I am so very sorry that I missed Stefan Cassar’s concert which for me was one of the highlights of this year’s Arts Festival. ‘Mostly contemporary so not much to your liking,” he wrote in an email, “but there’s also Chopin’s Concerto.” Even if his programme were only contemporary, as so much of it was in this year’s Festival, I would still have gone to listen to Stefan as I love his interpretations and the way he plays. Music should create emotions and his playing does. I am completely disinterested in music which does nothing to my emotions and wonder whether you can call it music. Anyway, my young one was to be married a few days after Stefan Cassar’s concert and there were guests and family arriving from the four corners of the world as both her husband and herself have friends everywhere. I was very impressed that so many turned up from as far away as the States to be with them on this very special day. It was a wedding for the young, as they are these days, and I only invited a handful of very close friends and relatives. I gave her away myself, as that was her desire. To persuade me she pointed out that I had brought her up as a single mother for the last 21 years for she has been without a father since she was a delightful six-year-old, forever exploring what could be explored and with a heightened sense of curiosity only matched by that of her elder sister’s. At first I said that I could not possibly give her away as dealing with so many emotions all at one go was going to be very difficult for me but then she talked me or rather e-mailed me, into it, and I am glad that I did it although on such occasions the sense of loss is heightened. It made sense for me to walk her up the aisle of the Capuchin church in Floriana where my parents, myself and her sister had been married. Someone later told me that on Hello magazine which I love looking at but never purchase myself, there were pictures of the French Prime Minister’s former wife giving her daughter away. We have to constantly question all the rules and regulations imposed upon us by society which may not make sense in our particular circumstances. But so many are so afraid to live outside the pigeonhole in which they feel they must stay because of what others might say.

We were driven to church by one of her clever (and handsome) cousins who had his 1960 Jaguar thoroughly serviced for the occasion. I sat in front, by way of respect for his generosity, and someone remarked to a colleague later, that they saw the bride at the back, alone, and in front a pageboy! True, the windscreen came up to my nose, at four foot 8 I was lost in the deep front seat of the Jaguar, and at the last minute, in a desperate attempt to have a change from my usual hairstyle, I stuck a few feathers in my bun. Perhaps that added to the illusion that I was a pageboy. All along I tried to escape from the constant thought: ‘If only her father were here to give her away!’ The dead, as Virgina Woolf wrote somewhere, have a stronger influence upon us than the living.

For me, the highlight of the Arts Festival was the A Tribute to the Stars concert organized by Spiteri Lucas Entertainment at the Old Opera House. I went with Mary and it is obvious that there is still room for this kind of easy going entertainment in a world which is so stressful in every way. I would be lying if I said that I liked everything they played and sang because I didn’t but I enjoyed at least half the programme because I liked the choice of songs and was familiar with them.

Anything by Glen Miller always goes down well…In the Mood..Chatanooga Choo Choo..beautifully played by The Mark Spiteri Lucas Band. Such easy and pleasant listening.

Paul Anka is another favourite and what can beat Ludwig Galea’s interpretation of Put Your Head on My Shoulder and You are My Destiny? Ludwig is basically a classical singer and although small his stage presence is enormous which just shows how ridiculous and wrong those who are obsessed with height are. It has nothing to do with presence and personality. How many tall people do you know who make absolutely no impact at all when they enter a room or go on the stage.

Another favourite is Nat King Cole’s Unforgettable sung by Ivan Spiteri Lucas, who seems to glide across the stage inspite of his heavy built and the beautiful Nadina Axisa. Nat King Cole’s songs have remained popular to this day even if he has been dead and gone for ages. It also goes to show that where there is talent and charm the colour of the skin does not matter at all. (Good luck to you Obama! I hope you will make it to the not so White House.)

Debbie Scerri and Priscilla gave us four Shirley Bassey favourites: Diamonds are Forever, I Who Have Nothing, Kiss me Honey Honey and Goldfinger. Debbie has remained a steady favourite for years now and become a mother in the process.

I have never been a Beatles fan but much enjoyed the Triccas/Ivan Spiteri Lucas and Glen Vella’s interpretation of three of their songs but above all I Want to Hold Your Hand.

Nadine Axisa has exceptional gifts and I generally like the clothes she wears on stage. I loved her interpretation of Roberta Flack’s Killing Me Softly. I find that this is very much her king of song.

Sandro Cassar is a new name for me and I much enjoyed his Save the Last Dance for Me.

We are bound to see him again in another Spiteri Lucas production.

I have never liked Robbie Williams and find him completely anodyne…no intensity whatsoever. How different from Andrea Bocelli whose Vivo per Lei and Con te Partiró were beautifully sung by Ludwig, Debbie and Nadine. Now that is music I love and those are the kind of singers which make an evening like this worth attending.

A delightful surprise was Ivan Spiteri Lucas singing with his young daughter Krista. Well, music is in the family so why not put them on the stage as soon as possible? Young Krista was at ease singing with her father and it is almost certain that she will be a singer too.

I had a phonecall from my old friend Lino Cassar who told me how delighted he was that I had mentioned Richard Tauber and his songs some weeks ago. Lino is incredibly knowledgeable and he started rattling off names, songs, composers and singers. Tauber, he told me, died in 1948 and one of the Lehar brothers composed operettas with him in mind. Tauber left Austria and went to live in England when Hitler walked into Austria. Tauber was born out of wedlock but his father took over his upbringing eventually as his mother, a soprano could not cope. Tauber’s father had a Jewish background but converted to Catholicism and wanted his son to become a priest. My sisters now want the Tauber CD too…for they too associate ‘One Day When We were young… one beautiful morning in May...” with our mother. We are a sickeningly sentimental lot. I want to be born with a hard heart next time round … life would have been so much easier.