First of all, please sum up the book in a few words.

Charles: Basically, it’s a collection of anecdotes as told by Maltese and Gozitan personalities from all walks of life: the arts, politics, print and broadcast media,  the theatre, the clergy, authors, poets. You name them, they’re included. The idea came from a book published in England in the 70s to raise funds for Oxfam. It’s called Pass the Port, and it has a sequel, Pass the Port Again. We didn’t re-invent the wheel. We just liked the idea, but limited ourselves to insisting on real-life anecdotes.

What made you decide to compile it?

Tony: To be perfectly honest, we started off by testing the waters, and the results were encouraging, so we decided to go for it. It wasn’t as easy as we thought it would be, as we both had to do a lot of chasing after some of the personalities, many of whom, having busy lifestyles, invariably ignored our deadlines, but we must admit it was enjoyable, and the results speak for themselves.

Are any proceeds going to a worthy cause?

Charles: They are. Both of us are animal lovers, so we opted to donate to animal charities, these being the Island Dog Sanctuary and the Tomasina Cat Sanctuary. We are also happy to state that our donation from the proceeds is being matched by a similar donation from the publishers, BDL (Book Distributors Limited).

What were your favourite anecdotes?

Tony: Quite honestly, our favourites are too numerous to mention, but without mentioning names, we particularly like the one of the prelate who “killed off” a well-known football player during a funeral mass for another sportsman, and the one about an ex-MP who found a cockroach floating in his whisky during a house visit in an election campaign. And, of course, another favourite is the one about the former minister who ended up with disinfectant cream all over his trouser front. And then there was the one about the dentist faced with a woman who decided to bare all? One could go on...

How hard was the compiling and editing process?

Charles: Well, it wasn’t easy. We started off with a longish list, which we started whittling down. Then we sent off introductory e-mails, together with a sample of what we were after. We indicated a maximum length of 250 words, but as a glance through the book will show, several contributors chose to ignore this stricture. One, in particular, who should have known better, particularly in view of his background, sent in at least five times the length! Initially we decided to edit down to the required length, but in the end this proved next to impossible, so we let it go and opted to use all the material. We also ended up translating some of the anecdotes from the English text, and in some cases actually writing them ourselves from the story as told to us over the telephone by some “very busy” contributors!

What are your expectations for it?

Tony: Let’s face it, we’re not after the Pulitzer Prize. However, we have been pleasantly surprised at the way the book is being snapped up, and there’s even a possibility of it going into a second print run. The feedback has been extremely positive, although we did get a couple of negative comments from contributors whose photo didn’t make it to the front or back cover, which wasn’t really our fault.

Will there be a sequel?

Charles: Yes, definitely. We’re already working on it. You see, with all the good intentions in the world, we omitted a good number of personalities from our original list. A couple even called us to politely point out our omission. So we’re now into our second list.

What other work by you can we expect in the near future?

Charles: The odd article or two about any subject under the sun will always be forthcoming. And, as already mentioned, there’s the sequel to look forward to, hopefully by the end of this year. Next year, we’re thinking along the lines of a collection of spicy anecdotes, another one of  “ghostly” expriences, of which the Maltese seem to be inordinately fond, and perhaps a collection of anecdotes from the public.

The Authors

Tony Barbaro Sant is principally known for producing a cultural programme devoted to the arts for TVM some years ago. He comes from a journalistic and PR background, having started his working life with Allied Malta Newspapers in the 1960s. He then moved on to other papers, and eventually to television and radio, before settling down in PR. He is an avid reader and a regular visitor to the Floriana Public Library. He cites Frederick Forsyth, Ted Allbeury, Jeffrey Archer, Andrea Camilleri, Val McDermid, Ian Rankin and John Grisham as his favourite authors. This is his first attempt at publishing in book format.

Charles Flores started his writing career as the editor of the local Subbutteo Table Soccer newsletter as a teenager. He has also worked for various national newspapers and the Department of Information and forged a long career in national broadcasting. In the 1960s he co-founded and was the first PRO of the Moviment Qawmien Letterarju, today part of Maltese literary history. He is the author and co-author of numerous books in Maltese and English, mostly literary or journalistic works. His favourite writers are Spike Milligan, Milan Kundera and Haruki Murakami. 

The book

Jinzlulek Ghasel, published by BDL, is based on factual episodes, most of them of a humorous nature, related by various Maltese personalities. Its co-editors are veteran journalists and broadcasters Charles Flores and Tony Barbaro Sant, who also contribute a number of anecdotes of their own.

The anecdotes range from that of a very hungry former prime minister on a sea voyage to Naples, to a former judge and his problem with a life-jacket to prevent a cadaver from drowning; not to mention the cartoonist who put his foot in it, and the TV presenter who tried to wriggle out of an awkward situation when told during a quiz programme that Jesus Christ had been born in Valletta.

From the world of politics, we meet the minister who found himself in an awkward situation in the gents’, a former minister who came across the ‘perfect’ candidate for a job with government and a prominent politician whose lock of hair ended up in a Pope’s hands.

This collection of over 120 anecdotes also features a short story by a contributor who prefers anonymity, requesting that he be referred to simply as P. Grech, without even the traditional photograph. The story is about meeting a woman on a train trip… and readers will end up racking their brains to guess P. Grech’s real identity.

Jinzlulek Ghasel is available at all book outlets in Malta and Gozo. Further details on BDL’s website www.bdlbooks.com A sum from the sales of this book is being channeled towards two deserving animal sanctuaries.