Monday, June 30, 2008

Shade, cold drink and 'pastizzi' .....






















Once you come to Malta in either July , August or September and take a trip with one of our buses to Valletta it is a must to have lunch here at one of the many cafeteria's/restaurants found in the main road. Most of my relatives that come from abroad always stop here for 'pastizzi' (either filled with peas or rikotta). mmmmmm and not to forget a long cold drink. Let's face it you will need the drink to make up for the heat and the 'pastizzi' .... well......to enjoy !

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Air Rally of Malta















26 light aircraft from seven European countries will be taking part in the International Air Rally of Malta this weekend.

Photo and information taken from our local newspaper which is found on line.

Friday, June 27, 2008

and the heat is on!!!

















The heat is steadily increasing every day!! yesterday was practically unbearable already. It's so hot that one can go swimming even as late as 8pm!! and will not feel an inch of cold!! Photo was taken on a very hot morning , this is the Valletta bus terminus, it's where all the buses from around Malta stop.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Fresh eggs, potatoes and onions

This lady here was selling fresh eggs, potatoes from her farm and onions. She also had capers, mint and basil plants.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Colours of the market.

A photo from our local market this morning. I love the colours!

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Hamrun local Square



















and opposite the square there is the a very old building which has been neglected for years and now is home to many pigeons. I believe that the place at the bottom is a functional bar.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Hamrun






















Ħamrun (or Il-Ħamrun) is a town in the Inner Harbour Region of Malta, with a population of 9,513 people (Nov 2005).

The villagers are traditionally known as Tas-Sikkina (literally meaning 'of the knife' or 'those who carry a knife') or as Ta' Werwer (which literally means 'those who scare' or more colloquially, 'the scary ones'). This appellation presumably stems from the trouble that the local football club, Hamrun Spartans, was known for or that a considerable number of Hamrunizi used to work as stevedores on the docks and thus carried a knife at all times.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Art exhibition

A few weeks ago I visited the Malta Chamber of Commerce and in the central courtyard of this beautiful building there was an art exhibition.


Monday, June 02, 2008

Fair Trade
















Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach to alleviating global poverty and promoting sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a fair price as well as social and environmental standards in areas related to the production of a wide variety of goods. It focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries, most notably handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, bananas, honey, cotton, wine, fresh fruit, and flowers.

Fair trade's strategic intent is to deliberately work with marginalized producers and workers in order to help them move from a position of vulnerability to security and economic self-sufficiency. It also aims at empowering them to become stakeholders in their own organizations and actively play a wider role in the global arena to achieve greater equity in international trade.

Fair trade proponents include a wide array of international religious, development aid, social and environmental organizations such as Oxfam, Amnesty International, and Caritas International.

Like most developmental efforts, fair trade has proven itself controversial and has drawn criticism from both ends of the political spectrum. Some economists and conservative think tanks see fair trade as a type of subsidy. Segments of the left criticize fair trade for not adequately challenging the current trading system.

In 2007, Fair trade certified sales amounted to approximately €2.3 billion (US $3.62 billion) worldwide, a 47% year-to-year increase.[1] While this represents less than one hundredth of a percentage point of world trade in physical merchandise,[2] fair trade products generally account for 0.5-5% of all sales in their product categories in Europe and North America.[3] In May 2008, over 1.5 million disadvantaged producers worldwide were directly benefiting from fair trade while an additional 5 million benefited from fair trade funded infrastructure and community development projects.[4] (all the information was extracted from wikipedia).

This is now also found in Malta and is situated in Valletta, so for the Maltese next time you go to Valletta take a trip down st. Paul's Street and have a look at what they offer.