Joan I. Barbara rambles on too many topics in her letter to the editor (Written Memories of When We Were Young, August 22). What concerns me here is Alfie Guillaumier's interview (August 14) and my letter (August 18). All deal with personal anecdotes during wartime Malta.

Anthony Schembri, God bless his soul, was my colleague at University. He should receive praise for his vision in capturing the experiences of students attending the University of the Third Age. It was one of the main subjects of our many discussions.

I wonder if Ms Barbara wrote her assignment from first-hand knowledge of the times or from secondhand knowledge that she garnered from her parents or grandparents.

Perhaps recollecting her anger against an "empty belly", under nourishment and insupportable suffering, she could not retain a balance in her critical evaluation of Victory Kitchens. Her simile "like dog pooh" was possibly so in Żabbar, though slightly far-fetched.

I was 12 years old in July 1942, living in Floriana during the worst years of the war. Like Ms Barbara we were a numerous family of 10 including our parents.

I have a clear recollection of queuing for the family's rationed share in St Francis Square. In Floriana, the fare of the Victory Kitchen was edible though not appetising and certainly not nourishing. Of course, all Malta was then close to starvation point and possibly to enforced surrender. Therefore, my point is that other people's judgment of particular situations depends on their varied personal experiences and their angle of vision. One must also consider how responsible people administered the little they had and how they could make it go round under trying circumstances.

Hence Mr Guillaumier's exposition is not specific about time, place and conditions. Consequently we cannot question the veracity or otherwise of what he asserted so convincingly.

The fact remains that it is a personal view. I have just finished writing my memoirs of the 1930s and 1940s, hoping that the local council of Floriana will soon publish the book. Perhaps Ms Barbara will do the same for Żabbar, if she is old enough and has clear views of personal experiences of times past. We may record our concerted efforts individually and "leave them for aftertime" or posterity. Possibly our siblings will then understand that dire poverty, stark starvation, incessant bombardments and unbearable suffering had ravished Malta.

Only through such engraved knowledge will they perhaps enjoy their present blessings, the inheritance they received from brave hearts of old!