editor’s desk
W
elcome to another fabulous edition of FIRST. We’re in the month of March, one of my favourites: the month when the clocks go forward in anticipation of the days getting longer, the weather starts to settle down, and the countryside continues to bloom. It is a month where picnics among the yellow daisies under blue skies dotted with little fluffy clouds are the default thing to do on the weekend and the feeling of anticipation that summer is just round the corner starts to gently creep into the collective mood. I don’t know about you, but the memories of childhood summers with their sense of no responsibilities, long days of beachside adventures with friends, and whiling away pleasant, starlit evenings with the family, have never completely faded away from my consciousness. This means that even though I am now fast approaching middle age and have plenty of responsibilities and stress – and don’t necessarily take my holidays in the summer – somewhere deep in my soul is a childish smile that manifests itself when the brightness of March sets in – just as it did when I was a schoolboy and I realized that the summer holidays were just over the horizon. As far as I’m concerned, March is when, in motor racing speak, we’re just about to enter the home straight leading to the summer chequered flag, with all its wonderful memory-based connotations. But I’m getting ahead of myself here. After all, we’re yet to start spring let alone summer. Spring is, of course, the busiest period for occasions – weddings, First Holy Communions and the like, and March is often the month when that super elegant, once-in-a-lifetime dress is purchased to give the wearer a month or two to perfect her absolute best look for when the vital date arrives. For this reason, FIRST is giving you a fantastic choice of magnificent occasional wear modelled by the stunning Sandrina Spiteri Gonzi. Indeed, this issue is a particularly exciting one offering Italian bag and jewellery ideas as well as shoe options. Among the many interesting people we speak to this month are Lorraine Spiteri, the Chairperson of the Malta Confederation of Women’s Organisations, which is apt considering yesterday was Women’s Day, while in an article rightly titled Warrior Ladies, two women describe their lives with Metastatic Breast Cancer, an affliction that simply doesn’t go away. We’re also introduced to Richard Edwards, the frontman of Firelight, the band that will represent Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest, and interview actress Charlotte Grech. And in our monthly homes feature, we have a chat with cover star Mireille Bonello and her husband Pierre Cordina inside their pretty Zebbug home. All this and much more. Enjoy the read and please let us know your thoughts on our Facebook page.
FIRST is published every month as a complimentary magazine with The Malta Independent on Sunday and is not to be sold separately. FIRST is published by Standard Publications Ltd, Standard House, Birkirara Hill, St Julian’s STJ1149, Malta. TEL (356) 2134 5888 FAX (356) 2134 6062, 2134 3460 WEB www.independent.com.mt EDITOR COLIN FITZ cfitz@independent.com.mt ADVERTISING CLAIRE BONDIN GAFÀ cgafa@independent.com.mt DESIGN CONRAD BONDIN cbondin@independent.com.mt PRODUCTION MANAGER ANDRE CAMILLERI acamilleri@independent.com.mt SALES CO-ORDINATOR AND ARTWORK COLLECTION NATHALIE BALDACCHINO nbaldacchino@independent.com.mt PRINTING PROGRESS PRESS FIRST MARCH 2014
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