Don’t let the entry fee put you off, because what you get in return is very valuable indeed: exposure for your photography in the attractive setting of the Banca Giuratale in Victoria; your photo(s) printed and professionally framed; the opportunity to sell your photo(s).

Participation in the exhibition is open to both, members and non-members of the MIPP. But if you aren’t a member, why not think about becoming one? Members don’t only profit from a cheaper entry fee, but also from a lot of attractive activities for photographers that are organised frequently throughout the year by the MIPP. And last but not least, you’ll meet a lot of nice people with the same passion for photography as you!

Click the graphic on the right to download a PDF file with further details and rules of entry for the Illuminaria Gozo exhibition.

Yesterday the postman brought me two letters; one contained my blood test results of last week, which I’d been broadly informed about earlier by my GP, but which came as a bit of a shock just the same. I knew that two tumor markers were elevated – but until yesterday I didn’t know which ones (namely CA125 at 42.1 units/ml and CEA at 281 ng/ml).

Additionally, serum ferritin also turned out high (438 ng/ml). Interestingly, the symptoms resulting from high ferritin levels are those that I’m suffering from, most notably “pain throughout the body”, caused by deposition of excess iron in the body.

Tumor markers alone cannot serve as a screening test to diagnose cancer (just imagine how miraculous that would be!), because various other factors can cause levels of these proteins to rise (just one example: smokers tend to have higher CEA levels than non-smokers – please don’t beat me up over this!). Other diagnostic measure are needed. OK, let me rephrase that: I need other diagnostic measures! And that’s where the second bad news of yesterday comes in. Mater Dei Hospital is pleased to inform me that an MRI has been scheduled for me for the 31st January 2011. No appointments yet for CT or isotope bone scan.

Necessity:

Where cancer is concerned, we are constantly bombarded with the advice how early detection is paramount for a possible cure. At the slightest suspicion you should go and see a doctor. They drum it into your head, brainwash you into believing it’s solely up to you to get healing. The message that ultimately sticks in your head – whether that’s intentional or not – is that it’s you who is to blame if you die of cancer. What a bloody farce!

What is luxury?

When I moved to Gozo in 1984, the term ‘luxury’ was redefined in my head. In those days, a television set constituted a luxury, a telephone line. On a more mundane level and in purely random order, ‘Mars’ bars (or any real chocolate, for that matter), deodorant that didn’t reek of toilet cleaner, smoked ham, Swiss cheese… all these were items that were hard to come by and therefore – well, luxuries. (Note on the side: An amenity that has remained a luxury right into today’s technology-governed age is uninterrupted electricity supply (I was blessed with a powercut while writing this post) – but let’s better not go there now!!)

In all honesty, none of these really ever bothered me bad enough to change my mind about living here. Overall, there’s always been a balance in favour of Gozo. However, now life itself is creeping into the equation… Dictionary.com defines luxury as

“a material object, service, etc., conducive to sumptuous living, usually a delicacy, elegance, or refinement of living rather than a necessity.”

Yet here I am, squeezed in a 3+ months waiting loop that could cost me my bare life – never mind any degrees of “elegance” or “refinement” of the same!

Conclusion:

Making a life in Gozo can be a true luxury if ever there was one – and it could well turn out to be the one you’ll crave most but will never afford!

Since my first brave walk last Friday I went twice more, and I can clearly say it does feel a little better each time, though anything ever so slightly uphill is a killer. Also, at the peril that people will hate me for this: walking through Gharb is rather uninspiring.  Sure, there are still a few enchanting corners, where the view on the surrounding country-side hasn’t been shut off with walls yet. But all in all the village isn’t as pretty as one might expect.

Yesterday I took my nifty 50mm out with me, seeing that dusk was near, but there were very few inspiring views… or maybe I just wasn’t in the mood to see them?

Arid land & San Dimitri Chapel

Shut

Nobody home?

Architecture in Gharb

Religious devotion

Shaded alley in Gharb

At the end... light!

“Optimism. The doctrine or belief that everything is beautiful,
including what is ugly.”
Ambrose Bierce

Like Bees to Honey is the title of Caroline Smailes’s new book – and it’s all about Malta! You may remember Caroline’s sad stories In Search of Adam; and Black Boxes. Well, this one is different; it is a very positive and enchanting tale – but it has all the tell-tale signs of Caroline’s totally unique style. Which I just love! I bought  Like Bees to Honey a week ago here in Gozo, couldn’t believe seeing it on sale in Gozo! However, I only started reading a little of the first chapter – and it’s not Caroline’s fault I put it down again. Actually it had drawn me right in, but I still have trouble sitting still for long stretches, which is why for instance this blog post has already taken me two days to write. But what’s even more disconcerting is, reading (even with my glasses on!) makes my headaches worse (for this old bookworm that’s a disaster!). But it is on my immediate to do list, and when I’m done I’ll tell you more!

Incidentally, Caroline was just in Malta on a book tour. She toured several Agenda bookshops, which I found out from the news on TV… What a bummer! I certainly would have made an effort to meet her in Malta, had I only known before. *sigh*

Gotta Go To Gozo

At the last count there were almost five hundred people that call themselves my “friends” on facebook. Yet I can’t seem to get even one tenth of those to vote for the photos I submitted to Arkadia’s photo competition, Gotta Go To Gozo. (However there are a few real friends who put so much effort into helping me that I don’t know how to thank them!!)

It’s a drag, especially as I’m one of the worst sales persons you could imagine, spamming other people just makes me cringe… But unfortunately that’s the way this competition works.

So, I’m not giving up just yet! Perhaps with a little perseverance I’ll reach at least the ‘Top 20′. If you’re on Facebook please do click the above image and vote for it. It’s pain-free and doesn’t cost anything. You can vote for my other photos, too, if you like (see my previous post), but this image has received most votes so far – and it is actually my favourite, so I might as well concentrate my efforts on this one pic… Thank you if you do vote, and don’t worry if you don’t: I wouldn’t know either way!

Pain

Today is Sunday; to me that means the calm before the storm. Tomorrow I’ll have to start “functioning” normally again, and I’m rather worried about it. I’ve had two weeks off from work, to go to Munich and then another week to recover from everything, including my earlier ordeals. Only the recovering part hasn’t really worked out as expected. I still have headaches every day and night, though there are a few hours scattered throughout the day that are better than other times. The muscle pains are what really worry me, they just won’t let up and keep waking me every two hours at night. On two occasions I took a couple of Panadols in the middle of the night, which helped a little but not much. Is all this still rebound pain after my painkiller troubles – or is something else at work here?

And then there’s the weight loss; my stomach seems to have shrunk in the past few months. So I’m eating lots of little “meals” throughout the day, even chocolate and other sweets sometimes, but for the life of me I just can’t get back up beyond the 53 kg mark.

After successfully dealing with the earth-shattering realisation that I was addicted to painkillers, I didn’t expect this whole story to drag into August – but that’s what it did, and no end is in sight. I’m really at a loss here…

Well, a week ago today we met up late afternoon for a change, and the photo shoot took place at sunset. At first I was a bit miffed when I’d read about the chosen location – Dwejra. I’ve been down there so many times that I should be made a honorary something of Dwejra!! But I hadn’t known that it would be a sunset shoot much different to the ones I’d undertaken before. I loved it – except for the mosquitoes that attacked us like kamikaze bombers…

Model: Francesca Caruana

Our tutor, Kevin Casha, took photos with lighting… While I’m happy with my silhouettes, his pics make me green with envy!!

Exposure times were between 6 and 8 seconds. Not at all what I wanted, but it was simply too early in the day. Although my photo addiction won initially, I did not manage to stay longer than about half an hour before the pain got so bad that I had to pack up and leave. The strong wind didn’t really help it either!

I wonder if this is how life will continue for me. It’s freaking me out! Today I made a private appointment with a physiotherapist – and the earliest available slot was next Tuesday evening. Makes me want to cry, but this week will also pass, like all the others before…

So this is Mgarr Harbour, the place you’ll see first when you come to Gozo – and last, when leaving the island…

All photos in this post were taken on Monday in Dahlet Qorrot, a small beach and fishing spot just outside Nadur. I used no filters and, except for lens aberration correction, no other photoshop enhancements – and I’m quite pleased with the outcome! Hope you’ll like them too.

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