Social and Personal

BUGEJA. On September 26, at St Luke's Hospital, VINCENT, known as Il-Boss, of Rabat, aged 78, passed away peacefully comforted by the rites of Holy Church. He leaves to mourn his great loss his wife Marlene, his son Tommy and his wife Claire, his daughter Benjamina and her husband Kevin, his sisters Selina and Georgina and their families, and his much-loved grandchildren Michael and Andrew. - R.I.P.
The funeral leaves St Luke's Hospital today at 2.30 p.m. for St Paul's collegiate church. Rabat, where Mass praesente cadavere will be said at 3 p.m. No flowers by request but donations to Villa tal-Providenza, Siggiewi will be appreciated.

FORMOSA. On September 19, at St Luke's Hospital, PINA, passed away peacefully comforted by the rites of Holy Church. She leaves to mourn her loss her sons Lewis and Mario, Tony and his wife Dorothy, and Noel and his wife Linda, her daughters Vivienne and her husband Giorgio and Anna, grandchildren, relatives and friends.
The funeral leaves St Luke's Hospital tomorrow at 8 a.m. for St Joseph parish church, Msida, where Mass praesente cadavere will be said at 8.30 a.m., followed by interment at Balzan cemetery.
Lord, grant her eternal rest.

MEILAK. On September 26, at St Luke's Hospital, JOSEPH, aged 69, passed away peacefully. He leaves to mourn his loss his beloved wife Benedetta, née Vella and his children Ray and his wife Anna, Herman and his wife Mariella, Christopher and his wife Moira, Veronica Tabone and her husband Patrick, his grandchildren, other relatives and friends.
Mass praesente cadavere will be said today at 2.30 p.m. at St Julians parish church, followed by interment at the Santa Maria Addolorata Cemetery.
May the Lord grant him eternal rest.

SALIBA. On September 25, at Capua St James' Hospital, JOSEPH, aged 53, passed away peacefully comforted by the rites of Holy Mother Church. He leaves to mourn his loss his children James, Michael and Catherine and their mother Maria, his mother Josephine, his dear sisters, Rose and her husband Julius Nehorai, Melita and her husband Brian Dixon, Veronica and her husband Mark Hourston, his uncles and aunts, Canon Archpriest Tarcisio Camilleri and Rev. Fr Emmanuel Camilleri, his nephews, nieces, cousins and many relatives and friends as well as his most special friend and business partner Mario Debono.
The funeral takes place tomorrow, leaving Victoria Hospital, Gozo, at 4.30 p.m. for St Margaret's parish church in Sannat where Mass praesente cadavere will be said at 4.45 p.m. followed by interment in the family grave at Sannat cemetery. Donations to the Respite Centre in Gozo will be appreciated.
Lord grant him eternal rest. Joe will always be remembered for being a wonderful and truly special man and he will be greatly missed by all.

Appreciation - Josephine 'Joy' Davis

Dylan Cutajar Davies writes:

Ever since I was a little boy, I used to dread the day when the moment for gran to leave would dawn upon us all. I can remember times, while sleeping over at her home, that I would wake up in a cold sweat from a bad dream... that gran had died. Her gentle manner would console me with the words: "Darling, I'm never going to die".

Today, I can fully understand what she meant with those words, for to die means to be finished, but not my gran, she will live forever inside our hearts, she will still be there praying for us and thinking about us and, if we look deep inside our hearts, we will hear her warm-loving voice comforting us.

Gran was born as Josephine but when she met grandpa, he called her "Joy", truly a most befitting name for such a great woman. All her life she lived up to that name, for by her gentle presence she spread joy to everyone in her life. She brought joy, love and happiness. She was always thinking about everyone else's well-being and putting others before herself.

Gran was always careful not to worry those around her. Silently, she would keep her sufferings and troubles to herself and would always put on a brave and happy face so that no one would know what she might be enduring. Even a few days before she took her last breath, when her pain must have been unbearable, she would reply to my text messages with the words: "I'm much better, dear".

Gran gave each one of us the most important things in life. She raised five wonderful children of whom she was equally proud. She also helped to raise five grandchildren who, along with her only great-granddaughter, were the joy of her life. All through her life, she ensured that unity in the family always prevailed. Family and unity were the most important things to her, next to love.

Gran was a special person who touched the life of everyone she met by her simplicity, kindness, humility and her unselfish love.

When the priest came to pray over her during her last moments, my uncle proudly said aloud the words that were echoing in my mind: "There is nothing to forgive". That is the complete truth! Gran was an exemplary person; she was a devoted wife, a loving mother, grandmother and greatgrandmother. She would pray for all of us night and day and there would never be a day when she would not go to church to be with the God she worshipped. Gran taught me how to pray and how to draw strength from prayers.

To my family, I say let us all dry our tears for we should be happy that our "Joy" is now in heaven, next to God. There she is, looking upon us smiling and praying for our well-being.

I will not say goodbye, gran, but, rather, I will say, until we meet again. I can feel you smiling in my heart and that is where you will always be wherever I go and wherever that shall be, I will always take you with me. Your last spoken words to me were: "I love you forever, my darling".

My dearest gran, my love for you is also forever.

In Memoriam

AGIUS. In loving memory of our beloved FRANCIS on the sixth anniversary of his death. Always remembered by his wife Yvonne, his sons and daughters, his grandchildren, great-grandchildren, in-laws, nephews and nieces. Lord, grant him eternal rest.

BAJONA - VIOLET. In loving memory of my dearest mother on the anniversary of her death. Always in my heart and prayers. Ivy.

CASSAR. In fond remembrance of VINCENT on the anniversary of his demise. Fondly remembered by his family.

DEPASQUALE - CATHERINE. In loving memory of our dear mother, today being the 40th anniversary of her death. Always in our thoughts and prayers. Fondly remembered and sadly missed by her son, daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren.

FARRUGIA - Judge RICCARDO FARRUGIA. Treasured and loving memories of a beloved father and grandfather on the first anniversary of his death. Fondly remembered by his children Tonio, Ita and Anouk, in-laws and grandchildren. A Mass for the repose of his soul will be said today at 6.30 p.m. at Ta' l-Ibrag parish church. A prayer is kindly solicited.

GERADA - JOHN. In loving and unfaded memory of a dear father, grandfather and great-grandfather, today being the fourth anniversary of his death. Sadly missed by his beloved children Antoinette, Joe, Silvio, Miriam, in-laws, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

MUSCAT-INGLOTT - VICTOR MUSCAT-INGLOTT, BE&A, A&CE. Remembering our dear father, today the 32nd anniversary of his demise. Forever deep in the hearts of his sons, daughters and grandchildren.

PIROTTA. In loving memory of DENNIS on the 13th anniversary of his death.
Parting comes and hearts are broken,
Loved ones go with words unspoken.
Silent thoughts of you remain treasured
Forever until we meet again.
His family.

STELLINI - JOYCE. Affectionate memories of a mother and nanna who loved us infinitely, today being the fourth anniversary of her passing away. Always in our thoughts and prayers. Alexander and Jo Anna, Gianfranco and Nicky, Roberta and Michele.

VELLA - MICHAEL. Today the 17th anniversary of his demise. Never forgotten by his family. Always in our thoughts and prayers.

ZAMMIT - VICTOR. Lovingly remembered on his 16th anniversary. Iris and family.

Feast of St Michael

The feast of St Michael will take place on Saturday and Sunday, in the vicinity of the chapel dedicated to this saint in the limits of Lija.

On Saturday a Maltese evening will be held from 7 p.m. onwards during which there will be a variety of Maltese food and entertainment. Among the special guest singers will be Klinsmann Coleiro, Priscilla Psaila and Ali and Lis.

On Sunday there will be Mass at 5.30 p.m. in the chapel followed by a fair. The St Pius X band of Lija will take part.

A spectacular fireworks display will be put on by the members of the St Michael's Fireworks Factory.

AEO certification

The Malta Business Bureau, the EU office of the Malta Federation of Industry, the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise and the Malta Hotels and Restaurant Association, in conjunction with the Malta Customs Department will be holding a half-day information seminar on the introduction of the new Customs procedures, better known as Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) certification.

The seminar will take place at the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise, The Exchange, Republic Street, Valletta on October 4 from 8.30 a.m. to noon.

The AEO certification is designed to provide reliable traders with enhanced facilitation measures related to Customs procedures and supply-chain security, which entails an improvement in the security of transport and logistics systems for cargo.

Such facilitation measures will soon be introduced in all EU member states.

AEO-certification serves as an established quality label recognised by all EU member states' Customs authorities.

To register or to obtain a programme one can phone 2125 1719 or send an e-mail to info@mbb.org.mt.

Model Building

A course on building models from readily accessible, cheap and recycled materials using basic tools will be held by the Malta Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.

The evening course will run over 10 lessons of two hours each and will start in October at Palazzo de La Salle, Valletta. Attendance costs Lm9.

The precise dates and further details on the course can be obtained from the society at Palazzo De La Salle, 219 Republic Street, Valletta from Monday to Friday between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.

The society can be contacted on 2124 4339 or 2124 4400, or via

e-mail at info@artsmalta.org.

www.artsmalta.org

Telephone service

Customers who reside in parts of Swieqi may have their telephone service temporarily disrupted between tomorrow and Saturday due to planned cable network maintenance aimed at further improving the telephone service. The prefixes of the telephone numbers of clients affected by the works are 2135 XXXX, 2136 XXXX, 2137 XXXX and 2138 XXXX.

Local Councils

Today's meetings
12.30 p.m. St Julians
4.30 p.m. Fontana

What's On Today

Exhibitions
• From 8.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. at the Rabat local council hall, artworks by Matthew Cassar.

• From 5 to 7 p.m. at the Rux Art Gallery, Triq Antonio Micallef, Balzan, paintings by Damian Ebejer.

• At the Banca Giuratale, Independence Square, Victoria, works by Henry Alamango.

• At the Contemporary Hall, National Museum of Fine Arts, South Street, Valletta, the recently restored painting Judith and Holofernes by Valentin de Boulogne.

• At St James Cavalier, Valletta, the World Press Photos.

• At Heritage Malta, Merchants Street, Valletta, works by Matthew Kassar.

• At the Maritime Museum, Ex-Naval Bakery, Vittoriosa, Voyage And Voir: Travellers Of The Grand Tour.

• At the Contemporary Hall of the National Museum of Fine Arts, South Street, Valletta, drawings by Jesmond Vassallo, Gilbert Calleja and Robert Zahra.

• At the Kola Windmill, Xaghra, Malta's Mediterranean Trilogy Culture - Bread, Oil And Wine - an exhibition forming part of Heritage Malta's participation in an EU-funded project entitled Trimed.