. He likes Mc Donalds, he buys second hand cars ta’ Ingilterra, he’s the son of a Burmarrad “salesman”, and we will soon spot him shopping at LIDL.
If this is true, all I can say is that I pity him for once. I would rather watch some show or lie on the turf at Hyde Park listening to some soap-box speaker, while ‘Lil Din’ is shopping – at least she can carry up to a certain amount.
This would have been their last shopping spree for free on Air Malta. Next one would be … let me see , Click Air, Ryan Air or Easy Jet.
Ma tarax li the Muscats will rather die then be seen xopping for bargain toilet paper at Lidl. People who have children attending schools “ta certa klassi “do not shop at yaqq places like Lidl.
And yet they were shopping at Primark. AND Mrs Muscat would love to go out in rollers (if that’s not the biggest jaqq, don’t know what is) if only she could.
So, no, they really wouldn’t be out of place buying cheap toilet paper from Lidl or even fighting over cheap lingerie at the bargain bins. Sorry, but I can’t get over the fact that she used to go out in rollers before she became a ‘mara ta’ success’ and I’ll never be able to see her again without picturing a pile of hairy Chelsea buns, precariously balanced on her head.
So did John Bundy record the programme “Nisa ta’ success” one week earlier so that Mrs. Success Muscat could spend a few days in London with the Labour Leader hopping between forging new ties with Mr. Red Ed and buying ties at bargain prices at Primark?
There’s a McDonalds across the road from Primark.
This brings to mind when we used to have thousands of Maltese going shopping to Catania. What they meant was the Catania market to buy a lot of junk that they did not need.
I would have thought that Mrs Muscat would have spent a few pounds at Harrods, making sure that they gave her a bag with HARRODS splashed all over it.
Quite a lot of my Sliema friends do it.
You get the bag at Harrods and fill it in Primark.
@ Silvio
If they were spotted at Harrods then they would have been criticised as social climbers or trying to be ‘puliti’.
They will never get it right believe me.
Primark = Cheap
Harrods = Nouveau riche
…… and so on
The truth is that for the so called ‘establishment’ in Malta (says who?) people like Joseph Muscat will never be accepted because of their accent, ‘humble’ or ‘ill educated’ backgrounds etc. So much for a society of equal opportunities.
[Daphne – Joseph Muscat does not come from a humble background. He comes from a monied background, and you should be able to deduce this from his sense of entitlement, even if you didn’t know it. He didn’t even have to work to pay for the house he lives in – his parents provided it, complete with swimming pool, by the time he was 25. This means that poor Michelle has no rights of ownership over her own marital home. I trust she knows this, and knows also that it is not at all progressive.]
Please do not take these comments as criticism for this blog, they are NOT.
It is a notion in general which goes beyond my reason. If you are not ‘di sangue blu’, haven’t frequented the ‘good society’ as a child or have the wrong accent then you are not entitled to a shot to succeed. This is not only in politics in Malta but is also a huge problem in many professions such as for lawyers, doctors, architects etc.
[Daphne – Utterly wrong. Wrong, wrong and wrong again. In fact, people from privileged backgrounds are LESS likely to succeed, because despite having all the advantages, they have been brought up with the wrong attitude. Real advantage comes through having had certain privileges – and by this I don’t mean money but being taught good manners, ability to converse, how to behave in all situations, and so on – combined with the right attitude towards work and perseverance. It has nothing to do with sangue blu and society – anyone can learn some manners, and if they haven’t learned them while growing up they can learn them in adult life. Lots of people do, but most just don’t bother. ]
Thank God it was not the case in business as well and this country flourished even thanks to the talents of these ‘nobodies’.
Anthony, your fatalistic and deterministic outlook to life sends shivers down my spine!
It is that kind of attitude that provides the right context for bastards with a “primus inter pares” attitude to create false ideologies like socialism. People whose political discourse is based on class distinction and struggles and where the only parameter is monetary wealth!
How naff and tacky. Only chavs carry Harrods carriers bags nowadays.
Spotted by whom?
And what were THEY doing there?
Shopping in their own time, presumably, rather than someone else’s, and without having used the underpaid party machinery to send out a press release saying they’re doing important things in Brussel (sic) and London.
Just got a call from a friend who saw both of them planking, during the changing of the guard, in front of Buckingham Palace.
L-ingravata ta’ l-LGBT.
If you’re going to come across Maltese in London, it’s very likely to be in Primark. Last time I was there there were a couple of swarthy, portly gentlemen a few yards away from me in the queue, turning the air blue b’Alla u bil-Madonna due to the long wait, thinking nobody could understand them. Reading the above made it even more (sadly) funny.
So right! I see it all the time in central London. Maltese people living the chavtastic way for a few days, carrying bags and luggage.
Last month I went to Westfield and I had to use the bathrooms. There were two men in there and suddenly one belched and said: “Ajma Madonna x’qasma bewl kelli”. I gave them the look and one of them asked me “Jaqaw Malti int?”
I replied in the affirmative, of course. Then it’s the usual discussion “Ghax tghid indunajt mill-ewwel mill-fattizzi u hekk”. Mela ghala tfewwaqt u tkellimt b’lingwagg ardit, ja gahan Malti.
Because these people think it very ‘Maltese’ to (mis)behave in such a manner and feel very uninhibited to act like cavemen when in the presence of other Maltese.
When I reprimand the boys at school for their ‘jungle’ talk and actions, they always reply that they’re speaking Maltese and would I rather have them speaking bil-pepè instead? So to them it’s a choice between ‘hamallagni’ and the much hated tal-‘pepè. They’re obviously going for the former, and it gets steadily worse as they get older.
Primark opening day:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFPr5F_p5so
Not very different from this, is it?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhaxEdzropo
I came across Maltese three times in London; I met a group of girls on a train to Victoria, with endless moans about Ryanair flights, a couple fighting over which bread to buy at Sainsbury’s and a group of short, podgy and hairy blokes on their way to Camden Town for the evening…
On all occasions I feigned ignorance and walked on in shame. I do look like a wog, so I blended in well with the tanned masses of London; I’m not a fan of veils, but I always make an exception and draw one around me when meeting Maltese overseas.
@Neil Dent
“turning the air blue b`Alla u bil-Madonna” haha.
I think I saw those “portly gentlemen” too, last time I was in Primark. And I have to admit that the long queue wasn`t that boring as I was entertained all the way, up until it was their turn to pay.
Like we say in Maltese “Primark kien se jaqa` bid-dagha”. I know that it is just not right to swear, in any situation, but I couldn`t stop laughing. Hope God and the Virgin Mary will forgive me.
and your point is!!? another lame attempt at attacking the leader of the opposition party!?
When in London I used to enjoy C & A which catered for my style of dress. When it closed down the premises were left abandoned for some time.
I then heard Primark had opened a store there and had no idea what market they catered for and I remember asking friends about them. If I had known they were patronised by Joseph and Michelle I wouldn’t even have bothered to ask.
Our hotel was just off Oxford Street and I resolved to go there first thing. It was bliss having an almost empty store to roam about in. I saw a couple of things I liked and thought I’ll come again before I return to the hotel ………… I did at about 11 o’clock and could hardly enter the store.
I noticed that, by far, the largest amount of carrier bags seen in Oxford Street were of Primark.
I’ve seen the tie at Marks & Spencer’s in Valletta, once, as I passed through. I don’t shop.
I’m sorry, the following is a bit unrelated to the topic discussed above but I am appalled by the choice of issues discussed in our parliament.
“This cross, he said, had historically delineated Birkirkara’s boundaries. It seemed, however, that somebody did not want Mater Dei Hospital to be listed within Birkirkara’s boundaries, even though it was built mostly on land which belonged to the Birkirkara church.
It was bad enough, Mr Debono Grech said, that the Curia had broken up Birkirkara inso five so-called parishes which did not even have enough priests for their needs, but process should not, now, be continued by the state authorities.
The area of Mater Dei Hospital, he insisted, was part of Birkirkara, not San Gwann or Msida, and the locality’s MPs should insist that the cross should be placed back where it was.”
Ahem.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110627/local/debono-grech-cross-over-birkirkara-boundary-shift.372742
I took some of the family’s sprogs to a playground and as it adevrtised free (filtered) WiFi I tried to look at your site. It is blocked … now why should that be?
The epitome of cheapness, now wonder Labour has always looked and felt ‘tatty’.
Mintoff started the tattiness by inducing the government of the time with the “second-hand-is-good-enough-for-the Maltese” syndrome. It has continued and can be seen in the cars we use, the garbage collection vehicles and now I have seen that ARRIVA has also imported some second hand buses. Our tattiness goes even further when one sees the ruined rubble and dry walls in our countryside and are never repaired.
Labour has always been “tar-racanc.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/jun/27/lady-thatcher-handbag-charity-auction
Is it the one she used to bash recalcitrant politicians ?
After all, she introduced the verb “to handbag” in the language.
It’s the silly season, so here is a question for you all:
Who are the Kardashians and what do they do (act, sing, dance ?) ?
At least, I heard on CNN that Kim of that ilk did not have a butt implant; are they serious or is it the silly season in full flow?
Reading such inane and puerile passages from your notebook fills me with boundless delight. They reassure me that little else is happening in this wonderfully laid-back country that may merit serious thought or consideration.
Please stop reminding us that this bozo is going to be prime minister in a few years. I would still like to hope that Dr Gonzi will be able to regroup before the election.
What about our beloved prime minister and his wife daphne?? Minfejn jaghmluh x-xopping taghhom?? €500 more in a week nahseb li jixraq li jixtru min xi Harrods nahseb hux?? tell us please
[Daphne – They don’t strike me as being the shopping type. And only backwoods bunnies think of Harrods as the sine qua non of expensive shopping.]
Does the Prime Minister have a wife called Daphne?
Quick, call Kevin.
The last (and only) time I went to the Primark flagship store on Oxford Street I heard more people speaking Maltese than I did English.
Shop warfare?
Now for some real news:
http://www.viceland.com/int/v18n5/htdocs/too-many-tunisians-not-enough-toilets-799.php
THIS IS GREAT! LOVE THE WAY YOU PUT PEN TO PAPER.
[Daphne – I don’t put pen to paper.]
Once in the mid-eighties I was in London on business and on FA Cup eve I was in a small Italian restaurant near the hotel when in walked Lorry Sant and one of the “captains” of Maltese business presumably up for the Cup.
They were given a table which had just been vacated and the minister with a “Hej” summoned the waitress and in his dulcet tone asked her to clean the table and get them some bread.
His companian was cringing in embarrassment throughout all this but could only smile at his companian’s antics at trying to order in a mish-mash of Maltese/English/Italian.
Again in Rome, I was in a restaurant off Piazza Barberini frequented by office managers, civil servants. In come a Maltese extended family of about twelve people; the restaurant owner nearly had a fit when they asked for a table in the centre of the restaurant and plunked assorted buggies and Upim/Rinascente and other assorted shopping bags to claim their territory.
The other patrons either looked on in amusement at the free entertainment or were annoyed at the disruption to their lunch hour. As we had been to this restaurant severel times before, the staff knew we were Maltese and used to tease us about Dom Mintoff. My wife called the waiter and forbade him to even mention that there were other Maltese in the place (he got a double tip at the end).
London Underground platform; you can hear them a mile off whining about everything and Alla/Madonna every third word they utter.
Maltese abroad: run away as fast as you can in opposite direction!
It’s not just abroad. Have you been to the Mamma Mia in Ta’ Xbiex on a weekend, lately? Incredible!
Avoid it like the plague.
Only lately?
What a country! British politicians have their suits tailored at Saville Row and their wives shop at Harvey Nicks; our ‘Great Leader’ and his ‘Great First Lady’ shop at Primark. I thought he was worth a bob or two.
Primark is fashionable as in it’s fashionable to shop there because it’s cheap and because the clothes are fashionable too.
Maltese are instantly recognisable by the mountains of purchases. One friend said the cashier asked her if she’s from Malta because her trolley was piled sky high.
But I’ve seen Michelle several times carrying Louis Vuitton bags, and she has different ones. Even Joseph had a faded Tommy Hilfiger shirt on the voting day of divorce referendum. So that means that they don’t shop only from Primark. Maybe she gave him a list heqq naqra panties u pygamas u krakar ghas-sajf hux tixtirjhom minn hemm u peress li ma hax iz-zieda hux heqqq il-hajja saret iebsa bil-kontijiet tad-dawl u l-ilma hux allura jiffranka.
All this coyness about shopping from Primark ghax ma hax iz-zieda is hogwash.
The reason they shop at Primark is because it’s cheap, yes, but you need to get to London first – and that isn’t cheap.
Did he pay for his own flight? And did lil din do likewise?
Now, that’s an interesting question. If they didn’t pay for their flights, then they’re scroungers and if they did, then, please, let’s have less tripe about how they can’t afford anything else.
The Muscats give the term ” inverted snobs” a new dimension.