Last Wednesday after having given a talk to Form V girls at Luigi Preziosi School, St Andrews, I called for a pick-up back to base but our driver was on another job. At that point the heavens opened and I ran over to Jessie's Bar.

The hospitality there is very Maltese and it is no accident that all those former British servicemen keep coming back to what used to be their 'home from home'. They were often broke but at Jessie's Bar it didn't matter because they were trusted. In any case, they appreciated the way they were trusted so much that they always paid up on pay day. It was a mutual trust.

Peter, the late Jessie's son, told me about ex-serviceman George Ashton, who, after having bought some things on credit, was suddenly posted elsewhere. However he never forgot the way Jessie's daughter Mary Anne trusted them.

Last year Mr Ashton came back to Malta. He went to Jessie's Bar and asked for Mary Anne, who is still there serving customers. "In 1953 I had bought a packet of cigarettes, a chocolate bar, and a beer on credit, as usual, to be settled on pay day but I never paid. I've come to settle my debt!"

I think this is worth sharing in our column. Well done, Mary Anne, your customers will never forget you! Indeed what we have here is a meaningful customer relationship which lasts a lifetime!