An American visit to Malta

When the OTS Foundation-USA and Canadian group of visitors led by Sarasota organiser Linda C. Eneix, recently explored prehistoric Malta, they definitely enjoyed the day devoted to Mgarr.

After the Skorba and Ta' Hagrat temples and the long-organised 'Thanksgiving lunch' at Trattoria Charles on Church Square in Mgarr, they walked across to the only permanent museum of contemporary art in Malta, the Tempra Museum.

Mgarr mayor Paul Vella, in his welcoming address, proudly mentioned both temples and the Roman baths, the growth of Mgarr as well as its agricultural fame.

However the Americans were delighted to discover the room of the American Abstract Artists (where works by 44 members are on display), who had been active since the early Thirties in New York and whose association was created in 1936.

This important movement celebrated its 50th anniversary by producing lithographs which are part of the Tempra Museum for Contemporary Art in Mgarr and in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Museum of Modern Art in NewYork, and the Tate Gallery in London.

One of the past presidents of American Abstract Artists (1979-1982), Dr Irene Rousseau, is the author of the most valuable work in the Tempra Museum and was awarded first prize for the best installation at the 1997 Malta Biennale.

Dame Françoise added that American works additionally to those of the 44 abstract artists included those of Ronald Burns (First Prize Collage 2001 Malta Biennale), Michael Korber (Grand Prix des Arts 2001 Malta Biennale), Laurence Gartell, Clemente Mimun, Ron Parvu, Vivienne Wechter and Ed Weiss, all holding Distinctions at the 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2001 Malta Art Biennales.

Dame Françoise took the opportunity of this visit and the presence of Mr Vella for accepting the donations from Ludmila Natchinkina (who will organise the Malta Biennale in Moscow, August 19-29, 2003) of works by Russian artists Olga and Victor Brel and of Peruvian artist German Marcos, whose exhibition had been opened at the De Porres Cultural Centre in Sliema. She added to the library the new hardback monograph on the sculptures of Anton Agius.

The visiting American group and the Russians went on to view the giant Tempra Sculptural Colonnade (Anton Agius, Vincent Apap, Joseph Barbara, Gabriel Caruana, Romano Costi, Patricia Finch, Joe Genovese, Guy Lemesre, Ventceslav Metchev, Peter Meyers) before accepting an invitation to tea at Villa Tempra.

Their enthusiasm proved such that they are looking forward to another cultural visit to Malta, with the OTS Foundation next summer.

Kidstart Club's successful summer

After a long hot summer working with wonderful and energetic children aged from two to 13 at Kidstart Summer Club in Mriehel, all instructors were hosted by Outlook Coop, the operators of Kidstart, to a farewell dinner at the Riviera Resort.

Kidstart was indeed an unforgettable experience for the administrators as well as the instructors who strove to give the children an exciting and rich summer experience through fun.

The underlying theme of all activities was the "caring philosophy", that is, caring for ourselves, for others and for the environment.

MIA tax-free Shop & Win Lottery

Air passengers travelling through Malta International Airport will notice a brand new display in the departure lounge and tax-free area, set up to promote the new MIA Shop and Win Lottery, which came into effect last week.

The Shop & Win Lottery is open to all tax-free shoppers spending a minimum of Lm5 at any of the shops within the MIA tax-free area. Shoppers simply fill in a ticket to participate and get in with a chance to win superb prizes.

The first prize for this lottery is the new Volkswagen Beetle 1.6i, an Italjet Jet-Set Moto Scooter is second prize and third prize is a Sony 29" television set.

The lottery draw is set for June 2003, and some one million tickets are expected to have participated by then.

Last Monday the winning tickets of the previous MIA Shop & Win Lottery were drawn in the presence of representatives of the Department of Public Lotto. S. Wilkinson from Andover, UK won the Peugeot 307, D. A'Court from St Ives, Cambs, UK, won the Sony home cinema and Mr/Ms Scott from Hamilton, Scotland, won the Tissot wristwatch.

New wine cellars range launched with wine tasting

Domestica Ltd recently teamed up with Meridiana Winery to launch the IndelB range of wine cellars during a tasting of the 2001 Isis wine at the Berloni showroom in Valley Road, Birkirkara.

IndelB, the refrigeration division of Italian furniture giant Berloni, makes a range of wine cellars that are particularly suited for Malta since we have large differences in temperature throughout the year, which is potentially harmful to the proper conservation of wines.

When a good wine is 'laid down' it is essential that there is no sudden change in temperature, so from the moment the IndelB wine cellar is switched on, it takes 24 hours for the unit to reach the right temperature.

Among the guests were top executives from Brandstätter, headed by Helga Ellul, Mario C. Grech, chairman of Middlesea Insurance plc, designer Jean-Marc Bianchi, wine connoisseur Michael Tabone, and Peter Apap Bologna.

Hosting the evening were, for Domestica, Leo Vassallo Cesareo, chairman, and his two children, directors Chris Vassallo Cesareo and Francesca Cassar; and for Meridiana Mark Miceli-Farrugia and oenologist Roger Aquilina, apart from Meridiana's local distributor, Stephen Rausi.

Mark and Stephen were obviously impressed. They were actively negotiating the purchase of a dual-temperature wine cellar after most guests had left the reception.

People

Dr Joseph R. Saliba, MD, FRCPsych, recently attended the annual meeting of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Cardiff having been elected Fellow of the same College.

Dr Saliba graduated in medicine from the University of Malta in 1975 and proceeded to the UK, where he received full psychiatric training, obtaining Membership of the College and subsequently the T(Psych), indicating completion of specialist training to UK and EU standards. He achieved consultant status in the UK in 1984. While there, Dr Saliba sat on various regional, training, service and organisation committees, both as a trainee representative and later on as a consultant.

In 1989 Dr Saliba returned to Malta as a consultant in the Department of Psychiatry and in 1992 he was appointed director of Psychiatric Services at Mount Carmel Hospital, Attard. He was appointed lecturer with the University of Malta in 1989, senior lecturer in 1998 and has been Head of the University Department of Psychiatry. He has also represented consultants on the council of the Medical Association of Malta and has represented Malta on the Section of Psychiatry of the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS) since 1996.

In 1999 he organised the hosting of the UEMS (Psychiatry) meeting in Malta, when he was appointed secretary of this European group. For several years he was editor of the Maltese Medical Journal.

During his tenure as director of Psychiatry, various improvements have been brought about within the mental health sector, some as part of the mental health reform.

These include the opening of a new Child Guidance Clinic at St Luke's Hospital, a new Short Stay Psychiatric Unit also at St Luke's Hospital, and the introduction of a Young People's Unit and the opening of the Mixed Admission Ward, both at Mount Carmel Hospital. Through the National Commission for Mental Health, he was also involved in setting up Community Pilot Services, including the Qormi Day Centre.

As deputy chairman of the Mental Health Reform Scientific Board, Dr Saliba was one of the main contributors to the National Policy on Mental Health Service. He is also chair of the steering group, co-ordinating the projected Acute Psychiatric Admission Unit at the Mater Dei Hospital.

In his capacity as Royal College tutor, he has developed postgraduate training of psychiatrists in Malta. The term of approval for this training was recently renewed following a successful Royal College Accreditation Visit to Malta.

Dr Saliba is married to Elizabeth née Montanaro and has three children, Rebecca, Natasha and Matthew.

John Paul Grech of Mosta was recently awarded a Doctorate in International Relations from the University of Malta after successfully defending his Ph.D thesis last October.

Dr Grech undertook research on "Malta's Mediterranean security policy - its evolution and progression in the context of the C/OSCE process until the end of the Cold War". Geo-strategic considerations on national security policy formulation were examined both within their international context and also as dictated by local politico-economic factors pertinent between the post-independence period and the end of the Cold War.

Dr Grech availed of the unique opportunity offered to him by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - to gain access to primary sources and undertake research in previously untapped confidential files spanning 20 years, from the late Sixties to the end of the Eighties.

Copies of his thesis will be presented to the forthcoming Dutch OSCE chairman of the Permanent Council and current chairman of the OSCE Mediterranean Contact Group, Ambassador Justus de Vissier, and also to the OSCE secretary general, Jan Kubis.

Dr Grech is currently deputy permanent representative at the Permanent Mission of Malta to the OSCE and the United Nations Office, Vienna.

He is married to Margot and has three children, Jonathan, Nathaniel and Matthias.

Dr Robert Jones was recently awarded the Fellowship of the European Society of Cardiology (FESC) at the European Society of Cardiology congress in Berlin.

Dr Jones' interest in cardiology started a long time ago when he worked as a houseman in paediatrics under the late Dr T. Agius Ferrante at St Luke's Teaching Hospital and when the late Dr V. Captur set up a Paediatric Cardiology Unit section in a small room in the Outpatients Department.

Years later, Dr Jones was trained in clinical cardiology at the Cardiac Unit of the University Hospital of Vienna, under Professor F. Kaindl - then head of the Department of Cardiology - and also under Professor K. Steinbach, Professor P. Probst and Professor D. Pachinger.

Subsequently he was invited to join the Vienna group at various cardiology meetings, conferences and congresses, especially to Badgastein, Austria, where the Austrian Society meetings are held.

The yearly ESC congress is held in a different European city every year. Thus young cardiologists can choose lectures in their preferred subject or even sub-speciality in cardiology, whether scientific, clinical or surgical.

There are Young Investigator Awards in clinical science and basic science, thrombosis, ESC post-doctoral Research Fellowship in coronary thrombosis, cardiac pacing; they can entertain training for Fellowship of the ESC and they can invest towards obtaining the European Cardiologist (EC) diploma.

Those interested in the ESC can visit www.escardio.org.

Malta Charities Association in London holds dinner-dance

A lavish dinner dance was held on November 22 at the Landmark Hotel in Marylebone Road, London, under the patronage of Dr George Bonello du Puis, High Commissioner for Malta, and Mrs Bonello du Puis.

A good number of young and not so young got together and wined, dined and danced the night away in the stunning black and white setting so expertly provided by the management of the Landmark.

All funds raised are presented to Maltese charities and this year will be donated to the Little Sisters of the Poor and the Holy Family Home in Naxxar.

During the evening, an auction was held of various paintings donated by the artists John Martin Borg, Kenneth Zammit Tabona, Arnold Sultana, Mary de Piro, Amelia Troubridge and Joe Xuereb, sculptor.

A week on a luxury 45-foot Beneteau 411, Clipper (Tomahawk) was generously donated by Eddie Woods. A silent auction of holiday accommodation in Malta/Gozo, London and Italy was also held and all items mentioned were bid for successfully.

This year the event was sponsored by Globe Organisation, Cazenove and N.M. Rothschild & Sons. Many other people, too many to mention individually, contributed in no small way to the success of the event.

The visit by Christine Debono, who chairs the fund-raising committee of the Little Sisters of the Poor, was made possible by Air Malta. This donation from the Malta Charities Association will cover the expenses for one of the lifts in the new building.

Appreciation: Dr René Eminyan, MD, MRCOG, D. Pharm

Ms Marianne Micallef of Mellieha writes:

Death follows birth, but when it actually happens it is a shock and a great loss to loved ones, colleagues and friends. Dr Eminyan passed away peacefully at the age of 78, on November 5, and though it was expected, it still came as a big shock and a great loss to his beloved family, friends and patients to whom he was so dedicated. He endured his short illness with Christian fortitude and was prepared to meet the Risen Lord when He called him.

It was a great pleasure to visit him at his home in St Paul's Bay when he was ill, as all were made to feel so welcome. The glint in his eyes and the smile that never left his face until the very last day reflected his inner peace.

He was affiliated to many organisations, offering his professional care and support; he was the pioneer of the Well Women clinics. He was dedicated to his profession as a gynaecologist and his patients looked upon him not only as a doctor, but also a friend whom they could confide in.

I had known Dr Eminyan for the last 20 years, since I had my first child. The reason I went to him was because he treated his patients as individuals and always had the time to listen and give advice. His support and encouragement was of great help to me, especially regarding my breast cancer experience over seven years ago.

Words are not enough to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to him for being there for me. He was not only a doctor but also a gentleman, and I feel he gave a shining example for future doctors.

To the many who attended Dr Eminyan's funeral, Mass was a celebration of life. His brother, Rev. Professor Maurice Eminyan, SJ, gave an inspiring homily.

To all his loving family, I would like to express my sincere and heartfelt sympathy.

Appreciation: Edwin Anthony Vella

Mr Joe Galea of Birzebbuga writes:

The death, perhaps expected by his beloved family, of Edwin Vella on November 16, in this world of turmoil we all live in, is surely suffered much more by those who were very close to him.

I had known him for the last 50 years. His death was indeed a great sorrow to all who were very close to him. Loved and cherished as he was, respected and adored by so many, among whom many old Shell Oil company employees in Birzebbuga, Mr Vella will for many years be remembered as a man who dedicated his life and energy to his family and colleagues. Those who knew him closely will never forget him.

It is said: Blessed are they who mourn, who in the hour of bitter loss, turn to consolation in the comfort of the Cross.

True, sad is the soul and dark the day but those who believe in the resurrection will look beyond the gloom and see the morning glory break upon an empty tomb. In the anguish of bereavement, hearts which are torn by grief, Mr Vella will bring to them, to those who were so close to him, peace, strength and healing.

Time, energy and sacrifice - we must consider fully these three important factors to be able to achieve our aims in life, the same as Mr Vella did so many times.

My condolences to his family. May God have mercy upon his soul.

Fr Martin Caruana Foundation to be set up shortly

Charles Fenech, OP writes:

On the second anniversary of the death of Fr Martin Caruana, OP, the Dominican priest who served in many spheres of Maltese society, his friends and colleagues are preparing for the launching of a foundation bearing his name.

The main aim of this foundation is to keep alive the works and figure of this Dominican priest whose enthusiasm and dynamism touched the hearts of many families and individuals.

Fr Caruana was born at Bahrija and was educated at St Aloysius College and St Paul's Missionary College. He entered the Dominican Order and was ordained in July 1974, starting his pastoral work at the Dominican Priory in Rabat and helping Fr Saverin Bianco in his pastoral work at Bahrija chapel.

In 1980 he took over from Fr Bianco and in a short time, he succeeded to obtain the necessary permits in 1984 so that a new church in Bahrija would be built.

Fr Martin's humanity and generosity is fondly recalled and that is why many of his friends and people who were touched by his preaching are setting up this foundation. Following his sudden death on November 25, 2000, many people expressed the wish to set up a foundation so that the work and ideals of Fr Martin would not be forgotten.

The aims of the foundation are to help keep alive his memory, to continue in the religious, social, education and missionary field, to collect every possible information on his life and to give a yearly Fr Martin's Prize.

In the next few weeks the team behind the launching of the foundation will work hard to prepare not only the official launching of this foundation but also a programme of activities.

The President and Mrs de Marco's engagements
December 11-15

Wednesday

1.30 p.m. The President and Mrs de Marco arrive at Malta International Airport.

5.30 The President presides over a meeting of the Commission for the Administration of Justice at the Palace, Valletta.

Thursday

10 a.m. The President is presented with a copy of Vangelu Haj by Fr Charles Fenech, OP, at the Palace, Valletta.

11 The President receives athletes and officials of the Malta Olympic Committee.

Noon The President receives Canon Alan Woods, Chancellor of the Anglican Church, and is presented with a donation for the Malta Community Chest Fund.

12.45 p.m. The President views the restoration works on the Paladini frescoes in the Palace chapel, Valletta.

5.45 The President receives Mr Ronald Gallimore, head of the Delegation of the Commission of the European Communities, at the Palace.

6.45 The President attends a musical soirée hosted by Canon Michael Agius in association with the Religious Tourism Office and St Paul Collegiate Chapter, Rabat, at St Paul Shipwrecked Chapel, St Paul's Bay.

Friday

10 a.m. The President reviews a guard of honour by the Armed Forces of Malta, followed by a march past on Republic Day on Palace Square, Valletta.

11 The President presides over the Republic Day investiture ceremony at the Grand Council Chamber, the Palace, Valletta.

7 p.m. The President hosts a reception on the occasion of Republic Day at the Gozo Ministry Hall, Victoria.

Saturday

6 p.m. The President and Mrs de Marco preside over the illumination of the Christmas tree ceremony on Palace Square.

7.30 The President and Mrs de Marco visit Malta Open Dance 2002, organised by the Malta Wheelchair Dancesport Association in Msida.

8.30 The President and Mrs de Marco attend the Christmas on Ice initiative by the Eden Ice Arena, in aid of the Malta Community Chest Fund, at the Ice Skating Rink, Paceville.

Sunday

6 p.m. The President attends a vocal concert by Chorus Urbanus in aid of Fontana church, Gozo.

For your diary

The Malta Catholic Action is organising a buffet dinner dance at the Best Western Les Lapins Hotel, Ta' Xbiex, on Thursday at 7 for 7.30 p.m. For bookings phone 2122-2239.

The Franciscan Missionaries Support Group is organising a Christmas dinner in aid of the Franciscan missionaries in Honduras on Sunday at 1 p.m. at a restaurant in Marsascala. Tickets cost Lm5. Children pay Lm4.

Transport is available from Sliema, Valletta, Rabat, Hamrun and Bahar ic-Caghaq. Contact Edwin Attard on 2123-0862.