Manners maketh m(i)en

The mass migration to Rome, albeit a temporary one, was paralleled locally by the number of people who sat in front of their television screens, drinking in every iota of information about our very own first saint.

As I am wont to do, I tried to follow the coverage given on local stations to gauge whether or not the ratings statistics really reflect the assiduousness with which our media personalities carry out their job; and the results, sadly, did not tally. In Malta, where everyone is practically only two persons removed from everyone else, this is disappointing.

For instance, not all those entrusted with compiling research, or reportage, drew our attention to the fact that the portrait and tapestry of St George Preca were based on a recently technologically enhanced image of a picture of him by the late photographer, and watercolour artist, Joseph Cassar of Hamrun.

It is a well-known fact that Dun Gorg hated being photographed, and would not sit for a portrait - and so this now world-famous photograph was reproduced from a 'casual' early photograph.

There were, basically, three steps that led to the final published image of San Gorg. It began, of course, with the original photo, taken in the open air. The saint was then professionally "set" in a portrait environment.

There were no computer programmes for airbrushing, then; the studio effect was all manual... and the rest is history.

The selfsame portrait, also computer-enhanced, has now been printed as the official portrait of San Gorg Preca by the Society of Christian Doctrine (MUSEUM), and was the one depicted woven into the tapestry (produced in Italy) that hung on the façade of St Peter's Basilica during the canonisation ceremony.

The original photo signed by Cassar could be seen at a special exhibition that was on display last week at St Vincent de Paul Residence. The artist's son, Luigi Cassar Manghi, has photos of his father's original framed work, which is signed and watermarked.

And if I could find that out, why could not everyone else had done so too?

Sometimes, however, it is not a lack of research, or slapdash work, which set my teeth on edge. Even more than the expression biex nghidu hekk, which is extraneous, since the words would already have been said.

It is the misuse of 'power' that wielding a pen or a microphone gives to certain people. Sometimes this may, albeit unwittingly, border on rudeness - especially when the perpetrators play to the gallery, and also, people in much lower strata of society.

Candid radio offers untold opportunities - and I use the word subjectively for this type of 'broadcasting'. Do the people behind these hoaxes realise that someone might not be in the market for hoodwinking because of the personal circumstances obtaining?

What if someone had to receive a prank call and die of a heart attack, because of the emotions it would rouse? Would the scam still be considered funny? And what about the fact that these people, who, because of the aforementioned syndrome, are usually fiends-of-friends of someone, are instantly recognised as they are held up for public ridicule?

Last Wednesday I was watching Nannu Spagu on One Television. One of the games involved selecting the anomalous word from a list. At one point, the odd word was ohti - the reason was nothing as complicated as being the only one with an attached pronoun - rather it was the only feminine word in the list. The Nannu remarked that he did have a sibling who was a sister, but who was male (Ghandi ohti ragel). One of the kids pointed out that, therefore, it was a brother... and there followed a comment and gesture, which hopefully went over the heads of the tinies watching, but which the adults understood only too well.

I also caught House Magazine on Net, where one of the guests was the Italian lady, Ermanna Maccarelli, whom I have had the pleasure of interviewing in connection with Club Italia. Here, she was invited as the founder of The Cross Stitch Club, currently celebrating its 10th anniversary in Malta in connection with which it is organising a public competition.

Carmen, the presenter, merely addressed the other (Maltese) lady guest, totally ignoring Ms Maccarelli, except for announcing her name at the beginning, and looking at her as she demonstrated a few stitches of this fascinating handcraft. This faux pas is just one example of what goes on all the time, across the board.

Some presenters, I note, make it a point of sitting on a chair that is higher, or much larger, than those given to the guests, to impart a subtle message about who is the most important person in the studio at that moment.

Others lump the guests together on a sofa while they take, literally, centre stage. Others prowl around them like hungry tigers waiting to pounce on any mistake. Others cut their guests short (thinking that in this way they are simultaneously cutting them down to size), just as they are about to gain momentum in their arguments.

We have it on 'good authority' that Spain has Arab influence - because, in part, they celebrate Good Friday. Then there was the accident which involved a helicopter li kienu abbord fuqu (a number of passengers), and the artiste who informed us that he was going to write a diska originali (all his rest are plagiarised, I take it), and a bed with adgistable settings.

Not to be outdone, E22 presented us with a bilingual parent-participatory mathematics lesson. It is news to me that parents are now being allowed into classrooms, and that a mathematics lesson is allowed to overrun its allocated time; one wonders whether this is done in all schools, and for other topics.

Anniversary of the Week recalled Paul Gah-ghee/Gaughin n. Product of the Week must be the dress that does not have hafna sekwences.

The only bright spot in all this was the fact that "Lisa", whom I mentioned last week, was a healthy actress, not a potential kidney donor for an on-air reality show.