Everyday Valletta

This is an installation by Sabrina Calleja Jackson down on the Valletta waterfront. A large unused space opposite the cruise terminal has been taken over by a group of artists. I want to write something about how the everyday becomes extraordinary here in Valletta.

I have a friend visiting me from Australia via UK. I am enjoying showing her some of the quiet treasures of Malta. Last night we walked over to Msida for the festival and watched as young men ran up a steep greasy pole to try and grab a flag from the end.

This morning we went to see the new 35 minute movie about Valletta that opened at the Embassy cinema complex earlier this week. Apart from the hype of the launch, I suspect we may have been the first people to pay to go to the show and my friend was certainly the first person to buy something at the small shop in the foyer that has been set up to accompany "the experience".

The movie makes good use of Valletta's historic location as well as Malta's fascination with reenactments. My friend loved it and I thought it was a fine way to get a potted history of what makes Valletta what it is today.

There are still teething problems to iron out. We arrived for the first show of the day and I was surprised at the cost (almost E10 with no KartAnzjan concessions). Sadly, I don't think many Maltese people will go along to a show that costs more than a full length feature film. This is a pity. It seems to me that the most successful "tourist" attractions here are those that also draw local people.

We were the only people there. We waited in the foyer whilst they prepared the auditorium and a young man explained to us how to use the headphones. We chose our seats in splendid isolation, inserted our earpieces and then spent the first ten minutes of the show trying to make them work. Finally, in desperation we attracted the attention of the projectionist and after fiddling with it for a while he took my set away to try and solve the problem. Once we had sound we enjoyed the remaining history and were then invited to watch the first 10 minutes again. This time we didn't need to use headphones, and I enjoyed it much more.

Afterwards, my friend browsed the small tourist shop that has good quality souvenirs. When she came to purchase a small glass Maltese cross, the delightful young man behind the counter couldn't get the new till to open. After valiant phone calls and charming comments of "This is Malta" variety on his part to try and lighten the situation, he finally resolved the issue of change by digging in his own pocket. The film is about the courage, persistence, resilience and openness to change of the Maltese people and he certainly showed those qualities in full!

In my next post, I want to tell the story of my water tank.