It’s September at last. July and August are gone, and the height of the Maltese summer is past. Thank God for that!
At last I can end the annual exile in my homeland where I flee from, for me, the excessive heat of Malta. And not a moment too soon. I write this with one eye on the internet and the other on the bleak vista through my office window.
My left eye is suffering the sight of the dull and heavily overcast day that passes for late August in Ireland. It’s 17 degrees outside and this morning, as I drove to meet a friend for breakfast, I needed my headlights. And while it is not actually raining at the moment, the respite is as dependable as a politician’s election promise.
My right eye however, is transfixed by a very alluring sight on ryanair.com: flight FR7242 departing Dublin for Luqa at 15.55. Excellent! By nine o’clock on Saturday evening I will feel the warmth on my face and will begin the slow relaxing thaw into the comfortable arms of a Maltese autumn: it’s my favourite season in Malta.
And it is just a short inexpensive flight away. How times have changed. Don’t listen when you hear older people talk of the “good old days”, they’re talking nonsense. Forty odd years ago, my friends and I would occasionally fly to London from Aldergrove Airport. Being poor penniless students we couldn’t afford the extortionate fare and flew “standby”. This entailed very little flying and a lot of waiting. We would be at the check-in desk at around eight in the morning and put our names on the standby list. Then we waited… and waited. Hopefully a last minute seat on a flight became available and the next name on the list was summoned. If not; ah well there’s another flight in a couple of hours. You could wait there all day, possibly even all night, all to fly for only £10. A very helpful internet site calculates that £10 equates to around €169 today! There’s no doubt about it, the “good old days” are today.
Of course my friends and I were the lucky ones, we could stay all day and night at the airport. We were attached to the RAF base that shared the airfield, or rather our parents were. Aircraft and flights were nothing special to us.
Excuse me; my computer is making funny noises. Someone is calling me on Skype.
My, it’s a small world. That was Dr Salvatore Schirmo, of the Italian Cultural Institute in Malta, calling on Skype. He tells me, to my delight, that the weather is just nice in Valletta and he gave me some very interesting information.
I was reminiscing of my childhood on an RAF base. Playing in the “graveyard” where they stored the old bombers and patrol aircraft, drinking in the pungent smell of leather from the interior of the Shakletons where we played for days on end. Even sitting in the pilot seat of the first Phantom Jet ever delivered to the RAF, within an hour of its arrival from the US. Such amazing experiences. But completely wasted on me, as I took them in the blasé manner only a child can manage.
I was brought back by an interruption from Salvatore. “Lucky for you that you’ll be back here for the 9 of September. Dr Porcheddu has a guest at the Magic Box that you will want to hear.” Really? Tell me more.
“Anna is presenting the head of the Italian Military Mission. He is a Colonel Pilot and experienced in Search and Rescue, though probably in something more modern than a Shakleton!”
A quick call to Dr Porcheddu was required. “Yes” she confirmed, “this month in the Magic Box we welcome Colonel Luca Mariz, commander of the Italian Military Mission”.
Colonel Mariz has been commander of the Italian Military Mission in Malta since 2012 and is no stranger to these parts, having served as head of the Mission’s Search and Rescue (SAR) from 2000 to 2003.
Today’s Mission or Missione Italiana di Collaborazione nel Campo della Difesa (MICCD), came into being as recently as 2011, but evolved from previous Missions originating with MICTN, a technical and military cooperation, in 1973. As Malta and its relationship with Italy has developed, so too has the focus of this cooperation. Colonel Mariz will tell how this transition came about, evolving from training and technical assistance to the current mission in the area of defense. He will explain how this has completely changed the Italian military effort and the terms of Italian cooperation.
Dr Anna Porcheddu promises that the talk will be in the usual informal manner of the Magic Box and as always participation and questions will be encouraged and welcomed. Everyone is welcome along and, of course, we can have an informal chat with the Colonel afterwards over a little wine, and hopefully a little something tasty.
This is the first Magic Box of the autumn programme following the summer break, so expect an eager audience with seating at a premium.
In case you’ve already forgotten it’s on at its normal time and day. That is the second Tuesday of the month at 6.30pm. If you still haven’t been there yet, you will be made very welcome by Anna and Salvatore; they are always delighted to meet new friends at the Institute.
Open the diary: Tuesday, 9 September, 6.30pm, Italian Cultural Institute, St George’s Square, Valletta. Pencil it in with ink.
I certainly won’t miss the chance to chew the fat with an Air Force pilot; it has been many years since I’ve had the opportunity. Things must have changed a lot since I played in the old Shakleton SAR aircraft. They were just a re-jig of the famous Lancaster bomber, and their interiors were monumentally basic and crude.
Probably not as utilitarian as Mr O’Leary’s dazzling yellow and blue interiors, one of which I will sample on Saturday. But I don’t mind, his flights are considerably quicker and cheaper than “standby” in Heathrow in 1971.