MALTA DIARY: Bring on those lazy, hazy days of summer – and the quicker the better

 

ALBERT FENECH

 

e/mail – salina46af@gmail.com

 

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/jerome.fenech

 

My Blog: https://myreachingout.wixsite.com/myblog.

 

 

Do you still harbour doubts about the effects of climate change? A newspaper snippet reported the other day that more and even more bodies are being discovered, that is uncovered, on Mount Everest. Some of these have been there for many years, under deep frozen strata of ice. However, with the ice melting …

Thursday, 21^st March dawned as the First Day of Spring over the Maltese Islands. With the first rays of Spring sunshine … hang on, what sunshine? The cloud bank was so dense it felt like the day had never dawned in the first instance.

A howling North-easterly gale swept the Islands and at 4 pm in the afternoon it turned even worse. The heavens opened as torrential rain and bursts of hail covered the terrain, accompanied by a big thunder storm.

Spring, what Spring? Needless to say there was chaos everywhere with flooded roads and stranded vehicles while at Ghadira in Mellieha Bay, the strong winds first blew the sands from the bay onto the road and then congealed it during the downpour.

Now, Malta and Gozo have made a name for themselves as being the Sunshine Islands of the Mediterranean. If all else in the Islands failed, daily sunshine could be guaranteed.

Has that come to an end?

 

The month of February had already drawn contrasting statistics. It was one of the rainiest, most thundery, most gale-blown and most cold recorded in Malta Met records. In contrast it was one of record sunshine for February and to boot one day registered the highest ever temperatures for the month.

So, what in heaven’s name is happening? Just an occasional quirk or are these the effects of climate change?

Last Summer was not exceptional for sunshine and fine weather by any standards – so what about this coming one?

 

Malta and Gozo are built for sunshine and blue Mediterranean Seas with some of the most beautiful locations in the whole of the Mediterranean. A CNN survey published the other day stated that Malta is one of the top ten MUST places that have to be visited in Spring.

A glance at some of the pictures featured (not the storm ones!) will underline why.

 

Summer days are day-long beach parties, cocktail parties, extensive barbecues, boat trips and in general, a time for living it up with trips to beautiful Comino and Gozo and daily visits to bays around the islands, the most popular being Mellieha’s Ghadira, Golden Bay, Armier Bay, Riviera Bay, Pretty Bay, Ghar Lapsi and Marsalforn, Xlendi and Ramla Bay in Gozo.

So, roll on Summer. Bring on those lazy, hazy days that so marked my childhood and today yield so many wonderful memories – that is if we are going to enjoy a decent Summer.

P.S. I wrote this to cheer myself up because I can’t stand this current horrible weather!

 

Pictures courtesy of The Times of Malta, PBS/TVM and Lenise Calleja Photography.

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MALTESE SAYING

 

“The first step of consumption is the eye visual”.

 

Appearance is of the utmost importance because it is the eye’s vision that forms the first impression.

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