Irresistible Malta

25th May 1973 (on my way to meet Archbishop Gonzi) Before I arrived at the Archbishop’s Palace a rather peculiar incident took place. I was late and hurried through Strait Street (as a newcomer in Malta I did not yet know its rather questionable reputation. From a bar a scarcely dressed woman not only addressed me with certain improper suggestions, but also tried to grab me in my private parts. I was completely embarrassed by the situation and said something like: ‘Sorry, I’m in a hurry for my meeting with the Archbishop.’ The girl laughed mockingly and uttered some bad… Read more: Strait Street Valletta

In those days Father Charles Vella was making a popular tv-program called Djalogu. He invited me to join his crew and collected me very early in the morning from St. Paul’s Bay on the way to the ferry. I was surprised to see that the ferryboat originally had been in use in the province of Zeeland in my own country. There were still the original signs Dames and Heren to indicate the toilets. In Gozo we went to the village of Xewkija, where a huge new church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, was under construction: the purpose of the… Read more: My first trip to Gozo

In the meantime we tried to get ourselves accustomed to living in Tal-Furi in particular and to Malta in general. Whenever there was time for a drive we would explore another part of the island. The children loved it when we would eat out. Especially The Wimpy (Valletta, Gzira or Sliema) was a favourite. I remember the strawberry milkshakes and the Knickerbocker Glory. We would like to shop in Sliema and even saw a Disney movie at the cinema there. In restaurants we noticed that most people were very tolerant towards children, much more than we were used to. Almost… Read more: Getting accustomed

Originally posted on Facebook, 13th April I was supposed to study Church-State relations in Malta, but had hardly any knowledge about the Church I was going to study. I was raised in a Protestant family in Rotterdam. My mother told me that, before she was married, she was employed as a pharmacist’s assistant. Her employer was a Catholic, ‘but a very good man’, she would always add. When I was twelve years old we spent our summer holidays in the province of Limburg, in those days a Catholic stronghold. I still remember someone telling to me: ‘If you were born… Read more: Getting to know the Church

Thinking about the Maltese figolli makes me very nostalgic From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Figolla is a Maltese pastry stuffed with a marzipan-like filling and served as an Easter sweet.[1][2][3] These are often shaped like hearts, crosses, stars, fish, bunnies, any symbol which links to Christianity, particularly Catholicism, but in modern times these can be shaped into anything the person you give one to is passionate about. The biscuit base is predominantly made of plain flour, butter/margarine, caster sugar, vanilla essence, eggs, lemon rind and water. The marzipan-like filling is made of ground almonds, caster sugar, egg whites, and almond… Read more: Figolli