I usually write my Monday piece on a Sunday morning, fresh from speed reading the Maltese papers and the UK’s Sunday Times, determined that my piece will not simply be another opinion piece about what has gone on in the week before, but hopefully about something that happened over the weekend that can positively point us into the week we are about to start.

That’s a tall order, because usually the weekend news, or what we get in our newspapers, isn’t too good: traffic deaths and injuries, or drug finds on a Saturday night. Surveys about how we are all going to vote in 18 months time, which are pretty meaningless when around 40 per cent aren’t telling or say they don’t know. Surveys about ministers who are allegedly popular or not, but the actual surveys seem to show more who is not as unpopular, rather than who is really popular.

And, anyway, since we all vote locally and not nationally, these surveys would make much more sense if they were held in the ministers’ constituency. Essentially it matters not one jot if, say, a Gozitan nationalist doesn’t think a 10th district minister is doing well. So telephone surveys on ministers should be constituency based not nationally sampled.

You need to ask the constituents to get a truer feel of political popularities. This is Malta, where how you are liked on the ground is what really counts And who wants to be in election mode for 18 months anyway? Just as they ban electioneering the day before we go to the polls, I think we should have a ban on electioneering until about six months before an election.

Don’t we have a life? Don’t we have better things to do? Aren’t there more interesting things to read about, learn from and be stimulated by? Our Sunday papers’ headlines often focus on a survey, or on what either of our political leaders have said, often about each other, which isn’t the way I want to start my Sunday, or the week.

But this Sunday is different. Finally, on Saturday night, we got something absolutely right (even if transport arrangements could have been improved), and the so-called Notte Bianca was the first time I have ever seen an event here which truly brought so many together so happily, and for all the right reasons.

Saturday night in Valletta, our Notte Bianca, showed them and us what we really want and like. We love Valletta. We loved it opened up at night. We loved wandering through all our major buildings – Castille and Palazzo Fereria looked fabulous. There was so much art, theatre and music going on. I was cosily ensconced in St James Cavalier watching a very good production.

As we came out in the break, streams of people were everywhere. It was one long happy queue of people just taking in all the glories of Valletta.

There were more than 50 events going on and, miraculously, the rain held off. Those Egyptian whirling dervishes just lit up the streets as they whooshed past, a blaze of noise and men’s feet. Chapels were full and lit up. Valletta is at its best at night and perhaps it is time to really focus on drawing crowds into the city on a more regular basis.

We loved it. The Maltese love each other, love the buzz of crowds. For many there was an element of nostalgia as people remembered how Valletta used to be before the birth of Paceville, when it really was the only place to go. For others, it was an eye-opener into just how much there is to see and do in

Valletta, if only the right atmosphere could be created. For the younger crowds who chose to come there instead of the usual boring Paceville bar scene, it was an altogether different kind of fun. Our young people were suddenly like young people in cities everywhere who, thankfully, do not always have a Paceville-type area on their doorstep, and for whom sitting in a piazza in a historic town, with a coffee or cola and your mates and your bikes is as simple and exciting as your Saturday night gets.

So a very well done to all those who got this Notte Bianca off the ground. It was a great start to autumn, it made us all feel good about how much we have to enjoy and treasure. It showed us the real Malta, not branded or smart, just out together en masse, doing what we Maltese love to do, be out with each other in one of the most beautiful backdrops in the world.

Valletta truly was a world heritage city last Saturday night.

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