FIRST April 2019

APRIL 2019

HAPPY EASTER

STARRING JAMES VELLA CLARK, KAHLIL GIBRAN, MARY QUANT, CHRISTIAN DIOR, ROY TAYLOR, RICHARD GERES, ALOF DE WIGNACOURT, ROSELYN BORG KNIGHT, FRANCIS ZAMMIT DIMECH, DAVID CASA, STEPHEN LA ROSA, EMMA HOGG, ARCHBISHOP CHARLES JUDE SCICLUNA

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K A R E N M I L L E N M A LTA

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EDITORIAL

NOTRE DAME DE PARIS Shock, disbelief and hope.

Photography by Thibault Camus and Christophe Ena (both AP).

Flames rose from Notre Dame as it burnt sending massive plumes of yellow brown smoke into the air across Paris (Thibault Camus).

A striking photo captures people coming together to pray as they overlook the horror (Christophe Ena).

n Monday 15th April people around the world watched in shock and disbelief as Notre Dame was engulfed in flames.

While the iconic cathedral’s rectangular bell towers and structure of the building were saved, the irreplaceable roof, built using a lattice of giant beams cut from primeval forests in the 12th and 13th centuries, was ravaged. “Notre Dame, our dear cathedral, a witness of so many major events in our country, was destroyed by a frightful fire after having survived the incidents of its history for so long. France cries, and with her all her friends from all over the world. She is touched to the heart because her stones are the testimony of an invincible hope which, by the talent, the courage, the genius and the faith of the builders, raised this luminous lace of stones, wood and glass. This faith remains ours. It is Notre Dame who moves mountains and we will rebuild this masterpiece,” said Archbishop Michel Aupetit of Paris, in a message of Tuesday 16th April. At the time of going to print hundreds of millions of euros have already been collected for a restoration project that will take years – early donors included François Pinault, Kering Chairman and CEO (€100 million) and Bernard Arnault, LVMH CEO (€200 million).

EDITORIAL CONTENT AND SALES MANAGER SEAN ELLUL SELLUL@INDEPENDENT.COM.MT ADVERTISING SUPPORT ILARIA MOUSU IALMOUSU@INDEPENDENT.COM.MT DESIGNER CONRAD BONDIN CBONDIN@INDEPENDENT.COM.MT PRODUCTION MANAGER ANDRE CAMILLERI ACAMILLERI@INDEPENDENT.COM.MT PUBLISHER STANDARD PUBLICATIONS, STANDARD HOUSE, BIRKIKARA HILL, ST JULIAN’S. TEL: 00356 2134 5888, WEB: WWW.INDEPENDENT.COM.MT FACEBOOK FIRSTMAGAZINE PRINTER PRINT-IT. FIRST IS PUBLISHED AS A COMPLIMENTARY MAGAZINE WITH THE MALTA INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY AND IS NOT TO BE SOLD SEPARATELY ON THE COVER. Shirt from Kwaddro. Soft pleat midi dress from Karen Millen.

Photography by Matthew B Spiteri. Styled by Jeandor Farrugia.

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CONTENTS EASTER TRADITIONS

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Discover the secrets behind Colomba Pasquale.

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It is not just Catholics who exercise fasting and reflection during the Lenten period.

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Archbishop Charles Jude Scicluna reminisces about Easter and childhood.

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INTERVIEW

65 questions with James Vella Clark.

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ARTS & CULTURE

Kahlil Gibran's work from 1923, The Prophet, has made him the 3rd most sold poet of all time.

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DESTINATION

Tropical Metropolitan.

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LONDON CALLING

Get ready for Mary Quant and Christian Dior.

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FASHION

Enjoy colour, layering and prints this spring.

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Theodelinda, queen of the Lombards, in a fresco by Zavattari. She plays a part in one of the many legends surrounding an Easter speciality - Colomba Pasquale.

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Have you ever visited a Secret Garden? Have you ever dreamt you would stumble across one behind a hospital helipad? Jump through the rabbit hole into Villa Frere!

Les couleurs du printemps. Enjoy colour, layering and prints this spring. (Left) Tailored jacket from Karen Millen, dress from Kwaddro. (Right) Pastel jacket from Kwaddro, shirt and High-Waisted Culottes from Karen Millen.

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CONTENTS

[A P RI L IS SUE 2 01 9]

58 Kahlil Gibran, The Divine World (1923), Illustration for The Prophet, Charcoal, 28x21 cm. © Gibran Museum.

Grinding spices with a mortar and pestle harnesses the full potential of their aroma for a flavoursome spicy minced lamb.

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40

BOOK LAUNCH

Meet the creatives behind the project and book Valletta in 2018.

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HEALTH&FITNESS

Meet the man who says you can reverse Type 2 Diabetes – Prof Roy Taylor, and the man who can help you keep it away with exercise – Richard Geres.

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MELITENSIA

On this day in history fresh water from springs in Rabat finally supplied Valletta.

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V&A's Christian Dior Designer of Dreams exhibition. Atelier Section, Photo © Adrien Dirand.

Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

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GARDENS

Get lost in this Secret Garden. Enchanting Villa Frere.

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SAVOURY

Get spicy with Stephen La Rosa at Mediterranean Culinary Academy.

EP ELECTIONS

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Generation Gap. Energetic Pair! Francis Zammit Dimech and Roselyn Borg Knight explain.

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Making Lives Better. David Casa on why the last 2 of the 15 years as an MEP have been the most rewarding.

FASHION NEWS

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High shine libstick.

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Jackie Urpani and Theresa Bartolo Parnis pick their favourite looks this season.

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Artist studios tend to be little treasure troves of colour and private places where things connect in a different way. Paints, pens, pencils, bits of paper, splashes, scratches, jars, postcards, posters, cuttings and photos. Meet James Vella Clark.

New heels on the block – bold colourful shoes, handbags & accessories.

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EASTER TRADITION

Colomba di Pasqu The history behind this Italian Easter specialty is curious and colourful. Marsha and Salvo, owners of La Crema Siciliana in Ballutta Bay, share some secrets. Photography by Alenka Falzon.

ust over a year ago Marsha and Salvo moved from Palermo to open La Crema Siciliana, at Ballutta Buildings in St Julians. Marsha's mother, the effervescent and warm 'La signora Mariella' grew up in this business at her parents coffee shop in Palermo. “The process for making Colomba is complicated and delicate”, explains Marsha, “and involves a lot of technical know-how”.

Legends surrounding the origins of Colomba di Pasqua are colourful.

Variants include the 6th century Lombard King Alboin who was offered a dove shaped sweet bread as a symbol of peace after laying siege to the castle of Pavia. Another story involves the 7th century Lombard Queen Teodolinda and the Irish Saint Columban, and the miraculous Lenten transformation of a royal meat-based banquet to dove-shaped bread. While 12

other stories exist, the symbol of peace is always at their core.

In the 30's the Milanese baker Angelo Motta popularised the Colomba as an Easter version of panettone. “While the dough resembles panettone, using flour, eggs, natural yeast and butter, unlike panettone, classic Colomba only contain candied peel and no raisins”, say Marsha and Salvo. “Besides classic Colomba, topped with pearl sugar and almonds, we also produce richer pistachio and chocolate versions.”

It's all in the hands of Grace and Pietro, who head the kitchens at La Crema Siciliana. Pietro maintains the yeast which requires regular feeding. It grows in size with each feed and will never be out of stock - Pietro has been using the same lievito madre for 30 years. When baking, a portion of the culture is conserved, to be fed and used for future baking, “it takes work to keep it going”.

EASTER TRADITION

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Colomba di Pasqua filled with pistachio cream and covered in grated pistachios and a chocolate cream filled version covered in chocolate.

“It's like having a baby that needs regular feeding and nurturing”, laughs Grace.

Making Colomba takes time and patience. “You have to start early in the morning, mixing flour, sugar, egg, butter and milk with the yeast, leaving the dough to rise for several hours. Then late morning, you knead the dough a second time, adding more butter and leaving it for the second rising. Early the next day you knead the dough again and leave it for a third rising; then midway through the morning you add the candied peel. This is the last phase, when you shape the dough and leave it to rise in the mould for 4 to 5 hours, maybe even 6 hours depending on the weather and the humidity.

Then the Colomba is baked gently for about 2 hours in a low oven and left to hang upside down to cool and set for 12 hours... it takes long... it's a natural process,” says Pietro.

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INTERVIEW

65 QUESTIONS Just two weeks after his exhibition Convergence closed First caught up with artist James Vella Clark to find out when inspiration hits, what his guilty pleasure is and to reveal the biggest surprise he’s ever had. Portrait photographs by Kris Micallef. hat time did you wake up this morning? At half seven. How do you start your day? A luxury would be having breakfast. Morning or a night person? Night person.

Where did you grow up? Żabbar.

How long have you been living in Valletta?

Over ten years. What is your favourite thing about living in Valletta? The fact that the sea is very close, its walking distance, and the fact that I’m living in a very historic environment... also I love Valletta around Good Friday.

Favourite season in Valletta? Good question... yes, spring.

What is your favourite coffee shop in Valletta or anywhere in the world? That’s hard. It’s really hard because there are many coffee shops in Valletta but the coffee in most places is awful... when I’m in Rome we always make it to Caffè Sant’ Eustachio. Coffee or tea? Coffee. Cocktail?

Negroni. Wine? I have a photo of it (laughter) - Dodici e Mezzo del Salento.

What is your favourite food? Anything enjoyed with honest friends. Least favourite food?

Anything with gorgonzola. Favourite dessert?

Apple crumble. What’s your guilty pleasure? My guilty pleasure? Watching a movie with an open tub of Nutella next to me.

Where does inspiration often strike for you? Most times when it’s really bad weather. When is your favourite time of year to paint? I would say winter. Favourite time of day to paint? Night. What is your absolute favourite colour? There’s this very particular greenishgreyish-blue which reminds me of the stormy sea. Oil or acrylic?

Acrylic. Paper or canvas? Canvas. Is there any art medium you would like to have more time to experiment with? Yes, aquatints.

What mood do you have to be in to paint? Definitely not rushed.

What’s your most favourite painting you’ve ever painted? It has to be one in my collection for sure... it’s the pink one called Indecision.

By the time this interview is published your February exhibition Convergence will have closed - describe the exhibition in 3 words.

Tiring, exciting and... and inspiring, because it inspired me for new work. I don’t want to come across using the word ‘inspiring’ as though I’m inspiring other people, what I mean is that it was more of an inspiration to myself for future work.

Why the name Convergence? Because things started making sense finally. What was the most surprising thing about the exhibition?

Some beautiful new friendships. What would you like people to have remembered about this exhibition? That I’m not just a landscape artist, that abstraction is my main idiom now. What is the next thing you would like to paint? A very large blue abstract.

What does painting mean to you? It gives a sense, it gives a sense of purpose to why I am here - you know? And it gives me a certain assurance that when I’m no longer here a part of me will still be here. Who is your favourite artist of all time? I’m torn between Caravaggio and Rothko. What’s a painting you wish you had painted? Van Gogh’s The Blossoming Almond Tree.

James what is the best part about painting? That I’m my own boss.

Can you describe your typical relationship with a painting when you’re painting? It’s a conversation. You start knowing what you want, and suddenly the slightest thing can take you in a totally different direction. But it helps you see things more clearly. It also helps me think, even if I’m thinking about things unrelated to painting - I’ll be painting and my mind will be drifting onto other things and some things start making sense. Sometimes I think of solutions to other problems when I’m painting. It really is very much a conversation. The act of creating is beautiful in itself. You’re creating something which is there to stay and I think that’s amazing.

How do you spend your down time when you’re not painting? I‘ll either be at work or when I’m at home I‘ll lounge; I love watching a good movie, I read, I think of home decoration as well, I’m always on Pinterest getting ideas, and thinking about the colour for the next wall, I love the home a lot.

What is your favourite country to visit? I think my second natural home would have been Italy. Best vacation you’ve ever taken? It wasn’t really a vacation, but my trip to New York was quite momentous for me for many reasons. I went to exhibit, but I had two weeks on my own, and it helped me think a lot. What country have you always wanted to visit? Japan. Favourite city outside Malta?

Paris. What’s the best memory you have about this city? Waking up at 7 o’clock and jogging along the Seine and seeing so many landmarks in just half an hour or so. What’s your favourite museum? The Orsay in Paris. The most beautiful moment was when I stopped in front of a painting by Monet and I just burst out crying, and I couldn’t stop, it was very embarrassing actually. Of course the Orangerie and seeing the Water Lilies was at par an experience as the Orsay. I visited both on the same day. ▶ 15

INTERVIEW

Left: Almond blossom, Vincent van Gogh 1890, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.

Right: Indecision, 2018

◀ What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

It was when I was about to leave my first job, the general manager had called me in and told me how happy he was with me and he also told me “Never be afraid to ask questions, because when you ask questions you show that you’re interested, and when you show that you’re interested people take an interest in you.” It remained with me, this was over twenty years ago now. How do react to criticism? Well, I try to put up a brave face, but deep down it can destroy me, even for a few minutes... I can’t handle it that well, I’m not good at handling criticism.

What is one cause that you care deeply about? It’s the rape of our skyline, of who we are actually, what makes Malta what it is, the uniqueness of Malta... I think that is the thing that is hurting me the most at the moment. If you could change 3 things in Valletta what would you change?

I would stop all cars coming in, sort of pedestrianise most of it. I would connect Valletta with walkways to the three cities and to Sliema, and I would create more exhibition spaces and make sure that all churches and museums remained open till late - every day.

What are you reading right now? I’m reading a book in Italian called La Natura Esposta (by Erri De Luca). It’s about a sculptor asked to restore a marble statue of Christ, but there is an erotic element coming up in it right now. That in certain lights of day the intimate parts take even more form, and it’s an interesting read - from a descriptive point of view it’s a beautiful book. Based on fact or fiction? No, no it’s fiction. Favourite book? One of my very favourite books was The Power of Art, by Simon Schama. And what’s the last book you read? Well, most times I start and finish three or four books at the same time... but I recently finished reading the letters of Mark Rothko.

What’s your favourite film that you’ve seen recently? The Green Book. Favourite film growing up? The Untouchables. James how do you like to unwind? There are two ways. There’s one part of me that

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needs to go for a really good jog round Valletta.

The other way is to have a glass of wine on the roof enjoying Valletta and the views.

What’s the wildest thing you ever did in your life?

The wildest thing? The wildest thing I ever did? I think becoming a parent. Most unexpected thing about being a father? That people tell you that life is going to change, when in actual fact what changes are your sense of priorities. Things that before used to seem like the be-all and end-all... when you have children you realise that what was important before really wasn’t important. What is your current obsession? Sorting out my life... sort of readdressing my priorities and readjusting my life. That’s a priority I think.

If your life was a song what would it be called? I want to break free! (laughter)... or Bohemian Rhapsody... (more laughter). What’s your favourite band of all time? U2. Favourite song? Until the end of the world. Favourite thing you like to do with friends? Well that’s easy, just having lunch or dinner.

If you could have lunch with anyone on the planet who would it be? That’s difficult. I can’t think... it has to be someone I really admire... I don’t know… We can go to the next question - If you could have dinner with anyone on the planet who would it be? (laughter) Ok with dinner it has to be someone who can really keep me awake. Recently dinners have started to take their toll on me, if the company is not really enticing... but I want to answer the last question. Ok, I’d have lunch with Bono, and dinner would have to be with my better half. Recently it’s proving to be very hard to go out for dinner, it’s been ages. Is there anyone in history you would like to have met? Mozart.

Three things you cannot live without? Music, art and personal freedom. What’s the biggest surprise you ever had? Biggest surprise?

I think... it’s not really an object... I think... I mean life keeps surprising me, life keeps surprising me with what it brings. When I was very young, growing up, I would say: “will I ever manage to have a job, will I ever manage to have children, will I ever manage to achieve something in life“... and it used to seem very daunting to me at the time. Today if I had to die (today) I think I would die accomplished..... and I think that that’s quite surprising to me. Ok this is the final question Early morning James. 100, 10 million how much (laughter). What light in Vella question haven’t we asked you? If I’m happy.

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ARTS & CULTURE

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ARTS & CULTURE

The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran Kahlil Gibran (original spelling at birth “Khalil”) is a strange phenomenon of 20th Century letters and publishing says Antonia Pont, Senior Lecturer, Deakin University.

After Shakespeare and the Chinese poet Laozi, Gibran’s work from 1923, The Prophet, has made him the third most-sold poet of all time. This slim volume of 26 prose poems has been translated into over 50 languages; its US edition alone has sold over 9 million copies. Its first printing sold out in a month, and later, during the 1960s, it was selling up to 5,000 copies a week.

It has seemingly been able to speak to various generations: from those experiencing the Depression, to the 1960s counter culture, into the 21st century. It continues to sell well today.

What is fascinating about the Gibran/Prophet phenomenon is the bile of critics in the West in relation to the work. Outside of English-speaking countries, the Lebanese-born Gibran attracts far less disdain. Professor Juan Cole, from the University of Michigan, has noted that Gibran’s writings in Arabic are in a very sophisticated style.

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he Prophet is interesting for a number of reasons, not only for its ability to sell. It is written in an archaic style, recalling certain translations of the Bible (Gibran was intimate with both the Arabic and King James versions) and has an aphoristic quality that lends itself to citation - for weddings, funerals, courtships - and accessibility. There are at least two high schools named after its author and it was quoted in a eulogy given at Nelson Mandela’s funeral.

The Prophet declares no clear religious affiliation, while at the same time operating in a quasi-spiritual or inspirational register.

Many might even class it in that category of writing known as “wisdom texts”.

Gibran has been referred to as the midwife of the New Age, due to the role The Prophet played in opening a space for spiritual or personal counsel outside organised religion and its official texts. The Prophet appears to embrace all or any spiritual tradition (or at least to exclude none explicitly), and this vagueness or openness (depending on one’s reading) may account for part of its widespread appeal.

The book, which presents advice on a number of core aspects of being human such as love, parenting, friendship, Good and Evil, and so on - employs a simple narrative device.

An exiled man, Almustafa, who has been living abroad for 12 years, sees the ship that will carry him back “to the isle of his birth” approaching. Filled with grief at his imminent departure, the townspeople gather and beseech him to give them words of wisdom to ease their sorrow: In your aloneness you have watched with our days, and in your wakefulness you have listened to the weeping and laughter of our sleep.

Now therefore disclose us to ourselves, and tell us all that has been shown you of that which is

between birth and death.

Gibran himself had been in the US for 12 years at the time of writing and, it could be argued, was in a kind of exile from Lebanon, the country of his own birth.

Among many subjects, The Prophet offers contemplations on marriage: … stand together yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.

On children: You may give them your love but not your thoughts for they have their own thoughts You may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

And pain: Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart must stand in the sun, so we must know your pain.

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iographers have emphasised Gibran’s tendency to pretension, to self-aggrandising, to fictionalising his own history, and his relations with women such as his sister, Marianna (who supported him with menial work), and especially his patron and confidante, Mary Haskell. The latter remained devoted to him her entire life and also financed much of his lifestyle, enabling his artistic projects up until and beyond his success with The Prophet. Haskell had a penchant for enabling the less fortunate (although she herself was not wealthy), and Gibran was not her first project of this kind.

She continued to edit his work discreetly well into her own marriage, to which she had resigned herself after their engagement stalled. Gibran had a tendency to get involved, as Joan Acocella writes in her

Kahlil Gibran, The Divine World (1923), Illustration for The Prophet, Charcoal, 28x21 cm. © Gibran Museum. Left: Kahlil Gibran, The Gift (probably 1922), Illustration for The Prophet, Aquarelle, 22x25.5cm. © Gibran Museum

detailed New Yorker piece, with older women who could be useful to him.

He was a beautiful, “oriental” young man.

Having grown up, from the age of 12, in the ghettos of Boston’s South End, he survived by hoisting himself, or finding himself flung, into more privileged circles thanks to his looks, his talent (he could paint and write) and his “mysterious” appeal of being the “other”. Anglo-Americans could, in other words, accessorise with him. And they did.

He was “discovered” by Fred Holland Day, a teacher, who dabbled in the worlds of Blavatsky and the occultism that was de jour, and who liked to photograph young men, both in exotic garments and out.▶ 19

ARTS & CULTURE

Youssef Howayek, Portrait of Gibran, oil on canvas, painted probably 1909-1910, not signed, 41x83cm. © Gibran Museum.

Right: Kahlil Gibran, Love (probably 1922), Illustration for The Prophet, Aquarelle, 28x21.5cm. © Gibran Museum

D

Kahlil Gibran,The Triad Being Descending Towards the Mother-Sea (1922), Illustration for The Prophet, Aquarelle, 28x21 cm. © Gibran Museum

espite the indifference of Western critics to Gibran’s work, Gibran’s credentials were not shoddy; he was a trained artist (at the Académie Julian) had his first exhibition at 21, and produced over 700 works in his lifetime, including portraits of Yeats, Jung and Rodin.

Gibran died young, at age 48, from cirrhosis of the liver, due to a propensity for large quantities of arak, supplied to him by his sister, Marianna. One wonders whether Gibran was able to find any solace in his own words in his final days of frailty.

In The Prophet, he (and, we could speculate, Haskell) write(s): Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity … For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?

And what is it to cease breathing but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.

Gibran has been criticised for his style of playing confoundingly but reassuringly on opposites, which, some argue, can mean anything. (One must note, however, that this unsettling of binary structures is a feature of enduring wisdom texts such as the Tao Te Ching, as well as recalling writings of Sufism and other traditions.)

Furthermore, for the son of destitute immigrants, who rose to fame via his beauty, talent and a blind conviction of his own specialness (which he nourished along with a small obsession with Jesus Christ, the subject of a later, and arguably better work), perhaps life had presented to him its own stark dualities: abjection/acclaim; poverty/wealth; indifference/desire; disdain/popularity; exoticism/racism.

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Kahlil Gibran, Face of the Prophet (1923), Illustration for The Prophet, Charcoal, 47x33.4 cm. © Gibran Museum

◀In Gibran’s case, since evidence suggests that he evaded a sexual relation with Haskell, he at least did not leave her with the financial burden of children (not uncommon in his time). He ended his life primarily close to his sole-remaining sibling, Marianna and his secretary, and later biographer, Barbara Young.

Due to the extensive number of edits that Haskell offered on most of Gibran’s works across his career (including his first publication, a short poem), it is almost certain that “his” output - like many artistic achievements - might be more accurately deemed a collaboration. The enduring convention of signing works with a singular name has tended to result in the eclipsing of efforts of crucial contributors, often women.

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or someone who undoubtedly “made it” (according to the grim criteria of the New World), Gibran may well have had more than a kernel of wisdom and know-how for those trying to survive its heartless, capricious climes. The fact is that millions of people have found momentary respite in his shifting, evocative words.

In a century where authority figures – whether political or representing various spiritual traditions – have seemed not only to fail their flocks, but to have actively betrayed them, Gibran’s perhaps fuzzy but lyrical advice has come to fill a vacuum of integrity and leadership.

We need not badger readers of this work (who included, incidentally, the likes of John Lennon and David Bowie) who might use it to express their love, notate their grief, or ease their existential terrors.

The Prophet has worked as a widespread balm, as effectively as anything quick and concise can. Cheaper than an ongoing tithe to pharmaceutical companies, at €8.79, the going rate at Book Depository, it neither incites hatred, nor violence, nor religious divisiveness.

It says the kinds of things that we sometimes wish a trusted other might say to us, to calm us down. In these aggravated times, perhaps we can appreciate its sheer benignity and leave its boggling success be.

All images provided courtesy of the Gibran National Committee (GNC).

In 1932, the contents of Gibran's studio in New York, including furniture, personal belongings, private library, manuscripts and 440 original paintings, were transferred to his native town Bsharreh, Northern Lebanon, where today they are exhibited at the Gibran Museum.

Originally published on The Conversation

ARTS & CULTURE

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YEARS

G N I T A R B E CEL K S I C F O S 90 YEAR

SINCE 1929

DESTINATION

TROPICAL METROPOLITAN Inside Madrid's Victorian train station that's a paradise lover's oasis. Colour photograph by Mindaugas Petrutis.

n February 1851 Madrid's first railway station, Estación de Mediodía, was inaugurated. Just over 40 years later in 1892, after being destroyed by fire, the building was rebuilt.

Architect Alberto de Palacio Elissagne collaborated with Gustave Eiffel to construct an impressive 27 metre high Art Nouveau wrought-iron structure with a sprawling 157 metre long vaulted roof flanked by two brick buildings. The station takes its name from a nearby basilica, Our Lady of Atocha.

In 1992, the original building was taken out of service as a terminal, and given a surprising overhaul by architect Rafael Moneo while preserving the grand 19th century glass and iron structure. The interior that used to house the old platforms prior to Atocha’s expansion was converted into a concourse with shops and cafés and a light filled 4,000 square metre tropical garden.

The resulting effect is reminiscent of stepping into a grand Victorian glasshouse.

The garden is filled with several thousand plants, including 260 different species from America, Asia, and Australia, as well as a turtle and fish pond. Urbanites and travelers can slow down and enjoy a quick coffee, cocktail or meal at one of several outlets immersed in a miniature jungle paradise tucked away from Madrid's fast pace.

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LONDON CALLING

The Mary Quant Beauty bus, 1971 © INTERFOTO Alamy Stock Photo

Satin mini-dress and shorts by Mary Quant, photograph by Duffy, 1966 © Duffy Archive

Mary Quant and models at the Quant Afoot footwear collection launch, 1967 © PA Prints 2008

Model holding a Bazaar bag c.1959 © Mary Quant Archive

V&A Mary Quant exhibition

Mary Quant with Vidal Sassoon, photograph by Ronald Dumont, 1964 Ronald Dumont Stringer Getty Images

Kellie Wilson wearing tie dress by Mary Quant’s Ginger Group.

Photograph by Gunnar Larsen, 1966. © Gunnar Larsen

“FASHION IS NOT FRIVOLOUS; IT IS PART OF BEING ALIVE TODAY” MARY QUANT

QUANT ON

Since when did raincoats go wild? Mary Quant at the V&A

Dive into Mary Quant’s fashion revolution in V&A’s international retrospective. ary Quant revolutionised the British high street in the sixties, harnessing youth, streetstyle and mass production to create a new look for women. Quant personified the energy and fun of swinging London; and was a powerful role model for the working woman.

Challenging conventions, she popularised mini skirts, colourful tights, and tailored trousers – encouraging a new age of feminism. Quant was one of the earliest designers to promote trousers for fashionable womenswear, at a time when women wore trousers for informal occasions and at home.

London's V&A has captured this spirit with a retrospective on the iconic fashion designer, with over 200 garments and accessories. Mary Quant at the V&A features never before seen designs and provides an unrivalled insight into the career of one of Britain’s most revolutionary and important fashion designers.

The beginning of the exhibition sets the scene of post-war London for the opening of Quant’s experimental boutique Bazaar, on Chelsea’s King’s Road in 1955. It shows how her designs, often based on schoolgirl pinafores or masculine tailoring, challenged the norm. Bazaar was one of very few

shops in London offering an alternative to the other high-fashion designers' 'mature' styles. With a radically different shopping experience than other stores, Bazaar's witty window displays, loud music and drinks created a 'scene' that kept going late into the evening.

Inspiring young women to rebel against traditional dress worn by their mothers and grandmothers, Quant’s tiny King’s Road boutique grew into a wholesale brand available in department stores across the UK. Quant’s success soon hit America, and in 1962 she signed a lucrative design contract with the American department store JC Penny. Quant quickly became the woman that made fashion less exclusive and more accessible to a new generation.

Ahead of her time in marketing and promotion, Quant was the embodiment of the label. Her distinctive, photogenic style, playful energy and revolutionary approach made her the ultimate brand ambassador.

Mary Quant complements V&A’s concurrent Dior exhibition – in terms of fashion history it’s the flipside to the same period, where Quant is very much about accessible and democratic fashion.

Mary Quant is at the V&A until 16th February 2020, tickets from £12. vam.ac.uk/maryquant, #WeWantQuant 25

LONDON CALLING

Atelier Section, V&A Christian Dior Designer of Dreams exhibition. Photo © Adrien Dirand. Victoria and Albert Museum, London Christian Dior with model Lucky, circa 1955.

Courtesy of Christian Dior 30 Avenue Montaigne, circa 1947.

Dior Héritage collection, Paris

Christian Dior by John Galliano (b.1960), Haute Couture, Autumn/Winter 2004.

Photo © Laziz Hamani.

Dior Héritage collection, Paris

Designers For Dior Section. V&A Christian Dior Designer of Dreams exhibition. Photo © Adrien Dirand. Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Christian Dior (1905–57), Bar Suit, Haute Couture, Spring/Summer 1947, Corolle Line. Photo © Laziz Hamani. Victoria and Albert Museum, London

CHRISTIAN DIOR DESIGNER OF DREAMS

Sketch by Christian Dior for model Londres, Haute Couture, Autumn/Winter 1950. © Christian Dior

Christian Dior (1905–57), Avril, Dress, Haute Couture, SpringSummer 1955, A Line. Photo © Laziz Hamani. Dior Héritage collection, Paris

Dior's 1947 post war “New Look” made fashion history. With a silhouette characterised by rounded shoulders, a small, nipped-in waist and a full A-line skirt the look challenged post-war austerity. The “Bar” suit is one of the most recognizable looks of the late 40s and early 50s. Many regarded this extravagant use of material as waste, to Dior, this “waste” was a symbol of youth, hope and dreams. he V&A’s Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams is the most comprehensive exhibition ever staged in the UK on the House of Dior and the museum’s biggest fashion exhibition since Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty in 2015. From 1947 to the present day, Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams traces the history and impact of one of the 20th century’s most influential couturiers, and the six artistic directors who have succeeded him, to explore the enduring influence of the fashion house.

Based on the major exhibition Christian Dior: Couturier du Rêve, organised by the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, it is reimagined for the

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V&A, with over 60 per cent of the objects unique to this exhibition, and a brand-new section exploring the designer’s fascination with British culture.

The exhibition highlights Christian Dior’s total design vision, encompassing garments, accessories and fragrances. Flowers are emblematic of the Couture House and have inspired silhouettes, embroidery and prints, but also the launch of Miss Dior in 1947, the first fragrance created alongside the very first show.

From horticulture to global travel and historicism, the show reveals the sources of inspiration that defined the House of Dior’s aesthetic. From the daring designs of Yves Saint Laurent to the rational style of Marc Bohan, the

LONDON CALLING

The New Look Section. V&A Christian Dior Designer of Dreams exhibition.

Photo © Adrien Dirand. Victoria and Albert Museum, London

The Garden Section. V&A Christian Dior Designer of Dreams exhibition.

Photo © Adrien Dirand. Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Royal Portrait of Princess Margaret on her 21st birthday. Photograph by Cecil Beaton (1904–1980). © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Christian Dior (1905–57), Écarlate, Afternoon Dress, Haute Couture, Autumn/Winter 1955, Y Line Photo © Laziz Hamani.

Victoria and Albert Museum, London Christian Dior with model Sylvie, circa 1948.

Courtesy of Christian Dior

Christian Dior by John Galliano, J’adore, Dress, Haute Couture, 2008 (custom-made). Photo © Laziz Hamani. Christian Dior Parfums collection, Paris

Historicism Section. V&A Christian Dior Designer of Dreams exhibition. Photo © Adrien Dirand.

Victoria and Albert Museum, London

flamboyance of Gianfranco Ferré, the exuberance of John Galliano, the minimalism of Raf Simons, and Maria Grazia Chiuri’s feminist vision of fashion, the exhibition shows how each successive artistic director has stayed true to Dior’s vision of Haute Couture, while bringing their own creative sensibilities to the House.

Drawn from the extensive Dior Archives, the exhibition presents over 500 objects, with over 200 rare Haute Couture garments shown alongside accessories, fashion photography, film, vintage perfume, original make-up, illustrations, magazines, and Christian Dior’s personal possessions.

It also showcases highlights from the V&A’s world-class Couture collections, including the iconic Bar Suit, gifted to the museum by the House of Dior in 1960 with the help of Cecil Beaton. The exhibition also spotlights on the key creative partners of the House from the past 70 years,

Ballroom Section. V&A Christian Dior Designer of Dreams exhibition. Photo © Adrien Dirand. Victoria and Albert Museum, London

including Roger Vivier, Stephen Jones, René Gruau, Serge Lutens and Swarovski, Christian Dior’s first choice for crystals to embellish his creations.

Originally scheduled to run through to 14 July, the exhibition has been extended by seven weeks to Sunday 1 September. Throughout the extended run, the V&A will release additional exhibition tickets on the 15th of each month for the month ahead. A limited number of tickets are available to purchase daily at 10.00 from the V&A’s Grand Entrance on a first-come, first-served basis, while V&A members attend free-of-charge with no need to book.

Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams is at the Victoria and Albert Museum, until 1st September 2019. vam.ac.uk, #DiorDesignerofDreams 27

PROMOTION

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eveloped by Lucia Pica, CHANEL Global Creative Makeup and Colour Designer, each of the 27 ROUGE COCO FLASH shades is packed with pigment. This new lipstick gives luminous colour from the very first stroke - it applies easily over the lips and transforms into a shiny oil for a sensation of absolute comfort. In a flash, it offers an intense high-shine result, owing to an ultra-hydrating texture and glossy oil finish, selected for its ability to reflect the light.

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OUGE COCO FLASH unfurls like a ribbon of colour with its surprisingly smooth and comfortable formula. With its perfectly dosed balance of plant butter and oils, it melts onto lips providing surprising comfort. A perfect combination for shimmering shine.

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collection of intense and easy-to-wear colours, a shiny mirror-effect finish, an intuitive stick‌ ROUGE COCO FLASH is more than a lipstick. It’s an object of desire. An ode to spontaneity and freedom. An invitation to play with 27 shades and 27 whims. Nudes, oranges, pinks, rosewoods, fuchsias, plums, near blacks and reds in subtle, daring and bold versions in an irresistible palette!

To make playing with colour even more fun, CHANEL dreamed up three translucent top coats to layer on top of all the lipsticks. One has golden shimmer, which enhances shine. Another heats things up with its orange tones. The last one, with black hues, adds depth to any lipstick. Three accessories to try with the two new ROUGE COCO shades of the season: Ami, an exhilarating coral, and Lover, a deep, captivating red.

Chanel is distributed by Alfred Gera & Sons Ltd

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PROMOTION

#ROUGECOCOFLASH #CHANELMAKEUP #CREATEYOURSELF Lily-Rose Depp, the face of the new ROUGE COCO FLASH ad campaign.

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FASHION

Les couleurs du printemps

Relish colour, layering and prints this spring.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MATTHEW . B SPITERI. FASHION STYLING JEANDOR FARRUGIA. HAIR BECKY VELLA. MAKEUP LEVA MYKOLAITYTE. MODELS CHARLENE YEMMAH (MODELS M) & MADELEINE BALDACCHINO (SUPERNOVA). CLOTHING KAREN MILLEN, KWADDRO AND CHARLES & KEITH.

SUITS, BOTH FROM KAREN MILLEN, BRAS AND GLASSES ARE MODEL’S OWN AND STYLIST’S OWN. 30

FASHION

FLORAL & STRIPE SHIRT DRESS AND HIGH-WAISTED CULOTTES FROM KAREN MILLEN. SUNGLASSES AND WOVEN TOP HANDLE BAG FROM CHARLES & KEITH. 31

FASHION

PATTERNED DRESS FROM KWADDRO. 32

FASHION YELLOW PLEATED FLORAL MAXI DRESS FROM KAREN MILLEN.

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FASHION PASTEL JACKET FROM KWADDRO, SHIRT AND HIGH-WAISTED CULOTTES FROM KAREN MILLEN.

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FASHION

TAILORED JACKET FROM KAREN MILLEN, DRESS FROM KWADDRO. 35

FRESH LOOKS

Gingham triangle bikini top, Sandy stripe trousers, Maple fringe cross body bag Patsy fringed asymmetrical dress

BOHEMIAN MONSOON SUMMER Romantic florals blossom across floor-grazing lengths that come to life this spring. Monsoon’s Directors Jackie Urpani and Theresa Bartolo Parnis pick their favourite looks this season.

Kristina crepe jumpsuit

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Kim embellished maxi dress

FRESH LOOKS Nancy linen jumpsuit and linen jacket.

Lara linen jacket, Bryony linen button through cami top and Lacy pocket front shorts.

Patricia plain midi dress and Wendy print dress

Joan wide leg jumpsuit

Ayla palm leaves maxi dress

he first Monsoon collections featured gorgeous bohemian clothes made in Indian villages using hand-loomed cotton fabrics, organic vegetable dyes and artisanal block-printing techniques. This year's spring and summer collection is an energetic play on these roots and will give your wardrobe an instant injection of style. Enjoy warmer days in lightweight knitwear, chiffon blouses and holiday maxi dresses. The beach wear range incorporates shorts, dresses, kaftans, loose printed trousers, bikinis and anything you could possibly need for Malta’s hot summer.

Powerful prints will energise your work-toweekend tops and trousers, and the new plains are cool and understated. Feminine evening dresses in strong jewel colours, or beautiful pastel hues with sparkling embellishments are perfect for the upcoming wedding season.

Packed with core staples and on-trend pieces, Monsoon women's casualwear and Zeeba printed kimono and trousers

wardrobe essentials brings style to your everyday with versatile blouses, sleeveless tops, trousers and skirts, and day dresses in bold prints and soft jersey fabrics. Effortless classics include breezy cotton and linen styles with cheerful gingham prints and full-bloom florals. Here are Jackie and Theresa's pick of the crop this season. he jumpsuit has become the versatile piece for the warmer weather, especially since it comes in many different fabrics and is available in both plain and print. The best thing about a jumpsuit is that it can be made to look preppy and casual when paired with pumps or trainers, but can suddenly transform into an anywhere piece with a touch of jewellery and a little heel. The Kristina crepe jumpsuit a great example of this with a super-stylish metal ring belt, wrap neckline and side pockets. rints this summer have moved away from busy florals and are now looking so much more directional and focused! The Zeeba print, which features on trousers, a kimono and dress, is a colourful ethnic print just perfect for Malta's summer.

The Nancy printed linens look so fresh and the Ayla palm leaves Maxi dress is to die for, it just screams hot summer days and nights!

Also featuring strongly this season is the gingham check.

Plains. While prints are ever present and always feature strongly in our summer collection, there is an extended range of great dresses in red, burnt orange, khaki and black. The advantage of a plain piece is that it is like a blank canvas on which to layer a fabulous flower printed bag or beaded clutch bag, and stunning jewellery. Strong accessories with a plain outfit have a knockme-dead effect, and the look is very contemporary. or all the upcoming summer occasions – weddings, parties or trips to the theatre – drape yourself in fabulous dressy jersey dresses or jewel coloured jumpsuits, beaded full length gowns, snappy dresses in gorgeous prints, and, the ultimate piece – the Patsy fringed asymmetrical dress in a gorgeous shade of orange with radiant floral embroidery.

t

p

f

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PROMOTION

LOACKER MATCHA GREEN TEA Light as a feather, these new crispy wafers are made with finely ground noble Japanese tea Loacker, a South Tyrolean family-run company specialised in the production of finest wafer and chocolate specialties since 1925, is proud to introduce Loacker Matcha Green Tea, a bold on-trend flavour complementing the Loacker Speciality wafer ranges. Pairing Loacker’s light wafers with a 74% crème filling featuring a refined taste of finely ground, noble Japanese tea, this unique variety has no added flavourings, no colourings and no preservatives.

Tea leaves on the volcanic hills of Japan have been harvested for Matcha for centuries.

Matcha farmers protect their plants from direct sun with curtains to limit sun exposure right before harvesting their young buds and the highest leaves. The leaves are then steamed and dried, the stems and veins removed, and ultimately ground to a fine powder. The precious powder is stored in dark airtight containers to preserve its refined taste and natural, bright green color.

Like every Loacker product, the high quality of Loacker Matcha Green Tea is guaranteed by the constant attention the company pays to the environment, using natural ingredients for exquisite treats produced in the heart of the Alps, where the air and water are fresh and pure.

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PROMOTION

Colourful accessories for women. Get a handle on spring with these colourful handbags.

NEW HEELS ON THE BLOCK

UPDATE YOUR DAILY BASICS THIS SPRING WITH BOLD COLOURFUL SHOES, HANDBAGS & ACCESSORIES. Get wrapped up in style for spring, from classic heels to a flared block heel and clean-lined cuff. Add a splash of colorful inspiration to your everyday style with structured bags, the perfect companions for standout days and all-night fun.

Scarves for days. Wear this oversized square scarf with striped print, perfect for layering.

Elegant and practical, the luxe look features clean lines. Understated styling beautifully enhance the structured silhouette.

Sleek, minimalist lines amplify the everyday versatility of a spacious backpack that serves as an around-town essential.

Your search for perfect accessories is over. Embrace spring's romantic mood with feminine broaches, crystal-embellished hair clips, floral-inspired earrings, and more.

CHEERS TO THE STURDIEST STAPLE IN YOUR WARDROBE: BLOCK HEELS. Add a splash of colourful inspiration to your everyday style in block heel sandals: the perfect companions for standout days and all-night fun. A perfect block heel adds 'just-right' height to a chic and versatile anklestrap sandal with added new-season appeal.

Which color will you pick?

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BOOK LAUNCH

VALLETTA IN 2018 The project Valletta in 2018 is an independent photographic project presenting the viewer with an alternative, unpolished angle to the city during its year in the spotlight as European Capital of Culture, say photographers Inigo Taylor and Joanna Demarco.

hile walking through the streets of Valletta just days before the launch of Valletta 2018, a time when promotional material, and presence of the event on social media was abundant, local photographers Inigo Taylor and Joanna Demarco both felt that the Valletta they experienced on a daily basis differed from how they were seeing it portrayed. The collaborative photography project was born out of that sense of misalignment.

Throughout the year, the two visited Valletta frequently, covering all corners of the city’s footprint, in all types of weather, on varying occasions, during both eventful and uneventful moments, photographing whatever caught their eye.

At no moment does Valletta in 2018 seek to be objective. Through the vision of two photographers living in Malta, they only hope only to provide an unfettered, purely visual depiction of the city, throughout its year in the international spotlight, an alternative documentation, to be added to the collective memory of the year.

The result of the year long project is a beautifully handcrafted book, produced by local bookbinders Kotba Calleja, and designed by local branding company Bloom Creative.

Each cover is unique, cut from a larger print of a photograph of tiles ‘hidden’ in the city under the loġoġ facing St John’s.

Valletta in 2018, hardback, approx 25x28.5cm. €45, price includes two prints from the photographers when purchasing directly. Email mail@joannademarco.com for purchasing and enquiries. Limited copies are also available at Camilleri Pairs Mode, Rabat.

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HEALTH & FITNESS

MEET THE PROFESSOR REVERSING TYPE 2 DIABETES 42

HEALTH & FITNESS

REVERSING TYPE 2 DIABETES Reverse your diabetes - and you can stay diabetes-free long-term says Professor Roy Taylor. A 2016 study from Newcastle University showed that people who reverse their diabetes and then keep their weight down remain free of diabetes. Article and photograph courtesy of Newcastle University, UK.

In addition, the team found that even patients who have had Type 2 diabetes for up to 10 years can reverse their condition. The 2016 study, published in Diabetes Care, is part of ongoing research from world-renowned Professor Roy Taylor, Professor of Medicine and Metabolism at Newcastle University, who also works within Newcastle Hospitals. The research is part of a growing body of evidence showing that people with Type 2 diabetes who successfully lose weight can reverse their condition because fat is removed from their pancreas, returning insulin production to normal.

previous study led by Professor Taylor, published in 2011, showed that diabetes could be reversed by a very low calorie diet. This caused international interest, but the study was very short as it was only eight weeks and the question remained whether the diabetes would stay away.

In this new study, 30 volunteers with Type 2 diabetes embarked on the same diet of 600 to 700 calories a day.

Participants lost on average 14 kilograms - just over 2 stone.

Over the next 6 months they did not regain any weight. The group included many people with longer duration diabetes, defined as more than 8 years and ranging up to 23 years.

Overall, 12 patients who had had diabetes for less than 10 years reversed their condition. 6 months later they remained diabetes free. In fact, after 6 months a thirteenth patient had reversed their diabetes.

Though the volunteers lost weight they remained overweight or obese but they had lost enough weight to remove the fat out of the pancreas and allow normal insulin production.

Professor Roy Taylor said: “What we have shown is that it is possible to reverse your diabetes, even if you have had the condition for a long time, up to around 10 years. If you have had the diagnosis for longer than that, then don’t give up hope – major improvement in blood sugar control is possible."

“The study also answered the question that people often ask me – if I lose the weight and keep the weight off, will I stay free of diabetes? The simple answer is yes!"

“Interestingly, even though all our volunteers remained obese or overweight, the fat did not drift back to clog up the pancreas."

“This supports our theory of a Personal Fat Threshold. If a person gains more weight than they personally can tolerate, then diabetes is triggered, but if they then lose that amount of weight then they go back to normal."

“Individuals vary in how much weight they can carry without it seeming to affect their metabolism – don’t forget that 70% of severely obese people do not have diabetes."

“The bottom line is that if a person really wants to get rid of their Type 2 diabetes, they can lose weight, keep it off and return to normal."

“This is good news for people who are very motivated to get

rid of their diabetes. But it is too early to regard this as suitable for everyone. That is a separate question and a major study is underway to answer this.” articipants in this study had Type 2 diabetes for between six months and 23 years. The team showed that Type 2 diabetes could be reversed even in people who had the condition for 10 years.

The team were able to identify in advance participants who would not respond to adequate weight loss by reversing their diabetes as at the start they had almost absent insulin production from the pancreas.

The study was funded by a National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR BRC) grant. A larger trial involving 280 patients is already underway. This will examine how successfully people can reverse their diabetes through weight loss simply under the care of their family doctor and nurse. It is being funded by Diabetes UK. The research was made possible through Newcastle Academic Health Partners, a collaboration involving Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust and Newcastle University.

This partnership harnesses world-class expertise to ensure patients benefit sooner from new treatments, diagnostics and prevention strategies.

The diet consisted of: 3 diet shakes per day and 240 grams of non-starchy vegetables taking in between 600 and 700kcal a day for 8 weeks. Volunteers then gradually returned to eating normal food over the next two weeks with very careful instruction on how much to eat. Volunteers were seen once a month and supported with an individualized weight maintenance programme over the next 6 months to keep weight steady after the weight loss, they were eating around one third less than before the study.

For more information on this research visit the Diabetes Research page on the Newcastle University Website. It is important that people with diabetes discuss their management with their own doctor. Remember to always consult with your doctor before embarking on any diet programme.

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HEALTH & FITNESS

THE BENEFITS OF EXERCISE IN TYPE 2 DIABETES The prevalence of Type 2 diabetes is on a sharp rise in developed countries. According to Diabetes UK, over 3.5 Million people have been diagnosed with diabetes in the UK in 2015, and it is estimated that another half a million individuals have not been diagnosed yet. This means that 6% of the UK population is diabetic. In Malta, rates are even higher. It is estimated that 10% of the adult population suffers from Type 2 diabetes, according to Department of Health Information and Research, 2008, writes Richard Geres, MSc Nutritional Medicine. lthough genetics may play some part in the likelihood of developing diabetes, the condition is mainly a result of unhealthy lifestyle factors that include poor diet, lack of physical activity and smoking.

Diabetes is a serious health condition that can lead to heart disease and stroke, nerve damage, resulting in amputation of limbs, blindness, kidney failure and death. For national health services, the cost of treatment is a huge financial burden. In Malta, the average length of stay in hospital for diabetes was 13.7 days in 2011.

Insulin is the primary hormone responsible for lowering blood sugar (glucose) levels following a meal. The action of insulin allows glucose to move from the bloodstream into the peripheral cells of our body, where it is used for energy or stored as an energy reserve. When blood glucose levels are chronically elevated due to continuous ingestion of carbohydrates, insulin levels too become chronically elevated. As a result, the body develops an insensitivity to the action of insulin (insulin resistance), and blood glucose cannot be cleared efficiently from the blood stream any longer.

Lifestyle modification, in the form of dietary changes and increased physical activity, can have a significant positive effect in moderating, delaying or even reversing Type 2 diabetes. Since Type 2 diabetes occurs predominantly in overweight or obese individuals, weight-loss is a primary objective in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. Weight-loss not only helps to improve blood glucose levels, but also has positive effects on blood lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides) and blood pressure, all of which are considered cardiovascular risk factors.

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ffect of exercise on diabetes. Exercise has a powerful effect on blood glucose control and is more powerful in controlling blood sugar than certain diabetes medications (Metformin). Contracting muscles increase the uptake of blood glucose. How much glucose is taken up depends on the intensity and the duration of the exercise performed. In diabetic patients, the rate of glucose uptake by muscle is diminished, however contracting muscles can also take up glucose from blood by other glucose-transporting means, which are not impaired by Type 2 diabetes.

Most doctors generally recommend moderate intensity aerobic exercise such as walking or

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swimming as the activity of choice for diabetic patients, however some evidence suggests that a combination of resistance training and aerobic training produces better blood glucose regulation than either form of exercise on its own. Resistance training increases lean muscle mass and some studies have shown that increases in lean mass are related to decreases in HbA1c, a blood marker for mean blood glucose concentrations over a 2-3 month period, based on the hypothesis that increased muscle tissue enhances the storage capacity of glucose in the form of glycogen. Whether this is due to increased muscle size or improved qualitative muscle function is not entirely clear.

Obese individuals are often found to have higher levels of fat stored within muscle cells, known as intramuscular fat. Such fat deposits have been shown to lead to insulin resistance, a precursor of diabetes. Ironically, highly trained endurance athletes also show elevated levels of intramuscular fat, however, without the negative side effects of insulin resistance. The intramuscular fat deposits found in athletes are thought to serve the purpose of an immediate energy source for athletes during physical activity.

Endurance athletes, by nature are highly insulin sensitive. This phenomenon is referred to as the athlete’s paradox, and shows how regular exercise can alter the body’s ability to process sugar.

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cute versus chronic exercise. The great news is that you don’t need to engage in an exercise programme for months in order to experience any positive effects on blood sugar clearance. Even a single bout of exercise can improve blood sugar clearance in diabetic individuals for up to 24 hours. However for long-term health benefits, it is necessary to exercise on a regular basis.

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xercise recommendations. Both the American Diabetic Association (ADA) as well as the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommend aerobic exercise and resistance training as a treatment for diabetic patients that do not have contraindications to exercise. The recommendations are to perform moderate intensity aerobic exercise for at least 150 minutes per week and to complete 2-3 sessions of resistance training per week, using exercises that target the major muscle groups in the body.

Increased intensity or additional volume of training can produce greater benefits.

“LIFESTYLE MODIFICATION, IN THE FORM OF DIETARY CHANGES AND INCREASED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, CAN HAVE A SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE EFFECT IN MODERATING, DELAYING OR EVEN REVERSING TYPE 2 DIABETES.”

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HERITAGE

With a new supply of water directly to the city, several fountains were commissioned in Valletta, including the historic Wignacourt Fountain. Originally located in Palace Square, this was the first fountain erected after the building of the Wignacourt Aqueduct and used for the inauguration ceremony of the aqueduct on 21 April 1615. The Wignacourt Fountain features a large circular basin with three superimposed basins decreasing in size, supported on a cone-shaped pedestal with four dolphins with upturned tails. It may now be found at St Philip Garden (next to Argotti Garden) in Floriana. Photograph © viewingmalta.com, photograph by Clive Vella.

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

WIGNACOURT AQUEDUCT By the late 1500's Valletta had been built and was a new and bustling city with a growing problem - rainwater collected did not meet the needs of its growing population and without a good natural water supply, water had to be carted in. By the end of the 16th century, with fears of possible Ottoman attack, a steady water supply was desperately needed, and on this day in history, 21st April, 1615, the Wignacourt Aqueduct was inaugurated, bringing water right to the heart of 'downtown' Valletta. ince the first stone had been laid in 1566, Valletta thrived and quickly in its first 50 years. Water had to be supplied from the numerous cisterns around the city and when these ran dry, water had to be brought by boat from the springs at Marsa. This was an unacceptable situation which would cripple the city in the case of a siege.

On 19 October 1596 the order to build an aqueduct to carry water from springs in Dingli and Rabat to the Valletta was issued.

Grand Master Martin Garzez engaged Padre Giacomo, a Jesuit, to design the watercourse. Construction work began, but was soon suspended due to financial problems. In 1610 works continued under the Jesuit and architect Padre Natale Tomasucci under Grand Master by Alof de Wignacourt who was determined to succeed where others had failed. ▶

At age 17 Alof de Wignacourt joined the Order of the Knights of Saint John in 1564 and distinguished himself at the Great Siege of Malta a year later. In 1601 he was elected Grand Master. A few years later in 1607 Caravaggio (1571-1610) arrived in Malta and was an instant success. In this portrait Wignacourt is painted in formal armour, holding his baton of command – at the time Wignacourt was about sixty years old. He surrounded himself with young pages, imitating the fashion of the European princely courts. Portrait of Alof de Wignacourt and his Page Caravaggio (1607-1608), Louvre, Paris.

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HERITAGE

The aqueduct was embellished with a triumphal arch at Santa Venera. The Baroque archway was decorated with three fleurs-de-lis and also included a relief of Wignacourt's coat of arms. In the 1940's the arch was destroyed’in a series of accidents. In 1943 a Royal Air Force lorry heading to the airfield at Ta' Qali at night hit the arch, damaging it severely. It was then completely destroyed in 1944 when a Royal Army Service Corps truck hit what remained of the structure. Reconstruction of a replica began in 2014 and was completed by the end of 2015.

◀ Unfortunately Tomasucci could not solve the problem of moving water along depressions in the ground and in 1612 the hydraulic expert Bontadino de Bontadini was employed for the project. The Maltese capomastro Giovanni Attard had already proposed that the solution was to carry the water over an arched aqueduct where the terrain was not suitable for underground conduits. The first segment of arches were

already laid by the time Bontadini arrived who agreed with the capimastri and the work continued. One of Bontadini’s main inputs into the project was the use of pozzolana to cement the globigerina limestone conduits together to render them waterproof. Along the course three water towers were constructed at Santa Venera, Hamrun and Floriana to regulate the flow and supply of water.▶

A stretch of the aqueduct's surviving arches. At the time of completion, the aqueduct could supply 1,400 m3 of water daily for about 30,000 people.

The system supplied water to cisterns in private and public buildings and to fountains. All major palaces, the Sacra Infermeria, the Sacristy of St John's and main administration buildings were connected. The constant supply of fresh water led to an increase in populations in both Valletta and Floriana, as well as villages along the course. Photograph © Daniel Cilia.

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HERITAGE

In 1610, Padre Tomasucci, a Jesuit and an architect was involved in the early stages of the construction of the aqueduct. He sought to tap springs in Rabat to an underground water conduit all the way down to Valletta. His plans relied on the steep gradient to force the water over any inclinations on its way to Valletta. Unfortunately it was not to be and Tomasucci could not solve the problem of moving water along depressions in the ground. In 1612 the hydraulic expert Bontadino de Bontadini was engaged for the project. The Maltese capomastro Giovanni Attard had already proposed that the solution was to carry the water over an arched aqueduct where the terrain was not suitable for underground conduits.

Today, along portions of the surviving aqueduct, stones featuring circular holes are set into the structure. These were part of Tomasucci's pipes from the first attempt to build the aqueduct, and were recycled when the final aqueduct system was built.

Wignacourt Water Tower in Floriana, located near Argotti Gardens and in front of Sarrija Church. The water tower had an important role in the aqueduct system, allowing water to well up and continue towards Valletta. The tower features Wignacourt’s coat of arms and a drinking trough for horses. Photograph © viewingmalta.com, photograph by Mario Galea.

◀In 1614 the aqueduct was completed and finally inaugurated on 21 April 1615 at a fountain in Palace Square. Numerous fountains were erected around Valletta to commemorate the event and all major palaces, the

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Sacra Infermeria, the sacristy of St John’s and main administration buildings were connected to this water supply. At the time of completion, the aqueduct could supply enough water daily for about 30,000 people.

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GARDENS

HIDDEN VILLA FRERE Escaping into the gardens of Villa Frere is as close as you can get to Alice falling through the rabbit hole, the entrance behind Karen Grech hospital at St Luke's is the last place you would imagine to find a tranquil and very hidden secret garden.

Welcome to Villa Frere. Photographs by James Vella Clark.

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GARDENS he 12-acre estate was created by British diplomat, poet, scholar and philanthropist John Hookham Frere. Following his wife's death in 1831 Frere created this garden as a means of coming to terms with his loss. With wide open views spanning from Mdina to Valletta, at the time Frere would have also been able to look out at the Msida Bastion Cemetery, where his wife reposed. Villa Frere became a sanctuary for numerous creatives and academics including Mikiel Anton Vassalli who spent time with Frere discussing how to establish Maltese as a written and taught language.

Following his death in 1846 Villa Frere’s garden was neglected and almost forgotten until the villa became the residence of Captain Edward Price forty years later. Price injected life into the property - a true garden enthusiast he introduced a selection of exotic plants and created different sections transforming it into a botanic garden including a Dutch tulip garden, a Japanese garden, a 'Lover's Walk' and an 'Engagement Terrace'. In July 1930 the gardens featured in the UK based Country Life Magazine in a pictorial editorial filled with lush black and white photographs. According to the magazine "everywhere there are trees - pines, carobs, cypresses, olives, figs, pomegranates, pepper, live oak, orange, lemon and tamarind."

Villa Frere's real problems began following the Second World War as the once sprawling grounds were encroached upon with the building of a primary school, a nursing school, a helipad for St Luke’s hospital, and a parking area, leaving just over a third of the original area. The gardens are an incredible testament to the work of Frere and Price and you can still escape into their charm. Today, just over a third of the original area survives including the villa, however the gardens are still magical.

In 2013 NGO Friends of Villa Frere was set up by Edward Said, a heritage architect who specialises in building conservation. He was first introduced to the gardens during the course of his studies. Said felt compelled to act and increase awareness about the gardens and their historical significance, and to save them from destruction and more development encroachment. He was joined by the energetic Fernando Mifsud, a landscape and garden designer who is focused on regenerating the gardens, bringing them to life again. There is also a dedicated team of volunteers and benefactors working behind the scenes to help with all the work.

Most recently in February this year Heritage Malta signed a partnership and management agreement with NGO Friends of Villa Frere for the promotion, public availability, and the running and operation of the historical site; to help ensure the proper upkeep, maintenance and accessibility of the site.

This spring the gardens at Villa Frere are an explosion of colour. Enjoy the beauty and tranquility - the gardens of the villa are open to the public once a month from 9:30am to 12:30pm. Entrance is by donation. The next open morning is planned for Saturday 11th May from 9:00am till 12:30pm. On the day Josephine Tyndale-Biscoe, author of the only book currently available on Villa Frere, shall be present and will give a brief talk. Make sure to check the Facebook Group page Friends of Villa Frere to keep updated and check for open days and opening hours. Entrance through the gates of St. Luke's hospital, next door to the helipad behind Karen Grech hospital.

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EP ELECTIONS

GENERATION GAP. ENERGETIC PAIR. Nationalist MEP candidates Francis Zammit Dimech and Roselyn Borg Knight share how their fascination for politics began, healthy lifestyles and the issues they’re most passionate about. Photographs by Joanna Demarco.

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EP ELECTIONS

rancis Zammit Dimech and Roselyn Borg Knight. At first glance, two very different Nationalist MEP candidates who share the same political territory in the upcoming MEP elections. Despite their difference in age and political experience there is a positive chemistry and energy between the two.

“I remember being in the car with my mother at the time, when Francis gave me a call after finding out that I was contesting on the same districts. People tell you how people backstab you in politics, but I stepped into the political world with a call from Francis encouraging me, and that gave me the right start. Since then we have always been in touch and worked closely.” Francis remembers how he immediately thought that Roselyn had “a clear flair” for everything that politics brings about.

Political veteran and current MEP Francis Zammit Dimech is known by anyone familiar with Maltese politics, whilst Roselyn energetically joined the political scene five years ago and is already the Nationalist's Party's International Secretary. Despite the fact that they literally both got into politics in different centuries, both candidates had similar ways in, and both can pin down how their fascination with the political world began.

A lawyer by profession, Roselyn’s love for politics was born at her father’s small tobacconist shop at the Sliema ferries, which sold newspapers. She describes the shop as ‘a people’s shop’, where political issues were constantly discussed, and where she had intense discussions with her father. “So it was a very natural yes for me when I was asked to contest”. Francis’ fascination began when Malta had just become an independent state - at the time he would keep personal scrapbooks, pasting cutouts from political papers.

As both grew and became teenagers and young adults, they started involving themselves in youth movements, and civil society groups, such as KSU and the Mini European Assembly. Roselyn boils their similarity down to a character trait, '”a character trait where you want to be part of something and bring about change.”

Bringing about changes in the country is something Francis looks back at throughout his 30 plus year political career and is proud of. His tenors as a minister with the Nationalist Party saw him covering a variety of portfolios; from the environment to transport and cultural projects.

Roselyn is awed by Francis’ list and jokes that the long list may only signify growing older. Francis, in his 60’s, has a quick and strong reply to that. “As long as you keep looking forward to what you can still do and keep doing, then you are young. I look back at the past with satisfaction, but that gets me more determined to do more in the future... so, yes, I consider myself psychologically and emotionally young. Politics and people energise me!”

In fact, Francis’ untiring energy is now being injected into his current MEP tenure.

For the past two years he has been working on the Committee of Culture and the Committee of Legal Affairs, where he is working on regulating online platforms and business, ensuring fairness and transparency to provide a better package to consumers. Francis is also delving into something which is close to his heart: health issues. “Health issues like diabetes, dyslexia and cancer are issues which many people talk to me about during home visits.” Becoming more aware of these topics has caused him to rediscover the importance of health, and apply it to his own life. “This awareness has made me lose some 20kg – which I am rather happy about.” He now frequently participates in walkathons around the islands and has recently joined the Malta geographical society, which organises treks.

Francis’ new lifestyle causes Roselyn to lament over her failed attempts at finding time for a steady exercise routine. “To be honest I love what I do so much - being a lawyer and politics - that it doesn’t really feel like work... and when I’m not working, I am enjoying time with my son. I actually began my political career five years ago when I was three months pregnant, and as my pregnancy moved along, so did the number of house visits, as did the lessons learnt along the way.

“You learn to be more sensitive and selective, how to cooperate with colleagues, be smarter, and how to deal with people. It’s all about people, really. People vote for a person because they like their character and who they are.”

Such a belief is something Roselyn has carried with her throughout her career, which began with her setting up a law firm in the United Kingdom, which she then sold, going on to open another law firm in Malta. She attributes networking to what caused her to start off the business abroad, which links back to connecting with people.

“My passion is employers and employees, healthy industrial relations and finding win-win situations for both parties to have a good outcome, self-employment, animal activism, and gender equality. I am especially passionate about this. If I were to leave a mark, I would definitely want to be remembered for my passion and work towards gender equality. I don’t think we’re there yet, and it’s something I want to achieve.”

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EP ELECTIONS

MAKING LIVES BETTER

The European Parliament can be an amazing platform to improve people’s lives. That really is what the job of any politician should be all about. This is why the last 2 out of the 15 years I have represented the Maltese people in the EP have been the most rewarding, says David Casa.

’ve worked hard to represent the interests of workers, families, pensioners, young people and most recently, more than ever before – those who are yet to be born - I’ll get to this shortly. As the EPP’s leader on the Employment and Social Committee I have had the privilege of working directly on all policies and laws in this area that have such a big impact on people’s daily lives.

Two years ago I decided to take on what at the time seemed like an impossible task: finding a set of minimum standards for European states on paternal, parental and carer’s leave – and doing so in a manner that would also be acceptable for businesses and good for the economy.

I use the term ‘impossible’ because it required finding a compromise that would be accepted by a majority of EU states as well as EP political groups.

Similar efforts addressing this subject in the past had failed miserably.

But I got on with it and just recently the Work Life Balance Directive has become a reality. While this law drastically increases the rights of working parents and carers, the underlying objective is that of more gender equality.

By enabling a better sharing of caring responsibilities between men and women we wanted to address inequality in work.

It is well known that there are more men than women in employment and that men are better paid; as a result they end up getting bigger pensions. Society however is changing. More women want to fulfil their career objectives and more men want to spend more time with their children. Our laws and policies

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EP ELECTIONS

must go further than just reflecting these societal shifts. Our policies must be catalysts for positive change. Inequality between women and men in the workplace must be eliminated.

This law will strengthen the role of men as caregivers in the family, which will also benefit children. It promotes non-discrimination and fosters gender equality.

The biggest challenge was immediately obvious – increase the rights of employees in a manner that would be beneficial for businesses, and with this in mind we had to find the right balance.

Creating the legislative framework that gives more women the opportunity to reach their full potential in the workplace and parents more time with their children, leads to happier, less stressed, and more productive employees which is good for workers and employers alike.

For employers it reduces absenteeism, staff turnover and recruitment costs. Women staying in work, even after they become mums, means that employers don’t lose the substantial investment they’ve made in their employees.

It is a win for employees, a win for employers, and a win for society and our future generations.

Concisely, this directive introduces 10 days of paid leave for fathers upon the birth of a child and the completely new right of 5 days of annual carer’s leave. Mothers and fathers already have 4 months of parental leave which they can use up until the child reaches 8 years of age. This law will make 2 out of those 4 months paid and non-transferrable between parents to encourage leave uptake by men.

Parents will now also have the right to request flexible working arrangements.

Earlier this month while everyone was glued to their television sets as George Vella became Malta’s new President I was presenting the outcome of negotiations with member states for a final EP vote in Strasbourg. The vote was a resounding success with 80% of all MEPs voting in favour.

At this stage there is just one very last step in June at the EU Council formalising things, and then every member state will have a maximum of 3 years to transpose this directive into their national legislation.

My work is not yet finished on this issue. I want these new rights to be rolled out as quickly as possible in Malta and the implementation to be a success.

This law will have a concrete positive impact on millions of citizens across the EU and I must admit that I am so happy to have been the one to lead it.

David Casa is the longest serving Maltese MEP in the European Parliament, the Head of Delegation of the PN MEPs in EPP group.

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SAVOURY

Rice Pilaf 150g basmati rice 300ml water 1 onion, minced 2-3 bay leaves 1 cinnamon stick 5 cardamom pods ½ tsp coriander seeds 2 tsp turmeric 1 tsp salt 2 tbsp olive oil 1. Heat a small saucepan over medium heat, add a splash of olive oil and diced onions and sweat for a few minutes, until softened.

2. Add the herbs and spices and toast until fragrant.

3. Add the rice and stir until evenly coated with the olive oil.

4. Add the water and stir to separate the individual grains of rice. Bring to a boil and reduce to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for 14 minutes.

5. Remove from heat and fluff gently with a fork.

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SAVOURY

Spiced Minced Lamb and Rice Pilaf These two recipes both use simple preparation techniques but have a wonderful depth of flavour thanks to the spices used, explains Stephen La Rosa, at The Mediterranean Culinary Academy.

Grinding the spices by hand with a mortar and pestle and then toasting them harnesses the full potential of their aroma and flavour. For the rice pilaf, adding the spices whole, perfumes the pilaf beautifully in the cooking process.

Food photography by Robert Pace.

Spiced Minced Lamb Serves 2

200g minced lamb 2 tsp cumin seeds 2 tsp coriander seeds 1 tsp chili flakes 1 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp pink peppercorns 2 tbsp tomato paste 1 large onion, minced 4 cloves garlic, minced salt and olive oil to taste

1. Grind the whole spices in a mortar and pestle until they are coarse.

2. Place a pan over medium heat and add a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the minced lamb with a generous pinch of salt and colour well, stirring every few minutes.

3. Once nicely browned, add the spices and toast until fragrant.

4. Remove the spiced lamb from the pan and put aside.

5. Add the onion to the pan with a pinch of salt and a splash of oil if the pan is dry.

Colour lightly while scraping down the fond on the bottom of the pan.

6. Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant.

7. Add the tomato paste to the centre of the pan and cook for a minute.

8. Add the lamb back to the pan and mix to combine. Top up with enough water to cover well.

9. Bring to a boil and simmer gently until the lamb is tender (roughly 1 hour). Top up with water as necessary but once the lamb is tender allow the majority of the liquid to reduce until you are left with a saucy consistency.

Garnish with fresh herbs, chopped chillies, toasted nuts and sliced spring onions.

If you are interested to learn more about how to cook with spices and how to include them into your day to day cooking join The Mediterranean Culinary Academy for a Maghreb and Arab Levant Course and for their upcoming Cooking with Spices Workshop both running in May. For more information visit www.mcamalta.com or email contact@mcamalta.com.

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EASTER n the type of world in which we are living, where distraction, stimulation, speed and instant gratification are our daily reality as much as, say, oxygen and water, it is no surprise that we crave a reason to have a break of sorts - to keep away, have room to focus on self-growth and put things into perspective. Perhaps that is why it is not surprising that the 40-day Lenten season is being seen as valuable even to nonchurchgoers.

Psychotherapist and lifestyle strategist Emma Hogg often assigns daily practices to her clients to intertwine within their lives to help them focus on their life purpose and goals. She is a firm believer in using this 40 day period to encourage personal growth and to strengthen her relationships - either by gaining control over a habit, or by forming a constructive new one; so much so that she has come to partake in Lent annually, despite not being religious.

“While growing up, Lent was basically no chocolate,” said Emma, something which many

doing this our relationship deepened and strengthened… and then the meaning of Lent changed for me,” she admitted, explaining that she perceived it as more valuable.

Since then, Emma has began challenging herself for changing something for 40 days throughout Lent - such as making time for practising meditation during the day, and completely stopping alcohol - a challenge she found immensely difficult seeing as she grew up in a family of winemakers, hardly knowing a social event without enjoying a glass of wine.

“We’re all addicted to something or another, to some degree or other,” said Emma, hands around her mug of herbal tea as she tells me about trying to not have wine for 40 days, “I wanted to understand my relationship with alcohol on a deeper level, in order for me to be more choiceful and mindful about it, rather than reactive.”

So how does sticking to a challenge, change you?

“Those 40 days just make you very uncomfortable, because the period is a long one,” replied Emma.

Lent has become a valuable period, even to people who aren’t religious. It is not only Catholics who exercise fasting and reflection during the Lenten period, but also people who are not religious, in the pursuit of personal growth. Psychotherapist and life strategist Emma Hogg tells Joanna Demarco about what the 40-day season has come to mean to her in this context.

can compare their Lent-time childhood with, “and I didn’t get to understand why for forty days you couldn’t have anything, but before and after you could basically go nuts”.

After a sacrifice-hiatus through her teenage years and twenties, Emma got back into making Lent a yearly practice, after it somewhat helped to save her and her now-husband's relationship.

“We were at a point where we were almost two years into the relationship and were facing a lot of challenges, wondering if we were a good match for each other or not, and we had to decide whether we had to work at it or call it quits.”

Emma pushed for a 40 day challenge which differed slightly from the ‘no chocolate’ she was accustomed to - writing a poem to each other, daily, in the hope of increasing open communication between them.

Such communication, she believed, would help the pair divulge and be open about their feelings, and listen to, and acknowledge one another. “What happened was we grew a lot,” she said. “Within 40 days of

“It forces you to understand that habitual behaviour is engrained in you and once you see the patterns, you have a conscious choice of how to behave.”

“We have such addictions to shift our state... but we are capable of shifting our state ourselves, we do not need external stimulants, or rather the right conditions, to do so,” she said. “Before, I would reach for a glass of wine if I wanted to de-stress, now I am aware that I can take care of myself without it and so I factor in little breaks during the day which help me to do so.”

Whether or not Catholics would agree with this new take on Lent, is another story. However, like many other religious rituals, it is interesting that in this new age of spirituality, Lent is adapted and proving to be valuable to individuals nonetheless.

Emma Hogg is the founder of ‘A Life I Choose’ - a self-development agency which aims to help people boost their strengths in order to connect with their sense of purpose.

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EASTER

In his own words

EASTER MEMORIES Archbishop Charles Jude Scicluna reminisces about Easter and childhood.

A young Charles Scicluna dressed as a page boy for a family wedding

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was brought up in Qormi as a young boy. Qormi was the ancestral town of my father and so we had the privilege to being very close to nanna and nannu, my paternal grandparents, and our large extended family.

I remember the more important days of Holy Week, and certainly the Friday before Good Friday, ‘idDuluri’, where we would take part in the procession with the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows. On Palm Sunday we would go to 11a.m. mass as a family, at St Sebastian parish church, and take the blessed olive branches home with us. I also remember my mother lighting candles before an image of Our Lady of Sorrows during Holy Week. But the more moving experience was actually being able to take part in the liturgy at the parish church. When I was young, our parish priest was Fr Vincent Deguara, a good man who inpacted me as a true image of Jesus. When our parish priest would wash the feet of the disciples on Maundy Thursday you could really feel that it was Jesus doing it again every year.

On Maundy Thursday in the evening and on Good Friday we would go and visit the altars of repose around the village. Something that remains with me is the Good Friday procession in Qormi. We would go together as a family and we would always go to the same place on St Catherine Street and watch the procession coming. I was always very intrigued with the different biblical images and persons taking part as well as the beauty of the statues.

What I also looked forward to was going to nanna on Easter Saturday evening so that my aunties could take me to church for the Easter vigil.

It was a beautiful liturgy. When I was young, St Sebastian parish church would only use the crypt of its great church; it was an intimate environment and the fire would be lit outside and the light of Christ brought into this crypt in the dark. We all were very keen to have our own candles lit and it was a moving liturgy that has always remained with me.

Easter Sunday was a celebration with the family, visiting grandparents in Qormi and in Kirkop, and when I was young our parish would hold the procession with the risen Christ in the afternoon. St George’s would have it in the morning but St Sebastian would have the procession in the evening. It was very quaint and very dignified, and you could see that so many people from the other parish would come to St Sebastian parish and enjoy the celebration of the Risen Christ.

We all had our share of the figolla and that is what our grandparents would give us for Easter, either easter eggs or figolla, and it would be a joy to share the easter bounties with my siblings and cousins.

At the end of the day when I look back at Holy week and Easter as a young boy growing up in Qormi, it was a time I really cherish. I concentrated on the liturgy and on very beautiful traditions, and I am very grateful for the Qormi parishes and for my family who have given me such a deep and profound heritage.

“WHAT I ALSO LOOKED FORWARD TO WAS GOING TO NANNA ON EASTER SATURDAY EVENING SO THAT MY AUNTIES COULD TAKE ME TO CHURCH FOR THE EASTER VIGIL. IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL LITURGY. ”

ART, FAITH AND TRADITION 1 april - 21 april 2019

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