I went to watch Masquerade’s Seussical the Musical at the Manoel Theatre, wondering whether this was not going to be something for children and for those in their second childhood only. Even if I am not as young as I was, I am still nowhere near my second childhood and intend postponing this for as long as possible. Disposable nappies are simply too expensive. None of my friends wanted to come, not quite knowing what to expect when I said that it was ‘good family entertainment.’ That’s what the press release had said. So I went alone, not wanting to miss it.

Steve Hili was in his element as the mischievous and entertaining Cat in the Hat and interacted on several occasions with the audience, at one point coming down in the aisle of the Manoel and giving a member of the audience (who gave the right answer to a question put to him), a Lm5 go mobile voucher.

I loved Julie Zahra’s starlet-in-waiting role as Mayzie La Bird which she enjoyed playing and singing and did so with pizzazz.

I have heard Roger Tirazona sing many a time and he has such a natural gift, lucky him. As Horton the sensitive elephant he evoked sympathy and even pathos at times.

Another popular character was the lovable moppet, Gertrude McFuzz, played by Emily Jones, who has her one feathered tail transformed into a long and luxurious one, in the hope that Horton, the love of her life, would notice her.

It was an enjoyable production with a Fish Ballet, Bird Girls and very colourful costumes, in the hands of the gifted Ernest Camilleri. As usual Peter Howitt has done some breathtaking stage wizardry and we have to say it again and again: how lucky we are to have such a gifted set designer with ten Oscar nominations behind him, living here and still willing to contribute to the local theatre scene.

The score of this musical has some very pleasant though not memorable, numbers. On opening night there was a full house and my only complaint is that sometimes the music was too loud and the enunciation of some of the singers not clear enough. Words are always important. anthony (a small ‘a’ please!) and Veronica Bezzina live for the theatre and it shows. They love what they are doing and instill this in the cast. I’m very happy I managed to make it to Seussical although I was never fond of Dr Seuss books and have always preferred Enid Blyton.

This was a dynamic production brimming with energy and fun. So good to sit back and enjoy an evening of simple, pleasant entertainment in this complex world. No Tamil Tiger Rebels, no bombs and suicide attacks. Aren’t you sick of all these people. I get the same things on the BBC News every morning and I have now lost my sympathy for those who play havoc not only with their lives but with the lives of mostly innocent people who happen to be near their bombs.

An invitation arrived from Domenic Calleja of Dical House to a dinner to be prepared by the popular TV chef Rainer Mitze at the 400 year-old farmhouse Ir-Razzett l-Antik. I had already sampled Rainer’s cooking when Dical House opened its doors, just over a year ago, so I did not want to miss this opportunity to try some more of his dishes. I have a copy of his book with its nouvelle cuisine Maltese recipes but have not had the time to experiment with any of them, yet.

As to the Ir-Razzett l-Antik in Qormi, I had been there over a year ago, when it was still being restored. It was built some 400 years ago, when Qormi was the bakery of the Knights of Malta. This is where wheat was ground into flour to make Maltese bread for the bakers of Qormi, which, even today, is reputed to have the best bread in Malta.

Ir-Razzett has been transformed into a restaurant replete with ambience and has a dining capacity for 200 diners. This is where Rainer Mitze has established one of his famous cookery colleges.

Maryann Kissaun came along and since we never cease to talk, I missed the turning to Qormi and had to turn right round again to find an alternative way. But my car came to a halt, in the middle lane of Marsa. St Anthony was completely unhelpful. Maryann was calm, sitting there, every inch a lady, not quite knowing what she was doing in a 20 year old Fiat which seemed to have given up the ghost. But no! St Anthony at last got it going again and we arrived on the periphery of Qormi where it stopped again, this time conveniently in the piazza. A man there instructed us to turn left and right and left and left…mesmerized we left and merely turned left and stopped at a half open garage to ask for further instructions…only to find a very old man, wrapped up in a blanket, lying in bed and no one else in sight. Back to the car and at last, salvation. Clear instructions from a woman landed us in the moat under the Razzett. But with hope in our heart we finally made it.

There was the German ambassador there, the CEO of The Malta Tourist Authority, Peter Dacoutros the TV chef, the Lauris of Benetton fame and tour operators. The press was represented by Pamela Hansen and myself. Perhaps the rest too, had lost their way.

Rainer Mitze is a reflection of his cuisine: well-presented, not self-indulgent and lean. He called for help from the floor and told us that both the fish and the rabbit had already been cooked. We breathed a sign of relief… I hadn’t eaten much lunch in anticipation of Rainer’s food and after our misadventures on the road I could not face waiting for too long for dinner. There were some 40 of us. I end up in a heap even after preparing a three course meal for just eight people. I cannot even envisage cooking for forty.

The first course arrived: fish with rucola and a lovely sauce with pine nuts and walnuts. Then a sliver of rabbit but cannot remember what went with it. All I can say is that I finished every speck of it.

I went to say hello to various acquaintances on another table. Romwald Lungaro Mifsud and his wife Vira were there with the German ambassador who is 65 years and will be retiring in June and returning to Cologne and to his family. He is not too pleased about retiring and nor are his many friends. He has been here for an incredible six years and he is such a pleasant ‘normal’ kind of uncomplicated human being, smiling and friendly. We shall miss him. Romwald told us of his successful trip to Scandinavia where he met tour operators, to entice them to bring more Scandinavians out to Malta. I hope he will succeed.

The dessert arrived – a delicious creamy business. I loved it. I soon went back to my table and Mr Merten was there and passed on what was officially my dessert. He said I should not have more than a couple of spoonfuls. It really was a cholesterol cocktail, but I enjoyed this second helping too, not daring to tell him that I had already eaten one on the other table. However, at the end of this meal I did not feel over-nourished as I often do, just comfortable.

Mr Merten told us a charming story of how he had always been a fan of Queen Elizabeth II and when he met her at the state dinner when she visited Malta last November, he had the occasion to tell her about his scrapbook of her which he had kept ever since he was very young. His wish has always been to have it signed by Her Majesety. Well, I have forgotten the exact details, but I believe she told him to bring it along with him at the reception to be held within days of the state dinner. So he did, and when she saw him at the reception she signalled to him to go on the side so that she could sign his scrapbook. And Mr Merten is delighted to have her signature on his scrapbook and remains a faithful fan of Her Majesty. We all think she is wonderful. Just look at her at the age of 80, like Johanny Walker, still going strong.

The unnecessary sensation about these orphans in Gozo who were physically and psychologically abused seemed to be out of all proportion to the truth. I heard the bishop of Gozo talk during Tuesday’s news and he quite rightly said that these matters should be discussed in private and not sensationalized.

I watched a little of Bondiplus with two of the ‘orphans’ who had lived at Lourdes Home in Gozo. I found them unconvincing. Of course nuns can be cruel. Some nuns are. They are human too. Here is a little bit of autobiography. One nun at school never called me up during needlework classes. She simply didn’t like me. I still hope I will not meet her in heaven. However I say to myself: ‘Well, she couldn’t have had much of a brain for all she could do was teach needlework’. I still learned how to do cross stitch, even without her help. Life without cross stitch is still livable after all.

I am all for exposing people in the Church who do not behave as they should. However, I am opposed to those who start making all sorts of claims before

first of all, making these claims privately to

those in authority. It is only if their claims are ignored and not dealt with that they should then make it their business to come out in public. In the case of

these orphans one gets the impression that all they really want is money. Am I wrong in thinking that

this is survey week? It is usually in April isn’t it? Hmmm.