First AUGUST 2021

ISSUE 326 JUL AUG 2021

A CAPSULE OF THE WORLD

INFINITE GRACE

“Travel and tell no one, live a true love story and tell no one, live happily and tell no one, people ruin beautiful things.”

Kahlil Gibran

W NPE ROV E D

IM CIPE RE

More than good

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EDITORIAL “Let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And 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.”

Khalil Gibran The Prophet

Infinite Grace It is our responsibility to make the world a better place.

Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act. Just once.

With beauty and courage.

Perhaps everything that frightens us is. In its deepest essence.

Something helpless that wants our love.

Rainer Maria Rilke Letters to a Young Poet

ON THE COVER: Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), oil on panel, Louvre, Paris. C2RMF, Galerie de tableaux en très haute définition, Wikipedia Commons.

PHOTOGRAPHY THIS PAGE: Polignano a Mare, Bari. Domenico Daniele.

EDITORIAL CONTENT AND SALES MANAGER SEAN ELLUL SELLUL@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. NO PART OF THE PUBLICATION MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT THE PRIOR AGREEMENT OF THE PUBLISHER. FIRST MAGAZINE SINCE 1993. ISSUE NUMBER 326.

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CONTENTS

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Endangered Paradise. Photographer Sebastião Salgado‘s new book AMAZONIA. Photograph courtesy Taschen.

Marine protected areas. Posidonia meadows. Photograph OCEANA, Carlos Minguell, LIFE BaĦAR for N2K.

52 CONT [ISSUE 326. JULY

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AMAZONIA

Endangered Paradise.

Photographer Sebastião Salgado.

ENVIRONMENT

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MARINE ENVIRONMENT

Marine Protected Areas.

New research projects in Malta.

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RACE TO ELECTRIC Adapting to EVs.

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CLIMATE CHANGE

Energy efficient buildings.

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Green Roofs.

LEARNING DISABILITIES AND AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

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HOLISTIC EDUCATION

The National School Support Services.

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Dyslexia. Learning disabilities do not define us.

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INCLUSIVE EDUCATION Mind Over Matter.

The No1 Celebrity Scientist.

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Inclusivity is at the heart of UM’s matter.

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52 ART SPECIAL. Auctions, Restoration, Art Theft and Recovery. Amedeo Modigliani, 1919, Woman with a Fan, oil on canvas. Stolen from Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris in 2010.

Photograph Wikipedia Commons.

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Autism Spectrum Disorder.

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TENTS AUGUST 2021] 37 SCIENCE

Everyday science at Esplora.

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HEALTH & FITNESS

Women’s Health and Active Ageing.

Different Sex, Different Symptoms.

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COFFEE TABLE

Living Well by Design.

Melissa Penfold - the “Queen of Style”.

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ART SPECIAL

Leonardo, Caravaggio and Rembrandt.

Auctions, Restoration, Art Theft and Recovery.

LEARNING DISABILITIES DO NOT DEFINE US. Albert Einstein was the most influential physicist of the 20th century.

He was also dyslexic. Einstein, 1921.

Photograph F Schmutzer, Wikipedia Commons.

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42 Living Well by Design. Melissa Penfold – the “Queen of Style”. Symi Island Villa, photograph Julia Klimi, courtesy Vendome Press.

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THE OLIVE HARVEST

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The beauty of harvesting with Mediterranean Culinary Academy.

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TEASER

Looking forward to September.

Exclusive new series on wine.

62 Cooking and Olive Harvesting with Mediterranean Culinary Academy.

Race to electric. Photograph Steven Binotto.

TEASER. Looking forward to wine in September. Photograph Arpad Czapp.

AMAZONIA

“In wildness is the prese

Henry David

ENDANGERED

For six years the photographer Sebastião Salgado traveled the Brazilian Amazon and the rivers, the mountains, the people who live there - this irreplaceable treasure of h Photography Sebastião Sa 6

AMAZONIA

ervation of the world.”

d Thoreau

D

PARADISE

d photographed the unparalleled beauty of this extraordinary region: the rainforest, humanity in which the immense power of nature is felt like nowhere else on earth. algado, courtesy Taschen.

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AMAZONIA

“This book is dedicated to the indigenous peoples of Brazil’s Amazon region. It is a celebration of the survival of their cultures, customs, and languages.

It is also a tribute to their role as the guardians of the beauty, natural resources, and biodiversity of the planet’s largest rainforest in the face of unrelenting assault by the outside world. We are eternally grateful to them for allowing us to share their lives.”

Sebastião Salgado and Lélia Wanick Salgado

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AMAZONIA

S

ebastião Salgado traveled the Brazilian Amazon and photographed the unparalleled beauty of this extraordinary region for six years: the forest, the rivers, the mountains, the people who live there – an irreplaceable treasure of humanity. In the book’s foreword Salgado writes: “For me, it is the last frontier, a mysterious universe of its own, where the immense power of nature can be felt as nowhere else on earth. Here is a forest stretching to infinity that contains one-tenth of all living plant and animal species, the world’s largest single natural laboratory.”

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AMAZONIA

"We must be smart enough to survive."

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AMAZONIA

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algado visited a dozen indigenous tribes that exist in small communities scattered across the largest tropical rainforest in the world. He documented the daily life of the Yanomami, the Asháninka, the Yawanawá, the Suruwahá, the Zo’é, the Kuikuro, the Waurá, the Kamayurá, the Korubo, the Marubo, the Awá, and the Macuxi - their warm family bonds, their hunting and fishing, the manner in which they prepare and share meals, their marvelous talent for painting their faces and bodies, the significance of their shamans, and their dances and rituals.

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AMAZONIA

“We are presenting a different Amazonia,” Salgado tells CNN. “There are no fires, no destruction – the Amazonia that must stay there forever.”

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AMAZONIA

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n an interview with CNN Salgado emphasised that "we are presenting a different Amazonia, there are no fires, no destruction - the Amazonia that must stay there forever"... in order for humanity to survive. When it comes to environmentalism, Salgado practices what he preaches. The Instituto Terra, founded in 1998 at Aimorés in the state of Minas Gerais, is the culmination of Lélia Wanick Salgado and Sebastião Salgado's lifelong activism and work as cultural documentarians, returning to nature what decades of environmental degradation from cattle farming had destroyed. Through a scientific program of planting and raising saplings, the organization has performed a miraculous reforestation of the once infertile region and furthered the Salgados’ mission of reversing the damage done to our planet. Since 1999, the couple and a growing team have planted more than 3 million trees covering 300 species, and in doing so insects, mammals, birds and life flooded back.

Sebastião Salgado has dedicated this book to the indigenous peoples of Brazil’s Amazon region: “My wish, with all my heart, with all my energy, with all the passion I possess, is that in 50 years’ time this book will not resemble a record of a lost world. Amazônia must live on.”

Amazônia by Sebastião Salgado is published by Taschen.

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MARINE ENVIRONMENT

MARINE PROTECTED AREAS MPAs is a generic term referring to marine protected areas. This term is often used and refers to areas at sea that have been protected by law in view of key marine habitats and/or species. The term is relatively new for Malta, in that the first MPA was first established in 2006, in an area off GħajnTuffieħa. According to the Environment & Resources Authority (ERA) however, the main issue with MPAs is that they seek to protect habitats and species about which we often know little. ERA has thus embarked on a series of research projects to get to know better our waters.

Photography OCEANA, Carlos Minguell, LIFE BaĦAR for N2K.

This page: The meadows that Posidonia oceanica form are an important habitat. This seagrass species is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea, that is it is not present in any other sea in the world.

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MARINE ENVIRONMENT

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lthough Malta is a very small country, it has a vast marine area under its remit.

With both national and international funding, modern technology was used to study turtles, dolphins, whales, seabirds and marine habitats like underwater caves and reefs, so as to map out the richness of Maltese waters and identify the main pressures and threats affecting these.

The findings confirm Malta as a ‘hotspot’ for biodiversity: our waters are still in good condition and rich in species and habitats, particularly in our deeper waters. We have some of the deepest caves and deepest red coral reefs in the Mediterranean; reefs based on fossilised sponges; globally important seabird areas; not to mention areas for turtles and selected cetaceans, particularly striped and common dolphins.

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MARINE ENVIRONMENT

With its large wingspan of 100-125 cm, the Scopoli’s shearwater (Calonectris diomedea) is one of our largest seabirds.

The star coral Astroides calycularis is a strictly protected species that is endemic to the Mediterranean.

A series of research projects were undertaken to improve knowledge of our waters and designate MPAs.

The inner section of a submerged coastal cave.

Malta’s waters are a hotspot for biodiversity, with many different habitats and species.

Sponges on a cave wall.

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Malta’s waters are thought to be important foraging grounds for the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), in particular for juveniles and sub-adults, and as a migratory route for this species.

MARINE ENVIRONMENT

Tursiops truncatus commonly known as the bottlenose dolphin.

The bamboo coral Isidella elongata is a key species of deep-sea muddy bottom in the Mediterranean. It is recognised as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Ornate wrasse in cave with star corals.

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f course, most of these habitats occur in deeper waters, with seabirds, dolphins, whales and turtles being migratory and mostly inhabiting open waters, except in the case of nest laying in turtles and seabirds, when turtles venture on our beaches to lay their eggs and the seabirds make our cliffs and screes as their nests and rearing stations. On the other hand, the Maltese top shell, a native endemic snail unique to Malta and Gozo, is only found in areas with pebbles and shingle along parts of the coastal areas.

With such variety, Malta designated 18 MPAs. These cover 4,138 km2, equivalent to 13 times the size of the land area of the Maltese Islands and more than 35% of the Fisheries Management Zone. These sites also form part of the EU’s Natura 2000 network, which has the aim of ensuring the long-term survival of Europe’s most valuable and threatened species and habitats that are listed under said Directives.

The next step is the need for specific management processes to be put in place to ensure that sustainable activities that do not negatively affect the habitats and species for which the sites were designated. ERA started a broad consultation process in 2016 to understand how best to manage our MPAs. An economic assessment was also carried out to understand what the sea provides to us, ranging from recreation and wellbeing to issues linked with freshwater supply, maritime transport and even waste disposal. This led to the development of conservation measures addressing include the need for more appreciation and awareness, to mechanisms to ensure sustainable use.

We recommend your involvement in the consultation process, so as to ensure having an MPA network based on the comprehensive yet effective measures, to ensure a better environment and related wellbeing.

For further information visit ERA’s website.

Cave wall with marine invertebrate animals – the bryozoan Reteporella elegans and the sponge Agelas oroides.

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RACE TO ELECTRIC

ADAPTING TO INNOVATION IN TRANSPORT

Driving to Electric

Safety is one of the primary concerns for all transport systems. Safety instills confidence.

The transition from driving an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle to purchasing and driving an electric car (EV) requires each and every one of us to make a transition of confidence too. In my mind, this journey requires a number of answers, says Jeannette Axisa, Director General for the recently set up Foundation for Transport.

The Foundation for Transport has been established to assist in exposing employers and employees in the transport industry to new and cleaner technologies and act as a catalyst to various initiatives and pilot projects that educate, create awareness, reskill and upskill.

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RACE TO ELECTRIC

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he challenge is now understanding what will change in my commuting experience. I need to be assured that an EV will meet my requirements like an ICE has done for the past decades. We have been discussing at lengths, and quite rightly, on the impact of cleaner technologies in transport on our lives and well-being, on the potential reduction of emissions, the objectives of the Green Deal, the wide outreach of Sustainable Development Goals. However, due consideration has to be given to the driver’s experience.

The choice to go for an EV involves the price factor, the applicable schemes, incentives and a number of other factors.

Some basic questions come to mind, in particular to those individuals, like many of us, for whom a vehicle is vital necessity for their life and livelihood. One of the frequently asked questions includes whether the key and ignition are the same and assurance that the EV functions safely whilst raining and driving through rainwater.

EVs are silent so I need to draw the attention of other cars or people crossing or walking on the edge of footpaths and so on. I need to understand how to plan my drive differently, for example, by first identifying the location of public charging pillars, then decide whether I need to go for a short-pause charging or opt to charge when I go back home for a long-pause charging facility. Parking well next to a charging pillar is important and drivers need to be fully aware of what needs to be done to subscribe and what to look for to ascertain that the car is actually charging.

Keeping an electric vehicle readily available to be used all the time is exactly the same concept as making sure that the mobile phone is in full charge, is connected to a strong network and makes you contactable on a 24-hour 7-days a week basis.

These queries come up not only if an individual will be driving an EV for their own personal use but also if transport forms an integral part of one’s work, not

Above: Keeping an electric vehicle readily available to be used all the time is exactly the same concept as making sure that the mobile phone is charged. Drivers need to be fully aware of what needs to be done and to make sure that an EV is actually charging. Bottom: Besides personal use, more EV’s are now available for a variety of business uses.

only going to and from the office but going from one meeting to another, in the normal workday of a salesperson, delivery person, chauffeurs, couriers, and the list goes on and on. This represents a change in culture but also a change in the perceived values we, as human beings, attach to material objects. That is why a transitionary period is needed and the solutions required are not one-size-fits-all.

These ramifications do not only impact a person in one’s personal life but also at the place of work too, irrespective of whether we are talking about employees or employers. Business owners and industry players, in general, have to come into terms not only with the buy-in of employees with respect to transitions to new technologies but also the impact on normal day-to-day operations and costbenefit analysis and comparison.

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he Foundation for Transport has been established to assist in exposing employers and employees in the transport industry to new and cleaner technologies and act as a catalyst to various initiatives and pilot projects that educate, create awareness, reskill and upskill.

The Foundation believes it can achieve this target in a very natural and dynamic manner as it has an extensive cofounder base: the Malta Chamber of SMEs, the Malta College of Art, Science and Technology, Malta Employers Association, Malta Enterprise and Transport Malta.

Together with industry representatives, the Foundation links vocational education, the transport regulator together with Malta’s economic development agency. The Foundation is well placed from its core to disseminate information and best practices very easily and collaborate with policymakers to convey a realistic and holistic picture.

The Foundation for Transport has been set up to work with all stakeholders so that everyone is involved and well prepared in the short, medium, and long term. Together we can work for a sustainable future in transport. Adapting to innovation in transport can be a game-changer.

Besides building a robust work set-up complementing its raison d’etre and mission, the Foundation for Transport can be followed on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn and website www.fft.mt.

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RACE TO ELECTRIC

RA CE

TO

C I R T C E EL

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here are more than 1.4 billion cars in the world today, a number that could double by 2036. Electric vehicles (EVs) emit fewer air pollutants and if they’re powered by renewable energy, driving one wouldn’t add to the greenhouse gases warming the Earth’s atmosphere. The race is on to develop batteries that charge faster and give better distance. But what will all these batteries look like? Most EVs today use lithium-ion batteries, but these have a number of limitations and scientists are exploring a number of ways to overcome these challenges to give the drive to electric a boost. First marketed by Sony in 1991, lithium-ion batteries have become the most prevalent rechargeable battery in vehicles, as well as in mobile phones and laptops. To make lithium-ion batteries cheaper, scientists are looking at lithium iron phosphate batteries, a much cheaper and safer alternative, that have the potential to power a car 400km on as little as a ten minutes' charge.

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This page: Polestar 2. Photography Steven Binotto.

Keep connected on the go with free WI-FI Volvo XC40

GasanZammit Motors Ltd., Mriehel Bypass, Mriehel BKR3000 Tel: 27788225 email: volvo@gasanzammit.com www.volvocars.com.mt

ENVIRONMENT

The art of building back better in the business sector

CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY EFFICIENT BUILDINGS

Lately, we have been hearing a lot about the EU Green Deal: an action plan put forward by the European Union, which seeks to improve resource efficiency in Member States, among others to fight the negative effects of climate change. In fact, this plan identifies methods to make the transition to a cleaner and more sustainable economy, whilst ensuring that it is still prosperous and profitable.

The European Green Deal Strategy includes a holistic approach to how the economy can make use of green investments, in particular those that ensure an inclusive transition, plans to safeguard biodiversity, and plans to make the European Union carbon neutral by 2050 – a target which has to be reached by all EU Member States collectively. This means that by 2050 we must ensure that Carbon dioxide emissions are eliminated, or at least, that the rate of absorption of emissions is reduced compared to that of their release into the atmosphere, writes the Ministry for the Environment, Climate Change and Planning.

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ENVIRONMENT

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he European Union identifies the modernization of the current building stock as a priority pillar to reduce emissions and implement the European Green Deal strategy. Although the average energy consumption of buildings in Malta is quite low compared to other European countries, local buildings are still considered to be inefficient in terms of energy use. This translates into increased costs for consumers, especially for local businesses.

Having said this, there are several measures that can be taken into consideration to make a building more sustainable and reduce its operational costs, while at the same time promoting the alignment of the reduction in emissions with national targets. This is predominately key when applied to buildings hosting business or commercial activity versus buildings that are of a purely residential nature.

Looking at energy consumption aspects, property owners, and indirectly tenants of buildings may specifically benefit from the implementation of quite a good number of tangible measures. For example, going forward, businesses can be more energy efficient by installing an array of insulation building fabric components as part of the ‘mix and match’ options. One can also consider the installation of an appropriate ground membrane beneath floor tiles, to stop rising damp that increases humidity levels and cold in winter. Effectively, such basic building component enhancements would reduce the need for heavy reliance on air heating equipment.

Consideration may also be given to the installation of dimmers and intelligent lighting systems, where light can be dimmed or switched on automatically only when needed. Any light installation ideally consists of LEDs. These consume much less energy when compared to conventional light bulbs and tubes. A building, especially those meant for business or commercial use, can also benefit from the installation of smart energy management systems, including amongst others centralised building service systems, which makes it much more efficient in terms of use and consumption when compared to the installation of multiple individual isolated systems in a single building.

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roperty owners should consider installing renewable energy sources such as high-quality solar PV systems with specific attention to the latest technologies especially when it comes to energy efficiency characteristics, all of which add benefits in the form of the investment in the most advantageous way possible.

The efficiency of solar panels also depends on the strength of the sun’s rays and heat. Green infrastructure like green roofs and green walls can reduce the severity of heat, improving panel efficiency, especially in the hot summer months, as too much heat can damage solar panels or reduce their effectiveness in generating energy.

Installing double-glazed windows or UV-coated window glass can also reduce energy consumption. These reduce the intensity of the sun’s rays and the amount of heat that manages to get inside the building.

Above: In 2019, Malta released 1650 kilo tons of Carbon dioxide. The good news is that the percentage of Malta’s total emissions has decreased over the past 30 years, however, there is still a long way to go. Together we need to reach Carbon Neutrality by 2050. Bottom: Human activities are the main cause of climate change. The Earth's temperature is increasing as a result of the burning of fossil fuels, cutting down of forests, polluting transport modes and other unsustainable activities. These drastically increase greenhouse gas emissions, trapping the sun's heat and stopping it from reflecting back into space, therefore contributing to global warming. Switch to sustainable alternatives to protect our planet. Investing in improved heating and cooling systems, water, sanitation, drainage, and waste management in housing can make a big impact on the environment, while also saving money on energy consumption.

Installing water saving technologies can also help. Malta is amongst the top ten countries globally that suffer from water scarcity.

Therefore, it would be beneficial to invest in rainwater storage equipment, or to recycle used water (grey water), to be used again in business processes. Other water-saving systems include double flush systems and sink tap devices, to dissipate less water.

Old electronic devices that consume a lot of energy should be replaced with modern ones that consume less energy. The purchase of sustainable and waste-free products should become the norm in the purchasing processes of

industry and businesses, as should the use of technologies with integrated circular economy concepts and Smart Technology, which through digitization and connectivity can greatly reduce resource wastage. In fact, energy consumption in the business sector is also linked to the product and service sold to the consumer and the way that this is done.

If a property owner, especially that of a business nature, takes a look at all these aspects holistically, they would be taking a step forward not only towards the reduction of operational costs, but also to effectively reducing the impact on the environment, while improving the wellbeing of employees, workers and users of the building. In addition, promoting one’s property and or business with a focus on sustainability could help improve our building stock, our reputation, and in the case of businesses - their customer relationship.

More information can be found on the social media pages of Facebook (facebook.com/ClimateOnMalta) and Instagram (instagram.com/climateonmalta) of the #ClimateOn Campaign which was launched earlier this year by the Ministry for the Environment, Climate Change and Planning.

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ENVIRONMENT The key benefits of green roofs are to help counter the Urban Heat Island Effect (UHIE). Through the evapotranspiration process, green roofs act as insulators for buildings, thus reducing the roof surface temperature and the surrounding micro-climate temperature.

Source Earth.org

GREEN ROOFS

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s the demand for greener and cooler cities increases, new “green infrastructure” technologies including green roofs and walls, landscaped building surfaces, are gaining ground. Rooftops and walls covered with grass, vegetable gardens and lush foliage are now a common sight in many cities around the world. More and more private companies and city authorities are investing in green roofs, drawn to their wide-ranging benefits which include savings on energy costs, tackling air pollution and urban heat, creating habitats for native fauna, and even helping to mitigate flood risks and producing food.

According to researchers Michael Hardman and Nick Davies at Manchester’s University of Salford, writing in their article Green roofs improve the urban environment – so why don’t all buildings have them?, ‘a recent report in the UK suggested that the green roof market is expanding at a rate of 17% each year.’ The world’s largest rooftop farm opened in Paris in June 2020, ‘superseding similar schemes in New York City and Chicago. Stuttgart, in Germany, is thought of as “the green roof capital of Europe”, while Singapore is even installing green roofs on buses. These increasingly radical urban designs can help cities adapt to the monumental challenges they face, such as access to resources and a lack of green space due to development. But buyin from city authorities, businesses and other institutions is crucial to ensuring their success – as is research investigating different options to suit the variety of rooftop spaces found in cities.’

Photography Chuttersnap, Klaus Tan. 24

ENERGY SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS Loans for integrated energy management systems

Are you a local business seeking to improve the energy efficiency of your operations? Would you like to invest in energy savings projects such as integrated energy management systems? We have the right solutions for you with our BOV Business Energy Loan. Make an appointment today.

Talk to us | 2131 2020 | bov.com All loans are subject to normal bank lending criteria, credit approval by the Bank and a credit agreement. Further terms and conditions are available from www.bov.com. Issued by Bank of Valletta p.l.c., 58, Triq San Żakkarija, Il-Belt Valletta VLT 1130. Bank of Valletta p.l.c. is a public limited company regulated by the MFSA and is licensed to carry out the business of banking in terms of the Banking Act (Cap. 371 of the Laws of Malta). | COM 2528

EERE Malta is co-financed by the Republic of Malta, the European Union under the European Regional Development Fund.

HOLISTIC EDUCATION

THE NATIONAL SCHOOL SUPPORT SERVICES Education is often associated with the formal curriculum taught in schools. In effect, a truly human-centred education is much wider and deeper than that. Any strong educational system is one that strives to provide a holistic education for all children. This implies recognising that nurturing the children’s physical, emotional, cognitive, social, psychological, language, creative and spiritual development is a key cornerstone to ensure that learning can take place. The National School Support Services provides a wide range of services to help children develop to their full potential, despite their needs.

Photography Jonathan Borba.

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T

he National School Support Services (NSSS) within the Ministry for Education is a beating heart of support for our local education system. It strives to support all children, their families, and schools, by providing equitable and high-quality services.

It also aims to eliminate challenges and barriers to ensure the well-being and full inclusion of every child.

NSSS focuses on two key areas: services that support the full inclusion of all children, and services which support the psycho-social needs of all children.

SUPPORTING THE FULL INCLUSION OF ALL CHILDREN

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alta is committed to provide an inclusive education for all children.

This means that individual diversity is valued and supported. It also means that educators work to build conducive learning environments which welcome, understand, value and respect all children, and provide meaningful and relevant learning experiences that maximise each child’s potential.

NSSS provides a number of support structures and services to ensure that all children are fully included and that educators are supported to meet the different needs of the children. The following is a list of the support services offered by NSSS:

The Early Intervention Service

This service provides family-centred support for children in the first five years of their lives who have a developmental disability or delay, which is significantly affecting their ability to participate and learn at home, in a childcare centre or in Kindergarten.

If your child seems to be learning at a much slower rate than other children, or if there is an indication of

HOLISTIC EDUCATION development delay in two or more areas of development (e.g. physical, communication and language, cognitive, social and emotional) or has a diagnosed condition that has a probability of resulting in developmental difficulties (e.g. Spina Bifida, Autism Spectrum Disorder), they are eligible for this service.

Service for Hearing Impaired Students

This service provides educational and audiological support for deaf, hard of hearing and hearing-impaired students. This service is provided from the onset of diagnosis and throughout the child’s educational experience.

Support and advice is also provided to ensure that these children are fully included in school.

If your child has been diagnosed with a hearing loss, whether it is mild, moderate, severe or profound they are eligible for this service.

Service for Learners with a Visual Impairment

This service empowers learners with a visual impairment to develop their full potential by supporting them to access the curriculum, to be included in school and to become active members of society. It supports schools to fully include these learners by giving advice on the necessary provisions and adaptations that are needed to ensure the child’s safety while also encouraging them to do things independently If your child has been diagnosed as blind or has loss of vision, they are eligible for this service.

Autism Spectrum Support Team This service empowers educators and parents to meet the individual educational needs of children with autism, facilitates learning, supports behavioural and social development, and maximises the children’s abilities in the mainstream environment.

If your child is on the autism spectrum and has severe challenges, they are eligible for this service.

SUPPORTING THE PSYCHO-SOCIAL NEEDS OF ALL CHILDREN

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he NSSS strives to enhance the holistic development of all students as individuals while helping them to become active and responsible members of society. This is achieved by providing equitable and high-quality education psycho-social services focusing on the cultural, social, emotional, psychological and behavioural development of students aimed at eliminating challenges and barriers to help students reach their full potential. The following is a list of the psycho-social services offered by NSSS:

Child Safety Services

This service deals with issues related to child abuse. It supports children who are victims of abuse or are at risk of abuse, guides their parents, and advises schools on the best way to deal with issues regarding child abuse. Prevention and awareness programmes are also organised.

If your child is experiencing difficulties related to abuse and is below eighteen years of age, they are eligible for this service.

Anti-Substance Unit

This service gives students the necessary skills

and information to make wise decisions regarding how to keep away from substances. It offers students and their parents/guardians all the support needed in cases of use or risk of use.

If your child is experiencing difficulties related to substance use, they are eligible for this service.

Anti-Bullying Service

This service ensures that schools are providing a safe and secure environment, free from harassment and intimidation. This service works on bullying incidents and liaises with the school and with professionals to address these incidents.

If your child is experiencing difficulties related to bullying, they are eligible for this service.

Counselling Service

This service offers counselling sessions on an individual, group or class level as part of an integrated preventive and intervention service.

If your child is acting strangely, is an introvert, has challenging behaviour at home, does not have friends, has low self-esteem, is passing through a rough time and needs direction or support, or if the situation at home is very tense due to a difficult home situation or is they disclose that there are problems at school, they are eligible for this service. Counsellors in schools work hand in hand with guidance teachers to provide personal, group guidance and helping skills to students.

Career Guidance Service

This service addresses the needs, aspirations, and abilities of the individual student within the context of a continually evolving and globalised economic scenario, focusing on the development of a holistic, lifelong and life-wide process.

If your child needs career guidance intervention they are eligible for this service

School Social Work Service

This service ensures that all students develop their full learning potential hence priority is given to students who for various reasons do not attend school regularly.

If your child is refusing to attend school, you will be provided with the necessary support and guidance to help your child return happily to school.

The School Psychological Service (SPS)

This service works towards promoting a healthy psycho-educational environment that facilitates the learning and overall development of students. It provides psychological support to students in their personal and educational needs.

If your child is experiencing difficulties related to their psychological well-being and you are noticing difficulties in their learning and/or development, they will benefit from this service.

OTHER SERVICES

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SSS also offers home tuition and hospital classes for children who cannot attend school because of medical reasons. It also offers ServizzGħożża, an educational programme for teenage pregnant girls.

To make use of the above services, please contact: National School Support Services (NSSS), Directorate for Educational Services (DES), Fra Gaetano Pace Forno Street Hamrun, HMR 1101.

Tel: 2598 3497, 2598 3421 or email: nationalschoolsupportservices.mfed@gov.mt 27

LEARNING DISABILITIES Although James Gentry, an Associate Professor at Tarleton State University in Texas, lives and works across the globe, nearly 10,000 km away from Malta, his story could apply to anyone living with dyslexia anywhere in the world. At the age of six, he was diagnosed with dyslexia or a minimal brain dysfunction with learning disabilities. At the time, awareness about dyslexia was so poor that his mother asked, “Is it contagious?” This is the inspirational story of a six-year-old boy with dyslexia who, with support from friends and teachers, became a successful professor. Now he teaches teachers how to help children like him.

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LEARNING DISABILITIES

Learning disabilities do not define us I am an educator of educators. I teach others how to be the best teachers. But, I’m also different writes James Gentry. I have learning challenges. My disabilities could have defined me. But they did not. I don’t consider myself dyslexic or learning-disabled. I am Jim. And here’s the story of how I overcame my challenges and found my life’s calling - and of the dedicated educators who helped me along the way.

Photography Annie Spratt.

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y disability. Born in 1970, I suffered a head injury as a young boy while roughhousing with friends. Maybe that led to my learning problems. Maybe it didn’t. Doctors aren’t really sure. What I do know for sure is that in kindergarten, I couldn’t spell my name: James. That’s when I became Jim. Over a period of time, I turned Jim into Mij. I didn’t like school. I decided it was about one thing: learning to read and write. I was poor at both.

I didn’t like myself.

At the age of six, I was diagnosed with dyslexia or a minimal brain dysfunction with learning disabilities.

At the time, awareness about dyslexia was so poor that my mother asked, “Is it contagious?”

Then something changed.

In 1975, the United States passed a law, now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This law provided special education services for all students with disabilities.

A breed of new educators - called special education teachers - came to my school in East Texas. They developed a curriculum tailored just for kids like me. The curriculum provided reading and writing experiences using specialized learning strategies. My teachers helped me learn to read books by looking at pictures, acting out stories and reading text.

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LEARNING DISABILITIES

LEFT, RIGHT, TAR

COLLEGE AND BEYOND

crucial event occurred in my second year of first grade that helped crystallize the visual cues I was being trained to see. It was the summer of 1977. The roads of my small town were being resurfaced with asphalt and tar and I did what any inquisitive young boy would do: I stepped right into the middle of the warm, gooey stuff.

Predictably, it stuck to the side of one of my shoes.

The next morning, I lined up the shoes so they stuck together perfectly. Next, I slid my feet into the correct left and right shoes.

I was elated.

For the first time, I was able to place my shoes on the right feet using that sticky tar as visual and kinesthetic cues that my teachers had taught me. I was independent.

This was the beginning of understanding visual cues to learn to read, write and tell left from right. Even though it still took a while, I learned to make the connections.

For instance, when one of my teachers told me I needed to write on the correct side, I still didn’t understand. I asked, “What’s the correct side?” She said, “Write from left to right.”

I asked what are left and right. She took my paper, moved the holes of the paper to one side of my desk and said, “The holes face this way, left.”

I looked in that direction and saw these huge windows.

I still remember thinking, “This is like my shoes and that tar.” I knew it was unlikely the windows would move, so every time I began to write, I moved the holes of my paper toward the windows.

I learned to adjust to my visual landmarks if my desk moved by asking people what was my left.

I never wrote on the wrong side again.

earning with learning challenges is never easy.

But higher education proved to be an even greater challenge. Spelling often seemed to me to be an insurmountable challenge. Professors required me to type my papers, but the end result resembled patchwork wall plastering thanks to the amount of white correction tape I used to correct misspelled words.

That’s when I found something that was as lifechanging as the tar-on-my-shoes experience: the invention and availability of the personal computer.

I purchased an IBM clone with a word processing program that would review and check spelling. Once I used the word processor to complete various written assignments for college, I was like a caveman who discovered fire. I could turn in clean documents without worrying about handwriting legibility or the letters facing the wrong direction.

I was free. I could be a writer.

I completed my bachelor of science degree in psychology with a 4.0 grade point average. Later, while working as a schoolteacher, I completed my master’s degree in special education and my doctor of education degree in curriculum and instruction, again with a 4.0 grade point average.

LEGS, LOOPS, LETTERS

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nce I understood spatial relationships, I made new discoveries with letters and numbers, finding that some have “legs” and “loops” that faced the holes in the notebook paper while others faced in the opposite direction.

For instance, letters and numbers like a, d, 7, 3, and Jj faced the holes, while Bb, L, Ee, Ff, and Cc faced away from the holes. There were confusing ones like Zz, 5, Ss, and 2 that had loops and legs that faced toward and faced away from the holes on the notebook paper. I had to memorize or review them each time.

As I learned to write, I learned to read better too. I could call some words out orally and use pictures to fill in the missing parts.

Using visual cues and working with my peers and teachers were the solutions to learning, reading and writing. Also, I could persuade peers to read to me, and piece the meaning together like a puzzle.

Later, using visual cues helped me play football and drive a car. And it all started with tar and some teachers holding my hand.

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MAKING A DIFFERENCE

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am now a teacher. And as an associate professor at Tarleton State University, I work with students and their parents to focus on their abilities and not their disabilities – just like my teachers did. And I still face the same learning challenges that I did as a young boy.

My experiences and challenges have enabled me to listen to my students more. I model every day the value of building relationships and collaborative learning. My school days taught me that learning occurs best when done together.

In 2016, the students at my university selected me as a speaker for Tarleton’s “Last Lecture” speaker series. I shared my story. I wanted our students with disabilities to know, “You are not alone!”

Since this speech, I’ve had numerous students and professors come up to me to describe various learning challenges they’ve endured for most of their lives. Many of them are still working to overcome these challenges today.

This experience has helped me to discover that we’re all working to do our best with the challenges we face.

Hiding or ignoring learning challenges is lonely and sad.

We all – humans, I mean – have challenges in common.

If anything, sharing and overcoming them together is the new reality.

We’re all different, and that’s a good thing. Remember that you have something to offer the world: a thought, a story, a new way to do something or some creation that may change the world for the better. Please be brave and overcome that challenge. We need you. You belong.

You’re not alone.

This article first appeared on The Conversation.

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INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

MIND OVER MATTER

The No 1 Celebrity Scientist The most recognisable scientist of our age, Stephen Hawking holds an iconic status. He was an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author. He was also director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge at the time of his death in 2018, when he was 76. In 1963, shortly after his 21st birthday, Hawking was diagnosed with an unspecified incurable disease, which was then identified as the fatal degenerative motor neurone disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. He was given two years to live - the disease gradually paralysed him over the decades. This did not stop him. After the loss of his speech, he communicated through a speech-generating device initially through use of a handheld switch, and eventually by using a single cheek muscle. Hawking achieved commercial success with several works of popular science in which he discussed his theories and cosmology in general.

His book A Brief History of Time appeared on the Sunday Times bestseller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks. In 2002, Hawking was ranked number 25 in the BBC’s poll of the 100 Greatest Britons.

He is perhaps one of the most recognizable role models for people with disabilities succeeding in education and research, showing that physical impairment or disability cannot define or limit a person.

This page: Messier 42 (The Orion Nebula). Believed to be the cosmic fire of creation by the Maya of Mesoamerica, M42 blazes brightly in the constellation Orion.

Popularly called the Orion Nebula and home to thousands of forming stars, this stellar nursery has been known to many different cultures throughout human history. The nebula is only 1,500 light-years away, making it the closest large star-forming region to Earth. Photography NASA, ESA, M. Robberto (Space Telescope Science Institute/ESA) and the Hubble Space Telescope Orion Treasury Project Team.

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INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

A University for All

INCLUSIVITY IS AT THE HEART OF UM’S MATTER

The idiom ‘it takes a village’ popularised the idea that many people must come together and cooperate to achieve a goal. Executed to the best of abilities, these roles, and the people filling them are what makes a community truly inclusive. A good education is also instrumental in changing certain discriminatory attitudes, fostering respect and understanding that it is not just possible but massively beneficial for students of different abilities to grow and learn together, explains University of Malta's ACCESS Disability Support Committee (ADSC).

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his has even been reiterated by the UNESCO Salamanca statement, which has, for the first time on an international forum, presented the vision for inclusion to become a norm within educational institutions, and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which further reinforced the right to inclusive education at all levels.

At the University of Malta, we believe that every individual has the right to be supported by our educational community to grow, learn, develop, be valued and feel like they belong, and we continually invest so that our environment cultivates supportiveness in every step of the tertiary education journey.

In this regard, the ACCESS – Disability Support Committee (ADSC) was set up in 1996 to be that element of comfort students, employees and visitors (including individuals on exchange programmes) with a disability would want to be able to navigate through the University hand in hand with someone they can fully trust.

ADSC is composed of academics and representatives of Registrar, MATSEC, Junior College, the Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability and the University Student Council (KSU), who offer all kinds of support for anyone with a medical condition, impairment or learning difficulty, making the University’s services accessible to all.

This includes the practical support needed by students at application stage, to help them make the right course choice and disclose their particular needs to their lecturers, and also at examination stage, where reasonable alternative access arrangements can be made to enable such students to make the most of what they learned.

Such arrangements include the possibility of extra time during exams, and flexibility with assignment deadlines.

Staff and visitors are also assisted in settling in at the Campus and getting used to the surroundings as smoothly as possible.

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n equally important aspect is the guidance provided to these individuals as they deal with the trials and tribulations of University life. For example, how are friendships maintained with peers who might not be understanding of their needs? How do they navigate the working world and career-related difficulties?

The University’s Health and Wellness Centre, as well as the ADSC coordinator, who is a social worker, can both provide guidance or sessions with the occupational therapist as required. And on a day-to-day basis, a Calm Room located in the middle of campus can provide an oasis of calm.

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ut have these inclusivity arrangements borne any fruit? If the student population is taken as an example, the numbers speak for themselves.

While 98 students with impairments enrolled into courses at UM in the 2016-2017 academic year, this number more than doubled in just four years to 201 individuals enrolling in 2019-2020, and 236 others enrolling for 20202021. The number of these who have access arrangements and who pursue their Masters after finishing their Bachelor’s degree is also growing exponentially.

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ther than this, UM continually strengthens its pillar of inclusivity through the research and lecturing conducted by its Department of Disability Studies within the Faculty for Social Wellbeing.

From studying the perceptions of persons with disabilities within inclusive education practices, to launching a parenting skills programme for parents with disability, playing an instrumental part in launching the country’s firstever draft National Autism Strategy, renewing its collaboration with the Commission for Persons with Disability to launching scholarships for persons with a disability undertaking research in Disability Studies, the University has always been committed to leaving a positive impact on our society and to also learn from the lived experiences of such individuals.

So what UM endeavours to keep doing, with inclusivity always remaining at the heart of the matter, is to maintain a healthy campus culture, one where it is the willingness to succeed academically that shines through.

For more information on the services available from the ACCESS – Disability Support Committee (ADSC) visit www.um.edu.mt/services/administrativesupport/access

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AUTISM IT’S 27 YEARS SINCE WE REDEFINED AUTISM. HERE’S WHAT WE’VE LEARNT.

UNDERSTANDING AUTISM

It’s 27 years since the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) was published. The manual is the clinical “bible” that defines the criteria for the diagnosis of psychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions, and was a landmark document for autism spectrum disorder. The first mention of autism came in the third edition of the DSM in 1980, with the introduction of the diagnostic category of “infantile autism”. This label was generally only applied to children with substantial language impairment and intellectual disabilities. In 1994, the DSM-IV recognised people could also show the core behaviours of autism without having significant language impairment or any intellectual disability. This change in how we described autism contributed to a surge in diagnoses. There was also a surge in autism research, from around 96 studies in 1994, to 207 in 2000, and then 2,789 in 2018. So, 27 years on, what have we learnt about autism, asks Andrew Whitehouse, Head Developmental Disorder Research at the Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia.

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n the 1990s, we viewed autism as one condition, with all children showing similar, severe difficulties with social and communication skills. We now know the reality is very different. In its most literal sense, autism is diagnosed when a person displays a set of behaviours typified by difficulties in social interaction and communication, as well as having more restricted interests and repetitive behaviours than we typically expect.

The severity of the behaviours that characterise autism vary considerably between people. Social interaction and communication difficulties, for example, can range from having no verbal language to highly fluent language.

The frequency and intensity of autism behaviours - such as repetitive play with objects and repeated body movements like rocking and hand flapping - vary between mild and severe.

And intellectual abilities can range from significant disability to a very high IQ. This variation is the so-called “autism spectrum”, which has also led to the worldwide movement of “neurodiversity”.

This views neurological conditions such as autism as part of the natural spectrum of human diversity, and posits that this diversity should be respected rather than pathologised.

Neurodiversity challenges the medical model of autism as a disorder, instead viewing autism as an inseparable aspect of identity.

Autism is diagnosed by a team of clinicians, through a consistent and rigorous diagnostic process. While the dividing line between “typical” and “atypical” can be blurry, a diagnosis is made when the core behaviours of autism have a functional impact on an individual’s daily life.

It’s now clear that autism is not one condition in the sense that there is a common cause shared by all people on the autism spectrum.

Instead, autism is best thought of as an umbrella term which describes a range of different people, all with relatively similar behaviours, which may or may not be caused by the same biological factors.

Critically, autism is not just a childhood condition. While the behavioural characteristics of autism first emerge during childhood, they almost always persist into adolescence and adulthood, but often present in a different form.

Social difficulties in childhood might be shown through a preference to play alone, for example, while in adulthood this may be reflected by difficulty in maintaining social relationships.

The dramatic refinement of our understanding of autism from a severe childhood condition, to a cluster of complex and variable conditions that endure into adulthood, is a great achievement of scientific research and has driven all other research and policy advances.

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CAUSES

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n 1994, there was already a good understanding that autism originated from genetic differences.

Advances in genetic research in the late 1990s and 2000s - first by sequencing the human genome, then the dramatic reduction in the cost of this sequencing - led scientists to believe they would soon find the single gene that causes the brain to develop differently.

But after several decades of intensive research, the picture turned out to be far more complex.

There is now consensus that there is no one genetic difference shared by all individuals with autism.

And rarely does one person possess a single genetic factor that leads the brain to develop differently.

There is also evidence to suggest other biological factors may play a role in the development of autism, including inflammation and hormonal factors. But the evidence for these factors remains preliminary.

We now know a range of conditions, including Fragile X syndrome and tuberous sclerosis, have very clear genetic or chromosomal differences that can lead to autistic behaviours. In total, these conditions account for around 10% of all people on the autism spectrum.

Genetic factors are still

very likely to underpin autism in the remaining majority of people. But the genetic differences are likely more complex, and require advances in statistical techniques to better understand why the brain develops differently for some children.

THERAPIES AND TREATMENTS

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n the 1990s, behavioural interventions for autism were dominated by applied behaviour analysis (ABA), an approach to therapy that helps children learn new skills. While ABA remains prominent throughout the world, other therapeutic models have emerged, such as those based on developmental principles, those that target communication and those that use a combination of approaches.

While these therapies help the development of some children with autism, no one therapy model will be effective for all. The great advance of the last 27 years has been to provide families with alternate options if their original choice of therapy isn’t as beneficial as they hoped.

But pharmacological (drug) treatments have not seen as much progress.

Despite substantial research investment, there remains no medication with good evidence for reducing the disability associated with the core

social and communication difficulties of autism.

Pharmacological intervention in autism is primarily used to assist with other challenges that can be associated with autism such as anxiety, attention problems, epilepsy and sleeping difficulties.

WHERE TO NEXT?

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espite progress over the past 27 years, health and disability challenges remain pervasive for people on the autism spectrum, and our policy responses continue to be fragmented across health, disability and education systems.

Given the ever-marching advance of science, it’s impossible to predict the next 25 years of research. A key challenge for scientists is how we use the knowledge we create to lead to clear and tangible benefits for humanity.

This will likely require meaningful partnerships with autistic people and their families to better understand their priorities for their lives. We need to learn how the knowledge we’ve obtained, and that still to come, can best support each person to discover their own strengths and what they want for their lives.

This article was originally published on The Conversation.

SCIENCE

Everyday Science Does it ever occur to you to stop and question how a simple daily action happened from a scientific aspect?

Science is all around us writes Alison, one of the Explainers at Esplora Interactive Science Centre.

Photography courtesy Esplora.

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ur everyday life revolves around science, not only because of new discoveries, technology, space and planets, but because most instances can be explained by science. Are you familiar with Sir Isaac Newton’s discovery of gravity? By questioning the pull from the ground that caused the apple to fall due to its weak stem, he came to realise that that ‘pull’ is one of the main forces that plays an important role in our lives on Earth.

He then called that force gravity.

But let us not talk about scientists per se. Curiosity is part of the brains’ natural mechanism, but it also depends on one’s character. However, how often do we associate our curiosity with science? Being passionate about questioning everyday instances, ignites scientific curiosity, and pushes the brain to activate its creative side; which might lead to a discovery.

Science is all around us, and we use scientific reasoning and skills all the time, even though we are not aware of this allure.

We take automatic decisions, and we perform actions by muscle memory, but here, at Esplora Interactive Science Centre, we encourage visitors to stop and THINK. Our educational philosophy revolves around what we call the 5E’s; Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate. You might be surprised how mesmerisingly perfect the functioning behind our day-to-day tasks is.

Professor Richard Feynman (1918-1988) was an American theoretical physician, well known for his vision towards mostly anything. He referred to the world as “made of jiggling”, meaning made of the movement of atoms. For instance, Feynman once explained that the sensation of heat in hot beverages is caused by the jiggling of atoms, where these atoms bump up against other atoms in the ceramic of the mug, causing them to jiggle as well. This phenomenon makes them hotter than they were before.

Impressive right?

Speaking of atoms, when we talk about the nervous system signaling the brain, or the brain telling our hand and fingers

to grab the pen, we are actually talking about body electricity.

Since our bodies are huge masses of atoms, we can generate electricity. Instead of having electricity in wires, an electrical charge jumps from one cell to the next until it reaches its destination, causing movement, among other things.

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t Esplora we have prepared various activities related to the human body and its functions for our visitors.

These will be on offer during this quarter through September 2021. The theme Our Bodies Inside Out is targeted for all ages. One can also explore and learn further through our exhibits tied to the human body and its mechanisms. Esplora is designed to stimulate curiosity and questioning. We are here to boost your scientific interest and ameliorate your thirst for knowledge by discovering answers together.

Science is everywhere; we encourage you to explore this idea by thinking, imagining, appreciating, creating and by visiting Esplora! At Esplora we aspire to cultivate a culture of scientific curiosity and creativity by igniting a passion for questioning, investigation, and discovery.

Our bodies are great living machines that operate day and night without ever taking a break. Until end September visit Esplora for Our Bodies Inside Out themed shows and activities to understand the fascinating things our body can do. Esplora Interactive Science Centre, Villa Bighi, Kalkara visit: esplora.org.mt, tel: 2360 2300, Facebook.com/esploramalta, Instagram.com/esploramalta

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COMMUNITY HEALTH CARE FOR THE ELDERLY

BY ACTIVE AGEING AND COMMUNITY CARE DOMICILIARY DIETITIAN SERVICE The Domiciliary Dietitian Service is designed to assess, diagnose, and treat diet and nutrition problems. This service aims to provide access to housebound senior citizens to obtain a comprehensive dietetic assessment.

The service includes: • Initial dietetic assessment and follow-up visits according to the client’s needs • Advice on the appropriate diet for specific clinical/medical conditions • Training, advice and support to caregivers or other healthcare professionals

COMMUNITY GERIATRICIAN SERVICE This service aims to provide access to senior citizens that are homebound due to a physical health problem, obtain a comprehensive Geriatric Assessment. The community geriatrician will carry out a domiciliary medical visit together with professionals from the CommCare Assessment Unit and the Dementia Intervention Team.

Following referral, the case will be discussed between the community geriatrician; the CommCare team and the patient’s general practitioner. After such a consultation, a home visit would normally follow, particularly when dealing with complex medical issues requiring specialist geriatric management.

Other professionals from the CommCare multidisciplinary team may also be involved, with follow-up visits according to the patient’s needs.

For further information contact us or visit the website:

+356 2278 8800

aacc-services@gov.mt

Active Ageing and Community Care

activeagaeing.gov.mt

HEALTH & FITNESS

ACTIVE AGEING, EXERCISE AND WOMEN’S HEALTH ISSUES DIFFERENT SEX, DIFFERENT SYMPTOMS In her article ‘Gender bias in medicine and medical research is still putting women’s health at risk’, Kelly Burrows, a Senior Researcher at the University of Auckland writes: ‘In the continuing mission towards gender equality, it’s a good time to be reminded we still need to correct decades – centuries even – of gender bias in medicine and medical research. It’s no secret men and women are different. It’s why we have a whole genre of books and jokes about why “men are from Mars and women are from Venus”. Mentally, physically and biologically, men and women are simply not built the same way. It sounds obvious, but we have only really begun to understand why. These differences have not been reflected accurately in the field of medicine. Women’s health has too often been considered a niche area – even though it involves roughly 50% of the world’s population.’

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nder-researched and under-diagnosed.

What we do know is that being female puts us at higher risk of some of the most challenging conditions. Autoimmune diseases, for example, affect approximately 8% of the global population, but 78% of those affected are women. Females are three times more likely than males to develop rheumatoid arthritis and four times more likely to be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that attacks the central nervous system. Women make up two-thirds of people with Alzheimer’s disease, and are three times more likely to have a fatal heart attack than men. Women are at least twice as likely to suffer chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and chronic Lyme disease.

As author Maya Dusenbery made clear in her book “Doing Harm”, these conditions are under-researched and often go undiagnosed and untreated.

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ifferent sex, different symptoms. Heart disease is another example where sex – or perhaps sexism – still plays a huge determining factor. Women are less likely to experience the “classic” symptoms of a heart attack – symptoms that were discovered in research led by men, in which most of

the participants were men.

Women’s most common heart attack symptom, as with men, is chest pain or discomfort. But women are more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting and back or jaw pain.

But because the diagnosis method still favours male biology, many women experience a delayed diagnosis or a misdiagnosis. On average, women are diagnosed with heart disease seven to ten years later than men. This often results in other chronic diseases being prevalent by the time of the diagnosis.

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ale bias affects clinical studies. The reasons for women being this overrepresentated in some conditions is not clear. But genetic and hormonal factors are likely to be involved.

Historically, however, medical research has often excluded women.

In 1977 the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended women of childbearing age be excluded from clinical research studies. This was to protect the most “vulnerable” populations = unborn children = following the thalidomide scandal.

Another reason given for excluding women in clinical studies is that, depending on where a woman is in her menstrual cycle, the variation of her hormones “complicates” the

results. This variability would mean more subjects were needed in clinical trials, thereby increasing costs. Maleonly studies were justified by a belief that what would work for men would also work for women. This erroneous assumption has had catastrophic results.

Every cell in a person’s body has a sex. This means diseases and medications used to treat them will affect women differently – as we have learned, often at a cost to their health.

Eight out of ten of the drugs removed from the US market between 1997 and 2000 were withdrawn because of side effects that occurred mainly or exclusively in women.

Between 2004 and 2013, US women suffered more than 2 million drugrelated adverse events, compared with 1.3 million for men.

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ime to end the gender divide.

The lack of recognition of sex differences in biology and medicine is a huge issue research has only recently begun to rectify. In 1997, the FDA published a rule requiring manufacturers to show evidence of how their drug is safe and affected by age, sex and race.

When last measured in-depth in 2016, it was clear there had been significant progress, with women accounting for roughly half of the participants in some clinical trials funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).

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HEALTH & FITNESS

WHY DO WOMEN GAIN WEIGHT DURING MENOPAUSE? For most women, perimenopause – the transition to menopause – begins in their 40s. The entire menopause process typically lasts around four years and begins with the ovaries making less estrogen. A woman is considered to be post-menopausal when she hasn’t experienced a menstrual period for 12 months. This usually occurs between the ages of 46 to 52 years. Symptoms of menopause can include irregular periods, hot flushes, fatigue, tender breasts, night sweats, vaginal dryness, difficulty sleeping, changes in mood and lower libido. During menopause, hormonal changes can affect the way fat is distributed in the body, but ageing is more likely to be the cause of any weight gain associated with menopause. Gaining weight isn’t inevitable, though. There’s plenty you can do to combat weight gain as you age according to Charles Perkins Centre Research Program Leader Nicholas Fuller, at the University of Sydney.

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geing is the real cause. The weight gain that comes with menopause is a by-product of ageing. As we age, our body stops working as efficiently as it did before. Muscle mass starts to decrease – a process known as “sarcopenia” – and fat begins to increase. And because muscle mass is one of the determining factors of how fast your metabolism will run, when your muscle mass decreases, your body starts to burn fewer calories at rest. This might make it more challenging to maintain your weight.

As we age, we tend to continue with our same food habits but don’t increase our activity. In fact, aches and pains can make some people actively decrease theirs.

Not compensating for the ageing process and the change in body composition can lead to weight gain.

And this applies to men too – they are just as likely to gain weight due to this process known as sarcopenia.

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enopause and weight gain take their toll. Due to a change in body fat distribution and increase in waist circumference, menopause can also increase your risk of other health conditions.

Following menopause, your ovaries make very little of the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen helps to keep your blood vessels dilated – relaxed and open – which helps keep your cholesterol levels down.

Without estrogen, or with lower quantities, your bad cholesterol (known as low-density lipoprotein or LDLcholesterol) starts to build up in your arteries. This can increase your risk of heart disease and stroke.

Having less estrogen also results in a loss of bone mass, putting you at risk of the disease osteoporosis, which makes your bones more prone to fractures.

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hat can you do? Weight gain associated with ageing is not inevitable. There are a number of things you can do to maintain your weight as you age.

EXERCISE. Incorporate regular daily exercise, with a mixture of intensities and variety of activities. Try to include body-strengthening exercises two days per week.

WEIGH YOURSELF – BUT NOT TOO MUCH. Weigh yourself once a week at the same time and day to monitor the trend over time. Any more than this will only create a fixation with weight. Day-to-day fluctuations in weight are to be expected.

CREATE POSITIVE HABITS. Create positive habits by replacing negative behaviours. For example, instead of mindlessly scrolling through social media of an evening or turning on the TV and comfort-eating, replace it with a positive behaviour, such as learning a new hobby, reading a book or going for a walk.

EAT MORE SLOWLY. Eat food away from technological distractions and slow down your food consumption.

Chew your food thoroughly as slowing down your food consumption reduces the quantity consumed.

SWITCH OFF FROM TECHNOLOGY. Turn off technology after dusk to improve your sleep. Blue light emission from phones, tablets and other devices tell your brain it’s day, instead of night, which will keep you awake. Lack of sleep (less than six hours per night) can compromise your decision-making abilities which might lead you to make unhealthy choices that contribute to weight gain.

CURB SUGAR CRAVINGS NATURALLY. If you’re craving sugar you’re better off reaching for foods naturally high in sugar and fat first. Some great options are fruits, nuts, avocado and 100% nut butters. These foods release the same feel-good chemicals in the brain as processed and fast food and leave us feeling full.

Allow yourself your favourite treats, but keep them to once per week.

This was originally published on The Conversation.

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ormonal changes alter where the body deposits fat. Certain areas such as your stomach are more prone to weight gain during menopause.

This is because the change in hormones, which lead to a higher testosterone-to-estrogen ratio, alters where the body deposits fat. Fat comes off the hips and is deposited around the middle. But the hormonal changes involved in menopause aren’t the reason you gain weight.

COFFEE TABLE

This page: The garden path to this pool house is covered by a canopy of trees, leading to a calm relaxation spot with chaise longues and chairs around a timber and bronze coffee table.

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COFFEE TABLE

“Decorating is like dressing: you can carry anything off if you have confidence. If you love the pattern or texture of a particular fabric, don’t just use it on a cushion; cover a whole wall or sofa with it.”

Melissa Penfold

LIVING WELL

BY DESIGN “Everything that surrounds you affects you, so surround yourself only with things you love”, writes Melissa Penfold, in the introduction to her new book Living Well By Design. Penfold, Australia’s foremost authority on style and design, regularly attracts a worldwide audience of more than 1.8 million to her website, newsletter, and Instagram account. Now she has distilled her three decades of expertise into a single volume, illustrated with images of her own home and inspirational homes around the world, Living Well by Design, is an indispensable resource for anyone eager to create interiors in which decorating fundamentals are integrally interwoven with individual style.

Photography courtesy Vendome Press.

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Above: Instead of hiding things away, the owner fully embraced the concept of open shelving for pots, pans and crockery in their kitchen. Left: This courtyard is so organically integrated into the landscape you can’t imagine anything else in its place. Bottom: With its panoramic view from Symi Island (Greece), this terrace with relaxed seating makes a perfect spot for drinks. Facing page: One place where bright light is just as important as mood is the kitchen. In this French farmhousestyle kitchen, the solid marble countertops are flooded with recessed lighting along ceiling beams and LED strips that run along the bottom of the upper cabinets – the easiest way to create evenly lit counters.

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longtime design columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald and contributor to all of Australia’s major publications, including Vogue Living, Belle, House & Garden, Marie Claire, and Harper’s Bazaar. Melissa Penfold has been crowned “Queen of Style” by the country’s media. Her main focus now is her digital platform: her website and blog (melissapenfold.com), newsletter, and Instagram.

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dentifying the basic decorating principles – including light and space, composition and balance, and pattern and texture – in this new book Melissa Penfold offers hundreds of invaluable tips on how to apply them to turn your house into a home that is comfortable, intimate, beautiful, and the most authentic expression of your personal aesthetic. “In any interior, what is visible through the doors and windows is vital to expand the sense of space and blur the line between indoors and out. With the aid of natural light and vistas, you can make even a tinny place feel as big as the great outdoors”, she writes. “French doors and floor-toceiling windows bring the outdoors in, enhancing the décor and expanding the sense of space.”

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Top: Make your backyard an escape, choosing outdoor design that works with your interior décor to create a sense of continuity and flow. Left: In this home, French doors and floor-to-ceiling windows bring the outdoors in, enhancing the décor and expanding the sense of space.

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nity in colour is important when using different textures”, she advises. “Go for harmony and let each room in your home complement the others. Carry harmony throughout your home to create flow. Your interior will look disjointed if the textures, patterns, and styles change abruptly from one room to the next.”

On choosing fabric and authentic pieces Melissa Penfold writes: “Keep it real. Choose natural fabrics over synthetics, authentic old furniture over reproductions, a can laundry basket over a plastic one. Humble materials like hemp, rattan, cane and jute can have a huge impact to a space without feeling trendy or overdone. They can also be paired with more luxurious pieces for a high-end look. Not everyone can inherit or afford antiques, but cheap reproductions look second-rate even to the untrained eye. A battered and weathered piece with a history has style simply because it’s real. But then so does an object that is unapologetically modern: it will always speak authentically of the age in which it was made.”

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Facing page top: From its elegant parquetry flooring to its timeless, classic furnishings, a chic French spirit infuses this bedroom. Facing page bottom: Cream coloured sofas surround a vintage coffee table which takes center stage in this living room, mixing styles including the Windsor chair on the right. Different textures and patterned rugs bring the space together, while large floor-to-ceiling doors and windows bring the outdoors-in to a living room designed for conversation. Above: A good example of how elegant neutrals can be. White and grey, with caramel coloured floors. The texture and layering are key to bringing this palette to life.

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n pattern and texture, Melissa Penfold explains that you should “be realistic about the way you live, there’s no point making everyone’s life miserable by choosing cream silk in a house full of children and dogs. If you’re on a budget, use special fabrics for small pieces that make a big impact (stools, a great chair, cushions, headboards) and less expensive fabrics for curtains and sofas. But always use the best quality fabrics you can afford – it’s money well spent.

The floor is one of the most expansive – and expensive – surfaces in a home and should be your first consideration when deciding on texture and pattern. Remember, flooring outlives paintwork, so it’s best to stick to a natural surface that will work with successive colour schemes.

Pattern and texture dress our rooms, bringing beauty and comfort to our lives. Light or heavy, the textures and patterns you choose should always have some kind of affinity with another to give a room a cocooning quality.”

Living Well by Design: Melissa Penfold, by Melissa Penfold, principal photography by Abbie Melle. Published by Vendome Press. Hardcover, 208 pages, 225 colour illustrations.

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Top left: Don’t be afraid to go bold. The striking black-and-whitestriped walls and ceiling of this loggia has great impact. Strategic use of the same pattern for the curtains, bolsters, and sun chair, contrasted by the bright green fabric on the sofa and chairs, adds to the drama. Left: Paint is the most common and least expensive way to finish walls, but there are a number of alternatives that can add desirable textures. Specialty matte plasters with integral colours can give walls an earthy, rough appearance and a stone-like feeling that is very calming. Here the dark blue walls make a dramatic statement for this dining room.

Joinwell Mill Street, Qormi +356 2278 2000 info@joinwell.com.mt www.joinwell.com.mt

ART SPECIAL ART SPECIAL FEATURE

DECEPTION, THEFT, AUCTIONS AND RESTORATION

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Will the Real Mona Lisa Please Stand Up?

his June Christie's Paris auctioned a famous early replica of the Mona Lisa known as Hekking's Mona Lisa, named after its owner in the 1950s, Raymond Hekking (1866-1977), who acquired it from an antique dealer in a small village in the Nice area. This work illustrates the fascination that the Mona Lisa and the aura of Leonardo da Vinci have always held. In the 1960s Hekking fascinated the world's media by trying to cast doubt on the authenticity of the original, on panel, preserved in the Louvre Museum in favour of his work. He devoted all his energy to defend his version, becoming an unparalleled communicator, inviting the press, television and all the media from around the world to his village in Nice, challenging the Louvre to prove the authenticity of their version.

At the time Hekking was a master marketer. He questioned the

restitution of the authentic work in favour of a copy after the famous theft of the work from the Louvre in 1911 by Vincenzo Perugia. Hekking was sure that the Louvre got back a copy and that he had the real painting. It remains one of the most recognizable images in the world.

The original version of the Mona Lisa entered the royal collections of François I, in France, shortly after 1517. Several copies were made from the 17th century onwards, including the Hekking Mona Lisa, which is actually an early 17th-century copy. The painting was expected, at a conservative guess, to sell for around €200,000 to €300,000, and in fact, after seven days of intense bidding between 14 international bidders, the painting was finally sold to a European collector for an impressive €2,9 million, setting a new world auction record for a replica of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. The result achieved demonstrates the ongoing fascination the Mona Lisa still exerts centuries after her creation.

Top: The Hekking Mona Lisa, oil on canvas. Early 17th Century Italian School, follower of Leonardo da Vinci. Photography © Christie’s Images Ltd, 2021.

Facing page: Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), oil on panel, Louvre, Paris. C2RMF, Galerie de tableaux en très haute définition, Wikipedia Commons.

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ART SPECIAL

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ART SPECIAL “Nature is the source of all true knowledge.

She has her own logic, her own laws, she has no effect without cause nor invention without necessity.”

Leonardo da Vinci

AN EXCEPTIONAL SALE LEONARDO DA VINCI HEAD OF A BEAR

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eonardo da Vinci’s small but magnificent 7 x 7 cm drawing, Head of a Bear, created a stir in art auction circles this July, offered as the leading lot in the Exceptional Sale held at Christie’s London. This penetrating study of a bear’s head, one of less than eight surviving drawings by Leonardo still in private hands outside of the British Royal Collection and the Devonshire Collections at Chatsworth, is executed in silverpoint on a pale pinkbeige prepared paper, a technique which Leonardo was taught by his master Andrea del Verrocchio. The work attracted bidding from around the world leading to an exceptional result - setting a new world record for a drawing by the artist, selling at 10,327,845 euro.

This page: Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519, Head of a Bear. Photograph © Christie’s Images 2021.

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ART SPECIAL

Artificial Intelligence Meets Rembrandt Recreating The Night Watch

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300 years ago, Rembrandt's masterpiece The Night Watch was cut down in size, an act inconceivable today, due to what in effect were interior design problems.

embrandt finished The Night Watch in 1642. The militia commissioned Rembrandt to make the painting for its new banqueting hall at its headquarters.

Hanging in this hall, the painting formed part an ensemble comprising seven militia portraits meant to be large and overpowering.

Then in 1715, The Night Watch was moved to what was then Amsterdam’s City Hall, now the Royal Palace on Dam Square. The painting was too large for its new location, so it was reduced in size. Strips were cut from all four sides, with the largest section being removed from the left side. These pieces have never been found.

300 years later artificial intelligence has brought the original dimensions back to life. We know what the painting originally looked like

thanks to an early copy painted from 1642 to 1655. This copy served as the basis for the reconstruction made with the help of artificial intelligence. In the first step, the team taught Rembrandt’s technique and use of colour to socalled ‘artificial neural networks’. Once this phase was complete, the computer recreated the missing parts in the style of Rembrandt.

There are a number of differences between The Night Watch as we know it today and the painting in its original form. On the left of the reconstructed version, for example, we can now see three figures on a bridge: two militiamen and a young child. And the painting’s main figures are now positioned to the right of centre, rather than in the middle of the canvas. These factors add a considerable sense of movement and dynamism to the painting. It is now also clearer

that the powder boy in the left foreground is grasping a balustrade. The boy has furthermore gained space into which he can move, with the result that he seems more clearly to be running away, ahead of the militia. There is more space and the protagonists now have somewhere to march to, rather than being suspended in the middle.

Visitors to the Rijksmuseum can enjoy The Night Watch in its original form, with these missing pieces mounted around Rembrandt’s famous work. The reconstructed painting will remain on public display at the Rijksmuseum for the coming months. Anyone who is unable to visit the museum due to ongoing restrictions can view the reconstruction on the Rijksmuseum's website, along with plenty of supplementary information.

This page: The Night Watch, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1642, oil on canvas, h 379.5 × w 453.5cm, on loan from the Municipality of Amsterdam. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

Overleaf pages 58 59: The reconstructed version of The Night Watch with the missing sections. Dimensions of reconstruction: h 393.1 x w 507.4 cm, with strips added on all sides.

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Above: The Storm on the Sea of Galilee by Rembrandt was stolen in 1990 from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston and remains missing. The painting depicts the biblical story of Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee, as described in the 4th chapter of the Gospel of Mark. It is Rembrandt’s only seascape. On the morning of March 18, 1990, two thieves disguised as police officers broke in and stole the painting with12 other works in what is considered to be the biggest art theft in US history. A $10 million dollar reward is still on offer for information leading to their safe return.

GONE for a Steal If some works, like the stolen Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911 or Caravaggio’s St Jerome Writing from St. John’s Co-Cathedral, Valletta in 1984, were eventually found, others remain shrouded in mystery. These are six of the most famous thefts that shocked the art world.

Photography Wikipedia Commons.

Above: Among the pieces stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in March 1990 was Vermeer’s The Concert, considered to be the most valuable stolen painting in the world. As of 2015, it was valued at around 210 million euro. Bottom left: The Woman with the Fan by Amedeo Modigliani, stolen in 2010 with four other masterpieces by Picasso, Matisse, Braque and Léger, from the Museum of Modern in Paris in a raid valued at nearly 115 million euro. The notorious burglar – nicknamed “Spiderman” – entered through a window. He had already been convicted for similar thefts.

When the 49-year-old Vjeran Tomic, a self-described “veritable art lover”, was arrested he told police that he had broken into the museum to steal one specific work by Ferdand Léger – Still Life With Candlestick. The museum’s alarms were not functioning, and the security guards didn’t notice him, so after taking the Léger, Tomic took a private tour, cutting four more paintings from their frames. He was indicted in September 2011 but the paintings have not been recovered. The Woman with the Fan featured in the Bond film Skyfall. Bottom centre: View of Auvers-sur-Oise by Paul Cézanne, stolen in 1999 in the middle of New Year’s Eve, December 31, 1999 during a fireworks celebration, from the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. The burglars entered through the roof after smashing a window. Oxford University, which owns the painting, later revealed that the painting was uninsured. It was the only painting taken and is worth an estimated 4.8 million euro. Bottom right: The Chemin de Sèvres by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, was stolen one Sunday afternoon, carried out discreetly from a packed Louvre in 1998. The alert was given by a guard who noticed its disappearance, leading the museum to close all exits to search hundreds of visitors. Taking advantage of the absence of an alarm system, the burglar simply cut the small picture from its frame. It would have been easy to conceal measuring just 34 x 49 cm.

Facing page: The Nativity with Saint Francis and Saint Lawrence by Caravaggio, stolen in 1969 from the Oratory of Saint Lawrence in Palermo where it had been hanging for more than 350 years. The painting was roughly cut from its frame on the night of October 17 to 18, 1969 in a theft considered one of the most significant art crimes in history. It was listed among the FBI’s “Top Ten Art Crimes” in 2005.

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OLIVE HARVEST

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Subsequently, it was the trees with juices more succulent than corn that gave mellowness to man; for from trees are obtained olive oil to refresh the limbs and draughts of wine to restore the strength.

Pliny the Elder Natural History

THE OLIVE HARVEST

The Beauty of Harvesting. The ‘Bidni’ olive variety is endemic to Malta, but just 10 years ago it was virtually unknown, with the tree thriving only in a stretch of woodland between Bidnija and Wardija. Mediterranean Culinary Academy has partnered with The Grima family, to produce the unique monovarietal Bidni Extra Virgin Olive Oil, with olives harvested from the Grima family's olive groves. Cooking Mediterranean Culinary Academy.

Photography Suzi Mifsud and Jamie Pace Bonello.

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live oil harvesting happens once a year and can start as early as mid-September, with the harvesting period depending very much upon the region, olive variety and desired ripeness. All olive fruit start out green when they are least ripe, and then gradually become rosy and ripe, and finally turn black – very ripe. The 'Bidni' olive variety is found only on the Maltese islands. The fruit is small in size, hearty with a violet colour, and renowned for its superior oil. As an indigenous olive cultivar, the Bidni olive has developed a unique DNA profile and has a very unique flavour – spicy, aromatic, and fruity, with a peppery bite to finish.

The crop produces a limited amount of olive oil each year. Immanuel Grima, the producer of Bidni Maltese Extra Virgin Olive Oil from the Grima Family says: “Bidni olives are best harvested starting at the end of September when there is still a mix of green and medium-ripe olives that look rosy with a touch of black. This gives the olive oil a fruitier taste with a nice spicy kick."

BRANCH TO BOTTLE

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editerranean Culinary Academy and the Grima family launched Branch to Bottle as an annual event to give an opportunity to experience the process of making and tasting Bidni olive oil. This unique experience is a hands-on harvesting event to give a glimpse into what it takes to harvest, press, and enjoy the work involved in producing a great quality olive oil.

The program includes an introduction from Cultivator Immanuel Grima, an olive grove tour followed by olive picking, nibbles and refreshments, a short talk about olive oil processing with a comparative tasting, rounded off by a sunset dinner. Each participant will also receive a 100ml bottle of Bidni.

Branch To Bottle dates this year include: Tuesday 21st September – Public Holiday, Friday 24th September, Saturday 25th September (nearly sold out at the time of writing), Sunday 26th September. To purchase tickets please visit www.mcamalta.com/branchtobottle

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FRESH ĠBEJNA AND PEACH SALAD The perfect summer salad: fresh peaches - just slightly roasted to intensify the flavour, goat cheese, and crunchy toasted almond flakes, drizzled with honey and olive oil.

SERVES 4 .

4 fresh Gbejna, cut into quarters 4 peaches 12 springs mint 100g almond flakes 8tbsp honey 4tbsp extra virgin olive oil

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1. Preheat oven to 160C. 2. Roast flaked almonds on a baking tray. Once golden brown remove from oven and allow to cool.

3. Cut peaches in quarters and each quarter in half, roast in oven on a baking tray to enhance the flavor, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, cool and place in a bowl.

Drizzle with half honey. .

4. To serve place Gbejna and peaches on a plate, garnish with mint leaves and roasted almonds, finally drizzle with olive oil and honey.

SUNKISSED IN CRETE, HARVESTED

BY HAND This olive’s “natural juice” has all its ingredients intact thanks to the diligent process it undergoes from cultivation to pressing. Cultivated in Sitia, on the island of Crete, in an area world-famous for the quality of its olive oil, the olive trees grow in excellent soil conditions and in a special microclimate. Obtained through cold extraction and solely by mechanical means a few hours after harvest, this Extra Virgin Olive Oil is produced exclusively from the superior “Koroneiki” variety which offer a superb balance between bitter, spicy and fruity flavours and a distinct emerald shade.

OLIVE HARVEST

SLOW COOKED PORCHETTA Porchetta, the Italian slow-roasted pork surrounded with crisp, crackling skin, is a perfect centerpiece for a special meal. This rich and crisp all-belly porchetta, flavoured with rosemary, thyme, garlic, fennel and chili flakes, is served simply on fresh buttered bread rolls.

SERVES 4 - 6 2.5kg boneless pork belly 2 sprigs rosemary 3 sprigs fresh thyme 1 large bulb smoked garlic, peeled 1tbsp fennel seeds 1 pinch chili flakes 1 lemon, zested 2tbsp white wine 1tsp flaky sea salt 1/2tsp cracked black pepper 500ml water fresh bread rolls (for serving)

1. Toast fennel seeds and chili flakes in a hot dry pan for 30 seconds.

2. Add garlic cloves, herbs, toasted spices, salt, pepper and white wine to a mortar and pestle, grind to a rough paste.

3. Lightly score pork belly flesh in a 2cm diagonal pattern, massage stuffing paste into belly meat.

4. Roll up tightly, tie with butcher's string and leave uncovered in fridge overnight. This will dry out the skin, giving a crispier crackling.

5. Preheat oven to 140C. 6. Place pork on a wire rack set over an oven tray. Pour in water and roast for 2 to 3 hours. Check at intervals; core temperature must reach 55C to 58C. If water evaporates, add a little more.

7. Remove from oven and rest, about 30 to 45 minutes.

8. Turn oven to 250C or the highest setting. Place porchetta in middle shelf and roast until the skin has crisped up.

Check regularly.

9. Once crisp remove from oven and leave to rest for 30 minutes before carving. Slice and serve warm in fresh buttered bread rolls.

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SQUASH, KALE AND FARRO SALAD This roasted butternut squash, kale and farro salad is delicious as a simple side dish or as a light snack. The nutty flavour of the farro pairs perfectly with the mild sweetness of the roasted squash.

1. In a heavy-based pan, cover farro with cold water, season with a good pinch of salt and bring to the boil before turning down to a simmer. Cook until farro is tender, approximately 25 minutes.

2. Meanwhile cook the kale. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add kale and cook for 3 minutes. Drain and dress with lemon juice, a little oil and salt.

SERVES 4 400g farro, rinsed in cold water sea salt 1 bunch kale, strip leaves from stalks lemon juice 100ml extra virgin olive oil, extra for drizzling and dressing 100g Parmesan, grated 1tbsp red wine vinegar 50g unsalted butter 2 garlic cloves, crushed freshly ground black pepper 400g butternut squash (or pumpkin), peeled and diced (2cm cubes) 1 pomegranate

3. Drain farro and dress while warm with olive oil and vinegar.

Season with Parmesan and set aside.

4. In a 200C oven roast squash until tender, about 15-20min.

5. Cut pomegranate in half, remove the seeds by taping on the skin.

6. In a large bowl mix all ingredients, plate and enjoy.

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ROASTED POTATOES The secret behind these roasted potatoes is boiling them first just until they are starting to break. Roasting on a hot tray that has been preheated gives a crisp fragrant potato which is fluffy inside.

SERVES 4 600g potatoes 40ml olive oil 4 garlic cloves 4 springs rosemary 4 springs thyme 1tsp bicarbonate of soda salt and pepper to season

1. Wash potatoes, chop into equally sized pieces, place in a bowl with cold, unseasoned water.

2. Bring pot of water to a rolling boil, add salt and bicarbonate of soda.

3. Add potatoes and cook until breaking very slightly from the outside, roughly 20 minutes.

4. Remove potatoes from the water, ensuring that water is still boiling while potatoes are being removed. Place on cloth to absorb excess moisture.

5. Let potatoes cool to room temperature. Once cool, coat with olive oil.

6. Preheat oven to 200C, add oil to a baking tray and preheat, roughly 10 minutes.

7. Once hot, add potatoes, cook for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes turn potatoes over, add rosemary, thyme and garlic and for a further 10 minutes.

8. Remove potatoes from the oil and serve.

Recipes are taken from the 2020 Branch to Bottle event, developed by the chef instructors at The Mediterranean Culinary.

For more recipes, or to book a cooking class visit www.mcamalta.com or email contact@mcamalta.com.

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LOOKING FORWARD TO WINE IN SEPTEMBER

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e're hard at work on a new article series for First Magazine which will premiere in the September issue. Starting with France each edition will step into a different region to unlock its history, discover the exploits, trials and tribulations of winemakers, and learn about wine in an approachable, engaging, and down-to-earth way.

This page: French Chateau in Bordeaux. Photography Arpad Czapp.

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