Woke up this morning at the unholy hour of 5.15 am, to take photos of the Kempinski’s indoor pool an hour before the first swimmers would appear and splash about. By the time I left home thick fog patches here and there and a reddish sunrise sky made me want to change direction and take photos of a different kind. Sadly that was no option. I arrived about 20 minutes before the agreed time, hoping my camera would have enough time to get accustomed to the tropical air of the indoor pool area – but boy was I wrong! I did get a few shots done, with lots of lens-wiping (and sweating!!) but all in all it was a very frustrating task.
Back in the normal climate of the office, I took a couple of pics, just to make sure the camera was still working how it should. And as luck would have it, the palm fronds in front of the window were dripping with morning dew – what a lovely sight! (click to enlarge)
(Translation: Diamond in the middle of the Mediterranean.) Taken from The Tramps’ popular song “Inti Djamant” (you are a diamond), which dates back to the seventies I think. It was a declaration of love to Gozo and is occasionally still used today in descriptions of the island…
Citadel in Victoria, Gozo
Last Wednesday I spent an hour around sunset/dusk in Victoria, trying to get a couple of nice pictures of the citadel, with the aim of illustrating one of Gozo’s medieval heritage gems for a work-related project. It was the third or forth time I went there purposely for taking photos – I really love strolling between those ancient walls! On the website of the Ministry for Gozo the citadel is described as being “… endowed by such a photogenic grace and splendour, that makes its sight unequalled not just on the Maltese Islands, but also practically anywhere.” *snickersnort* (Kathy, that’s just one of the best words ever LOL!)
Deserted alley within the walls of the Citadel in Victoria, Gozo
Apart from the fact that I couldn’t have chosen a much worse day weather-wise (very windy, and the hazy air seemed saturated with desert sand), the whole place is in such a pitiful state that I was wondering whether I should turn my venture into a photo-shoot of the bad and the ugly and send the results to the local press. That’s what I would have done a few years ago when I still erroneously believed that awareness would bring change. Well, I resisted the temptation, mainly because I badly needed that “nice photo”, and tried to concentrate on making do with what there was. Taking great care to shoot around the sorrier sights, I still didn’t succeed in taking the one shot with a “wow” effect that I was after. However, I did get a few nice pics out of it, which I’m showing in this post.
Citadel bastion in Victoria, Gozo - parked cars were bluntly photoshopped away
The first thing you’re greeted with upon arriving are haphazardly parked vehicles that mar each and every angle that you would want to shoot. Just plain awful. As you enter Cathedral Square, the four-wheeled mess gets worse (even at that hour of the day!) and is complemented by the wind and weather-torn scaffolding that has been adorning the Cathedral for… um I don’t really know, but it’s been a long, long time. The following photo was taken on 14th March 2009:
Cathedral in Victoria, Gozo, with scaffolding in March 2009
And this one is from almost a whole year later:
Cathedral in Victoria, Gozo, with scaffolding in February 2010
The above mentioned article on www.gozo.gov.mt does say that “restoration is constantly underway especially through the help of UNESCO.” I guess ‘constantly’ is supposed to be taken literally, and the help of UNESCO will probably have to last a lifetime by the looks of it.
The Cathedral's bell tower
It’s the same at every corner you turn. Scaffoldings, rubble and construction paraphernalia, accentuated by cables and wiring criss-crossing alleyways, not to forget the huge antennas gracing the highest spots. Ah, and a special mention goes to that hideous wooden structure that provides shelter to patrons at various functions throughout the year. It’s been there for longer than the Cathedral’s shabby dress and looks a bit like John Wayne might arrive in a moment to tie his horse to it. How on earth did the permit for this thing materialise?? I just about avoided that structure intruding into this shot:
Canons on the citadel in Victoria, Gozo
People have accused me in the past for being too critical. But this is the kind of stuff that just makes me mad, I just can’t help it. Such a little island – a beautiful one at that… And yet it seems mission impossible to get it up to scratch. It’s really sad! Diamond? Ma nafx jien. Well, maybe a rough one, lacking lots of polishing…
Sentry (I think?) on the citadel in Victoria, Gozo
Here are a few impressions (um… quite a few LOL!) of how the week ended. Home at 2 am on Saturday morning. And yes, that is late if you’re my age! Keith and Julian from Noise Studios moved their “Noise@…” events from Connection to Brookies, also in Victoria, three weeks ago. The setting is great (think typical converted Gozitan farmhouse, with a few modern touches thrown in), and thus offered some nice atmospheric fodder for my lens. Before moving upstairs for the music, we ate at the restaurant downstairs (which Brookies is mainly known for), and the food was great too!
Because the workshop that I mentioned in my previous post took place over two days, I had the pleasure of sampling one of the finest rooms at The Palace, venue of the seminar. (Thank you to Kempinski for the voucher, and to Mario for the allocating the lovely room!) I literally had Sliema at my feet and the only sad thing about it all was that I didn’t really have much time that I could spend up there.
Woke up to the kind of grey, wet and cold Sunday morning that justifies a lengthy lie-in. I hoped to even sleep much longer as the second half of this week sported a serious lack of that. But Simba has made it a morning habit of lying right across my feet, presumably to annoy the hell out of me so I’ll wake up: his weight of nearly 10kg are no joke!
Wednesday I got up at 5 in the morning to go to Malta, where I attended a 2-days’ workshop about social media marketing. It was pretty intensive, and an eye-opener too: thinking I knew it all (well, almost, anyways), Twitter and its ramifications really brought me down to my knees… I had signed up a couple of years ago (I think) but only out of my usual curiosity. I quickly discarded it again because I found it plain boring (and I really didn’t need another social platform to spread out on!). Well, now I’m forced to be back in the twitter fold, if only to learn everything I can about it, so if you like, you can follow me here. I’d be really happy because out of the four followers I have at this moment, one is my dear friend Kathy, while the others are spammers, which I’ll eliminate before YOU even get to see them. So back to one follower…
Of course you could also follow the Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz… after all, our hotel is the reason why I’m doing this in the first place, so might as well try and get a little fan-base going there!
And while you’re at it, check out Sockington the cat! A million and a half followers can’t go wrong, can they?? But seriously, Sockington’s tweets are a hoot! Please do forgive me the pun…
Disclaimer: I absolutely refuse to assume responsibility should you find yourself lost in the vast twitter world!
Out in the garden the first fresias made their appearance this week; a couple days more and there will be a riot of colours. And now even the sun came out to play… Spring’s on the way! I’m only telling you this because I’m so happy I actually noticed…
PS A post with pictures will follow soon, stay posted!
Twitter and its ramifications really brought me down to my knees… I had signed up a couple of years ago (I think) but only out of my usual curiosity. I quickly discarded it again because I found it plain boring (and I really didn’t need another social platform to spread out on!). Well, now I’m forced to be back in the twitter fold, if only to learn everything I can about it, so if you like, you can 
