Ray Zammit whom we all knew as Ray Ashley was a colourful character. He featured in our series My Favourite Room, in the December 2003 issue of this magazine. He opened his Bahar-ic-Caghaq home to Joe Demanuele who is responsible for the interviews and photos of this popular series.

Joe Demanuele had written: “To say that the house is extravagant is like saying that the sea is wet.” The exuberant Baroque interior and idiosyncrastic touches were clearly a reflection of Ray’s vibrant personality.

Ironically, when Joe Demanuele had asked him whether he did not think that all the steps and different levels in the home would lead to problems of accessibility later on in life he commented: ‘Who wants to grow old?’ His home was full of clocks including one in his bedroom, which was home to a large Maltese clock which chimed every quarter of an hour.

Ray’s interest in dressmaking was evident early. His father saw his son’s potential and encouraged him to become a tailor but he was to become well known for his creations for women not men. “Dressmaking for women is so much more creative, there are not the constraints that one finds making male clothes. The creative juices can really flow when sewing for women,” he commented in his interview.

His meeting with Sue Rossi of Modelle International, led to a lifelong friendship and Ray’s creations were now being exhibited in fashion shows and various contests all over the island. He designed wedding gowns and evening wear which were often the talk of the town. He was also appointed official designer of the Miss World Malta known as Miss Maltese Islands. The organizers, Sue Rossi and the model Claudia, ensured that the winner was satisfied with Ray’s design. Sue Rossi says: “He made it a point to meet the winners and discuss with them several aspects before coming up with a comfortable outfit.”

For many years, Ray was also involved with a number of participants and presenters in the Song for Europe festival. Those who worked with him say that he always made it a point to meet the deadline, whether for a wedding or a TV show.

In his interview back in 2003, Ray told Joe Demanuele that his mother had died in a terrible accident when he was just over a year old. “My father had a butcher’s shop and every evening my mother would collect the lard and melt it. One night it caught fire and splashed all over her. She died a horrible death – too horrible to even think about but my brother’s death was even worse. He was 11 years’ old at the time and during the accident he heard me crying so he thought that I had caught fire, too. He rushed in to rescue me and instead he got burnt so terribly that he died an agonizing death 15 days later. I remember them saying that the last thing he asked for just before he died was ice-cream. He ate it and soon after passed away.”

Like so many of our lives Ray’s was a mixed bag too. There were the highs and the lows but he seemed to have played well the cards he had been allotted.