Apparitions, retaliations and congratulations

Every so often Our Lady seems to appear on the news scene. Apart from Lourdes, Fatima and Medjugorje we have our own alleged apparitions.

A few years ago, we had the Girgenti Madonna who, it is said, through her visionary had predicted a Nationalist Party victory at election time. Then we had the blood-shedding portrait at the crypt of a Rabat church. To date, although years have passed, neither the Vatican nor the Maltese Church authorities have pronounced themselves one way or another on these manifestations.

Now we have the Birzebbuga Madonna, whose statue in a private home allegedly suddenly started shedding tears of blood. However, the story does not stop there - it is still ongoing. Our Lady herself is now appearing to this latest visionary during prayer meetings led by a priest in a Marsa church. Like previous apparitions worldwide, the Birzebbuga Lady is advocating prayers, recitation of the Holy Rosary and conversion.

No other member of the visionary's family, or the priest in question, or the faithful gathered in the church are able to see or hear her. Only the visionary is privileged. This man is Angelik (what an appropriate name!). He now tells us that an archangel is appearing to him and telling him that Our Lady wants him to build a cross on Borg in-Nadur hill (limits of Birzebbuga). This has been done. She has also appeared to him at this new site and has allegedly spoken to him and told him to tell the people to congregate on the hill when - similarly to the Fatima apparition - they will see a sign in the sky (please bear in mind that if this falls on March 3, there is an eclipse of the moon, from about 9.15 p.m. to 3 a.m., and this will be clearly visible locally).

Believe it if you will, but, here again, nether the Vatican nor the Maltese Church authorities will pronounce themselves on this latest apparition. The strange thing is that this story is receiving massive coverage only in the Nationalist Party media while, strangely, no other media is reporting it. Oh, and by the way, Angelik refuses to be interviewed by any media representatives - so far.

I started with the Girgenti apparitions. Now I wonder if this Lady will also predict which party will win the next general election?

Like a true couch potato, I sat through Bondì Plus on Tuesday of last week. I will not enter into the merits of the choice of the subject; that is the presenter's prerogative and he is free to choose his own agenda. I know that people who live in glasshouses should not throw stones, however I cannot refrain from commenting, as a broadcaster of 46 years experience, on the unprofessional way in which my colleague Lou Bondì reacted to Wenzu Mintoff's hard-hitting remarks. His retaliatory, hysterical outburst shocked and appalled me, as it did many other viewers. No television presenter should ever allow himself to react and lose his cool, as Lou did, to comments from his guests.

What worries me is that this loss of composure is not just a one off. He made a scene exactly a year ago during an appearance on Xarabank when he reacted angrily to comments passed by Eileen Montesin and Peter Busuttil regarding the presentation of the Malta Song for Europe festival. On that occasion he had to be restrained from continuing by his friend and partner Peppi Azzopardi, who, perhaps unaware that his microphone was still on, told him to "shut up".

If one were to compare his outbreaks to a football match - the retaliation would have been judged as a worse foul than the provocation and Mr Bondì would have been red-carded.

Incidentally, I hope all this doesn't lead to another libel case by Mr Bondì vis-à-vis yours truly.

And, finally, today, congratulations are in order for quite a number of people:

• The Archbishop of Malta, Mgr Paul Cremona, and the Bishop of Gozo, Mgr Mario Grech, for bringing the Church to the people.

• Olivia Lewis for literally running away with the festival when winning the Malta Song for Europe and earning the right to represent Malta in Finland next May with the song Vertigo, written especially for her by the Gerard James Borg/Philip Vella tandem.

• All members of the Malta national football team for obtaining a very creditable draw against Austria last week.

• The whole cast of Qerq, which is the first Maltese cinema production by Bronk, distributed by KRS, and which is breaking box office records in all the cinemas where it is being shown.

• Our number one rock group Winter Moods, who are topping the local record shops and radio stations charts with their latest CD album Ordinary Men.

• Hermann Bonaci Productions for full houses plus having to organise extra performances of Zeza tal-Flagship, which were also sell-outs.

• Super 1 Radio for being voted the most listened to and popular radio station in a recent Broadcasting Authority survey.

• Last but not least, always according to the same BA audience survey - One TV for being the most popular station on Tuesday with the drama Gizelle. Miriam Dalli and her hard-working news department for winning evening news audiences on five out of the week's seven days. One TV is also the most followed and popular station on Saturday. My friend Alfred Zammit reaches a 3.94 per cent audience share with his afternoon show Kalamita Weekend against Net TV's 2.36 per cent and PBS's 2.36 per cent. My very own Bla Agenda was voted as the top Saturday evening TV programme out of all local and foreign TV stations with an audience share of 13.39 per cent against PBS's 11.81 per cent and Net TV's 2.36 per cent. On behalf of the show's production team, allow me to say thank you to all those of you who chose Bla Agenda as their favourite Saturday night viewing.

norman.hamilton@hotmail.com