In spite of having reached 100 years of age this week, George Spiteri is still taking orders for bamboo curtains in Gozo. A father of five, grandfather of eleven and great-grandfather of six, George has spent the past forty years making curtains from bamboo, which is grown and collected by his daughter’s husband.
George was born on 10 August 1915 in Rabat, Gozo. As a young boy, George used to get up early to accompany his father and two brothers on fishing trips. He later picked up the trade himself, catching and selling fish for years until he retired.
When he turned sixty, George stopped working as a fisherman, but he had never been one to sit down and do nothing so when two of his doors needed curtains, he made a pair out of bamboo. Seeing the product, two other relatives asked for a curtain too. This created a domino effect and he was soon taking orders from others.
“He gets up at five in the morning, and half an hour later, he’s in his small room, working away on curtains. It’s his little heaven in there,” his daughter Jane says.
The 100-year-old has memories of roads with not a car in sight and of airplanes hovering over Malta during the war.
“We led a simple life. I remember playing police and robbers, and using pebbles as make-belief money. I admit I was naughty at times, but what child isn’t?” he says with a smile. “There was no TV, no cars… we walked for an hour to get to the beach and another hour to get back home again,” he explains.
George was already in his forties when he married his wife, Nina. “I remember meeting her for the first time… it was the feast of Our Lady of Conception,” he says. Nina passed away thirteen years ago, and George lives with his daughter’s family in Żebbuġ.
The 100-year-old spent some time living in Melbourne, Australia, but he admits he has always returned home to Gozo.
George is well-loved in the small Gozitan town - residents even organised a party to celebrate his 100th birthday.
The marching band played in the street where he resides and Bishop of Gozo Mario Grech concelebrated mass. Minister for Gozo Anton Refalo and Parliamentary Secretary Justyne Caruana also attended.