I have never been a lover of night clubs even when I was young but find enjoyment keeping up with friends over a good coffee and a snack in a café with ambience. The ambience is important to me. I have always admired the old, atmospheric cafés in Lisbon and Porto; in the café in Palermo (whose name now escapes me) where that passionate observer Giuseppe di Lampedusa wrote his famous novel, Il Gattopardo and others in New York and New Orleans where my darlings made it a point of taking me, sometimes for breakfast, as they know my weak spot for such places.  There are also a couple of Cafés in Valletta which deserve patronage. I still regret the closure of the Borg Bonaci café in Strada Santa Lucia which was our haunt in our early twenties and where we greatly favoured the pasti with sponge and ricotta and that brilliant green almond topping.

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So when I was recently invited to the launch of Cleland & Souchet's Wine Café at the Vivaldi Hotel in Paceville I decided to go and have a look as I was curious to see what a wine café is really like.

On stepping inside I immediately took to it. The warmth, the vibrant colours, the good taste, the delicious look of the food and the welcoming staff gave me the feeling that this is the kind of place I might meet my friends. The young architects have managed to achieve a cool-but-cosy vibe. Parking at the Vivaldi carpark solved the problem which is not becoming any better.

I joined a table on which the ever glamorous Fabrizia Cleland was sitting and had an interesting conversation with her and Matthew Camilleri, who together with Richard Cleland and Chris Calleja are the directors of Trident Catering Ltd who collaborated in the opening of this new outlet. I also spoke to the two young architects, Anthea Huber and Daphné Bugeja who were responsible for the warm décor.

I knew already that this is the third C & S Wine Café to be opened in Malta since the first was launched at the Cleland & Souchet flagship outlet in Portomaso in 2013. The second outlet was opened in the departure lounge of the Malta International Airport in 2014.

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Fabrizia explained to me that the concept of the C & S Wine Café is that of a "chic café by day" and "stylish wine bar by night". The outlet offers a menu of light and healthy meals and classic hot dishes as well as their signature platters which can be shared. One of them is a delicious Lebanese platter. They also offer an exceptional cup of coffee (this judgment comes from a friend of mine who has been to the one at Portomaso and who is an expert and fastidious coffee drinker). In fact there is a range of coffee available. There is also a great selection of at least 20 wines by the glass.

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The two young architects from the firm Archi+ Studio have designed an intimate ambience that oozes great style which is at the same time welcoming. In fact I left the place with a benign feeling. It makes a lovely change from two cafés I had popped into fairly recently: one in Mosta and the other at the Ferries, an experience never to be repeated. In one I was served a small cup of lukewarm coffee which still had lipstick on it; in the other  an inarticulate waiter who brought us toasted sandwiches with a still-cold slab of orange cheese and a speck of awful ham.  I feel so sorry for the tourist who comes once and is served so badly in both places which are so popular.

 I can see that this new C & S place is going to be a favourite boîte de jour for the older generation too.  

Matthew told me that there are several themed nights in the pipeline at the C &S Wine Café starting with their  "Aperitivo Nights" every Friday. They are also planning wine tastings and whiskey seminars.

This is the place to have a grown-up chat, to be serious or silly. It is open Mondays to Sundays from 9am till late.

Given a chaise longue I could easily live there.        

Jo mamo's photo here please                                                                           Josephine Tortell another of my tribe gone

I have an increasing sense of my tribe coming to an end. I try to recall what it was like not to be aware of death. How carefree that was. Not that my own death worries me. I've seen too many deaths of dear ones at close quarters and I am ready to embrace it.

My old schoolfriend Josephine Mamo is no more. The eldest daughter of the first President of Malta, Sir Anthony and Lady Mamo she was the ideal pupil. I don't remember her ever giving trouble to the teachers or indeed to fellow pupils. She was humility itself and never, for one moment, boasted of the high position and indeed the deep respect which her father enjoyed - a respect which lasts to this day. The same can be said for her sister Monica and brother John. They are the epitome of decency and humility.

Jo was clever and did not have to try hard. But she was never competitive and took everything in her stride. She was kindness itself.  She was to be trusted and had that quality which is becoming rarer by the minute: integrity. I am not going to turn this into a laudatio. Jo does not need it. It was not in her character. Her secret wish was never to be the centre of attention. She was blessed with an equable temperament. She was a cultivated woman within the somewhat insular boundaries of her class and generation. Had she been born a couple of generations later she would probably have been a leading lawyer like her eminent father.

I regret 'abandoning' her upon my return to Malta. But I was busy bringing up two daughters alone and there was little time to cultivate friends. However, she was always and remains in my heart because we shared long years at school and because of her qualities. Always a peaceful woman, may she rest in peace. Whether we shall see each other again is another matter.