Locked away. Because nanny state Malta knows best

Were any of you marching against censorship tonight? Or were you just curling up, waiting for the football to get going on TV? Or perhaps merely nodding at the comments that pepper the mainstream media about the issue?

It’s bizarre that we’re still talking about censorship in 2010 in an EU country. But that’s just the way things have panned out over the past 24 months or so. A play was banned; a magazine normally distributed on the university campus was similarly banned and the editor reported to the police; the normally raucous Nadur Carnival was more muted than usual following veiled threats that the police wished to ‘vet the lyrics’ of songs and harass people dressed in religious garb. And the debate rumbles on, online, with the Front against Censorship and offline. There’s more material here.

We’re not getting on any soap box or bandwagon. We’ve identified doing away with archaic censorship laws on our 2010 wish list. We don’t know if a march is what it takes to get people to resolve many lacunae in archaic legislation or even if the issue will get hijacked by groups with their own social or political agendas.

But the censorship issue – and particularly the censorship of all things ‘cultural’ – needs to be addressed and resolved quickly if the rumblings about a police state, religious zealots or high-handed tactics are to be permanently quelled.

The trouble with small places is that sometimes it is all too easy for someone in a position of power to lever on some long-forgotten piece of legislation to exert control. Malta needs to wake up to the 21st century, repeal its censorship laws and put some trust into the maturity of its citizens.

Photo: Gethin Thomas

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An old greenhouse - sadly not the only house Malta's centipedes inhabit

This article is about centipedes. And while this isn’t that appealing a topic, it will have a familiar ring to anyone living in Malta, particularly during the rainy, humid months of autumn to late spring. If you live in an old, stone house with pot plants, a patch of soil or rubble walls around you, then the black centipede will be your house mate for the winter. I live with plagues, and I mean plagues, from October to around mid April, when the stone finally begins to dry out. Then, in peak summer months, I find (fewer) centipedes in the house – but they’ve worked out inside is far cooler and damper than out when it’s 40 degrees C plus. But right now, I dread venturing out on my back patio after dark to pick a herb I need in the cooking. The stone is simply seething with the things.

I am writing this post to illuminate anyone like me who hasn’t quite cured the problem of how to rid premises of them, and also to assuage the fears of any unsuspecting tourist who may find one in a rented property, or, dread of dreads, in a hotel room.

If you have close fitting windows and doors, you may rarely come across one. If you do, rest assured they are harmless, if rather ugly. Internet research reveals them to be the Black Portuguese Centipede, and the majority of references to them as ‘pests’ come from Australian sources. Apparently, the creature arrived as an unwanted guest aboard a ship in around 1950, and has now colonised most of Southern Australia. Hardly anyone in the Mediterranean has commented on them – I think we’re just so used to them.

I am sure my son has a kiddies’ story that has a nice, caricature-style drawing of a centipede in it. And there’s Roald Dahl’s ‘James & the Giant Peach’ centipede of course. But my slithering companions are not nice. Woe betide if you step on one. Quite apart from the massive crunch, they leave an indelible stain on the limestone floor, and give off a really ‘orrible pong’. I was in an upmarket interiors shop in Sliema earlier this year and smelled their unmistakable smell – I, or another client had just done the honour of stepping on one.

How to cull their numbers
Not easy this one, but a quick way to stem numbers and hatching is to make sure you sweep up regularly all leaf and organic debris littering your patio. They are herbivores and thrive in leaf mould and damp conditions. Lift pots up – incredibly they sneak under them very easily however tight the pot is to the ground. I found an Australian company that does a kind of frictionless compound that you can apply as a strip along under doors ledges and right along the wall for a few inches. I am not sure it’s available in Malta, but here’s the link. On my rugged stone, I’d need a good few pots to remove the friction those centipedes’ legs love to move on.

For an amusing – if that’s the right word – low down on these kritters, see an American in Malta’s story here.

Photo: Mohamed Dabub

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The edible thistle, the globe artichoke, in season aplenty in Malta right now

I have just seen Jamie Oliver’s TED talk video. Love or hate his style, Jamie is just about the only celeb voice consistently banging on about the junk that’s in a lot of kids’ diets these days, whether they’re eating at home, school or on the street. His crusade to get us to feed our kids healthily has now extended to America. His TED talk showed a clip of what looks like five-year olds in class unable to name correctly, or recognise at all, basic fruit and veg like potatoes and tomatoes (let alone an artichoke). Scary stuff. They looked as if they’d never seen a raw ingredient.

A few weeks ago, my son started receiving a portion of fruit or vegetables in a small plastic container, once a week, at school break. The initiative is part sponsored by the European Union. Malta has high child obesity rates ranking pretty much alongside the US rates. The veg in schools initiative is therefore laudable, but has its problems. I saw one of the offerings as he brought it home, part eaten. It was watery lettuce, cucumber and a bland, anaemic tomato. Kids can like salad, but usually it has to appeal to them. This was rabbit food at its worst and I could barely eat it.

The art of veggie shopping in Malta
Having Jamie’s TED talk and my family’s health at the forefront of my mind, I ended up scrutinising more carefully than usual my shopping basket of goods in the supermarket today. I don’t mean I paused over the low-fat, but high-sugar yoghurt (health-con) products, but I made a point of taking a long hard look at the labeling of the fruit and veg. A recipe on my menu plan for the weekend required ’snow peas’ – not in season right now, if ever, in Malta. There were some on display though, cellophane wrapped, and stating that they were from Guatemala.

Far too many food miles to contemplate that purchase. Similarly, though I love pineapple and mango, I gave them a miss too and opted for what’s local, in season, plentiful and therefore cheap. At present, that means strawberries! I usually reckon on strawberry season in March, but with growing under plastic and our exceptionally mild winter, they are in the shops now – and they are huge, sweet and just five, reasonably sized ones can provide a child’s Vitamin C quota for the day (according to nutritionist Natalie Savona. See below).

Pick ‘n’ Mix, Squash ‘n’ Squeeze those veggies
In Malta, a good deal of our fruit and veg comes loose, definitely on the veggie carts, and even in supermarkets. That’s a good start to cooking from scratch with raw ingredients. The loose goods are generally local if they are common fruit and veg – or from Sicily.

You can of course get most things, like those snow peas, from anywhere in the world, but why bother? Only around three per cent of Malta’s population is in agriculture, but they work hard and eke out a fairly good spread of raw ingredients. Broccoli, spinach and artichokes are some tempting veg that is in season at the moment. I know that the impoverished soil here might mean that some farmers spray a lot of chemicals around, but who knows what is on most of the imported fruit and veg, unless is says ‘organic’, which itself has been in dispute as the manna from heaven. Wash, scrub and peel things, I say, when in doubt.

Like most canny shoppers in continental Europe, the Maltese housewife (and I use that term because many women do describe themselves here as that) touches and squeezes the produce and digs deep the in plastic tray to find the best of the tomatoes or whatever. There’s a lot of pecking and picking over goods, and the barging aside of other shoppers (as I witness on my local veggie cart days). The economical shoppers go out of their way to ask for any veg that’s almost past its best. I often see people buy a load of wilting this or that to pop in a ‘brodo’ or stew. These are people who use every last sad veg from the bottom of the fridge, and why not? In these times, we have a thing or two to learn from them.

Maltese-descent Celeb Nutritionists
As an afterword, it’s worth noting that the Islands have two Maltese-descent UK celebrity nutrionists to their name. Natalie Savona, an academic and practitioner who has written for and broadcasted extensively in national UK media; and Dr John Briffa who had a long-running column in the UK Observer and has an active blog.

Now, I’m off to work out how to dissect those massive globe artichokes I bought on whim, and see if I can learn what to do with them! They were going like hot cakes on the veg cart yesterday. Damn, I should have called upon the collective wisdom of my fellow ‘housewife’ shoppers to ask their advice…

Related Posts
Cost of Living: Food shopping in Malta
How to shop at the village veggie store
Pumpkin: not just for Halloween
Strawberry Fair

Photo: James

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Pointed comments in a blog. But who will come out of all this walking tall?

A week is a long time in politics, they say. But it’s more like thirty years if you’re talking about Malta. Because this week has seen some thirty years of dirty laundry (including juicy bits that leave Sex & the City seeming bland) washed in public by Malta’s very own A-list blogger, political and social pundit, commentator and doyenne of the media columns – Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Who? Say the name ‘Daphne’ to anyone who’s been more than a few months in Malta, and they will not be thinking of a middle-aged mother of three grown-up sons, but of a razor sharp pen, no-holes-barred approach to writing about anyone and anything, and a publish-and-be-damned approach to the media. Daphne this week became the ‘Daily Daphne’ and I would hazard a guess that the majority of Malta’s 400,000 population was reading her next installment. Daphne grew up writing print columns, but what we’re all reading is her blog. That’s where her power base now lies.

Malta’s past has seen institutional powers try to censor and even close down print media; the last few days has seen the powers that be get to grips with the blog. We’re all waiting to see if the daily Daphne will be gagged, switched off, sued or whatever else can shut her off.

So, as the word got around this week, Daphne’s blog was getting more hits than the mainstream media, such as the Times. If you click on the ‘Most viewed’ and ‘Most commented’ section of her blog, you will find out why.

But what’s of real interest is that in Malta, blogging and citizen media are finally coming of age. You could opine that the furore this week is an exception, that Daphne is simply a trusted, trained journalist who has managed to migrate her skills sets and social capital seamlessly to new media; but you cannot fail to notice that something is changing as far as media production and power systems in Malta are concerned. That while only a couple of years ago, you had to rely on a letter to be printed in a newspaper for you to have ‘a voice’, you can now set up your Web 2.0 stall somewhere and become a media producer in a matter of a few minutes. As long as you have something to say, even in a micro-market like Malta, you have a chance to connect and engage with people who would not necessarily be buying a newspaper. And perhaps more importantly, to say things that the mainstream, for various reasons – including concerns about libel – would simply not support.

It’s been the week when the term ‘global village’ really resonated in Malta.

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If only they were all less eagle eyed!

There was a time in Malta, up to the early 90s, when the islands had one set of traffic lights, few roundabouts, and no drink-driving limits. These were also the heady days when all roads were more pothole than Tarmac. If you’d been used to driving abroad, driving in Malta was not only the same adventure it is today, but had an even more reckless, gung-ho feel about it.

In those days, I remember seeing cars going the wrong way round a roundabout (if turning right, why go all the way round?), reversing around roundabouts, and more frequently than now, stopping mid roundabout to drop off passengers.

I read recently that in Italy, many German motorists, once over the Alpine border, drive far more casually and carelessly than they would back home, simply because they feel traffic laws aren’t enforced so well in Italy. Well, in Malta today, you can expect quite rigorous traffic control and monitoring, so don’t be fooled just because you see some natives still meandering around the road breaking laws.

Here, we do a round up of the traffic control methods to keep your beady eye out for, to avoid mishap. First some useful links:

Malta’s Highway Code
Malta Local Government site FAQs on all aspects of fines, contraventions, by-laws etc.
EU site listing Malta’s fines (drink drive, failing to stop at red light etc).
Who makes what money from the fines!
Malta Facebook group against new speed cameras (great resource!).

Wardens

The local warden service has just celebrated its 10th birthday. When it first started, most people were enthusiastic about its introduction, and looking forward to improvements in not only the lackadaisical driving and parking but also a tidier Malta as they had litter patrol duties too.

The wardens have three responsibilities in the area of enforcement: to educate, to deter and, finally, to enforce. The system is operated by a private management company which also runs the growing speed camera network. There have been some low points in the service’s history (with the murder of a female warden in Gozo in 2001 while she was on duty), and there are always mumblings around the heavy handedness of their ticket issuing, which some allege is to fill quotas.

On the whole, wardens are part of a modern European state and the system is needed here. Motorists worldwide hate wardens, let’s face it. I do have my reservations sometimes about their ability to direct traffic clearly. Very often when they are posted to road works, I’ve seen them haphazardly directing traffic (safely?) around the obstacle. I often think timed, traffic lights would do a better job.

Watching out for them...Mostly, you’ll need to worry about them when you park. Certain areas like Sliema, Valletta, San Gwann, St Julian’s, Naxxar and Mosta (the key urban areas really) have heavy warden presence and they regularly check parking time limits (get a disc from local council offices). Beware the numerous local regulations – parking limits, residents’-only parking spaces (marked blue in Valletta), and odd notices like the one in my alley saying ‘park front bumper to kerb’. My neighbour was issued a ticket for having reversed into the space!

Be aware also that a lot of restrictions (disabled-only spaces) are painted on the Tarmac and so fade off in the sun. I found my car towed away once after I’d parked at night in a space that had from what I could see no indication it was restricted. I could barely see the lettering in daylight either.

Most large roundabouts are patrolled by hawk-eyed traffic wardens or police, particularly during rush hour – hence the queues you find approaching them. At these times, make sure you indicate, and obey roundabout rules as you may well get pulled over; if for nothing else, a spot check of your tax disc.

Speed cameras: A short note on these as they are sprouting like mushrooms, but we’re almost learning to live with them. The main worry about them is the varying speed limits they’re ‘enforcing’. Some main bypasses and country roads have limits of 60Km while others are 70km. You can easily forget which camera watches which limit and get caught out. The fine is Eur 70.

Traffic Police

These are a rarer breed than wardens, but often stay together like birds of a feather. They lurk on the side of roundabouts or watch wide country roads (Attard-Mdina) to make sure no one goes across the no-overtaking double white lines. You may be behind a crawling veggie lorry, but don’t be tempted to overtake as with your luck, it’ll be the day a policeman is on duty there.

Traffic police do have a habit of sneaking up behind you, if you aren’t using your rear view mirror much, that is. They mostly just want to get past, light flashing, but as they do so they will be eyeing your vehicle up for any infringement of the law. Generally, they pull over ancient vehicles and lorries carrying heavy loads (stone, rubble etc). If you have an overseas number plate, they will almost certainly pull you over to check whether you have either the ‘tourist’ permit to drive it in Malta or whether you’ve paid the vehicle registration taxes on import. They are very prickly and stiff about this. So have paperwork to hand.

Traffic police have a certain air about them with their helmets, black boots and massive motorbikes. While seeming intimidating, I’ve found them generally reasonable (bar on one occasion) and amazingly helpful when you’re stuck out in floods on wet, windy nights! One arrived like a white knight when my car died in Qormi near Pavi Supermarket.

Parkers

An odd breed this; and one that may well be extinct soon. In a few years, I am sure ‘pay-and-display’ ticketing systems will replace them with one single guy who does spot checks on lots of car parks. They must be licensed to do their job, though they never sport badges. They vaguely wave you into a space in areas that can look like proper car parks (Mdina bastion parking, Golden Bay, Valletta’s ditch) or just be rough off-the-road spots. They can be amusing (Golden Bay parker is a great guy), or just odd-ball types lurking around (old men, who’ve done the job for years in all weathers like the one I used to see at Hagar Qim).

You just need to tip them something – anything from 50c upwards according to how long you’ve parked, your generosity and whether you’ve chatted with them a bit and so on. Keep spare change handy as you won’t get change back. Do pay them, even if you think the system balmy and antiquated. It seems to be a livelihood all year round for some! A relic of old Malta…

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An old favourite dusted off each winter, until kerosene prices shot up!

Friends in the UK have looked enviously upon us in the past weeks. As they struggle in Arctic conditions, Malta has basked in temperatures up to 25°C. It’s been unseasonally warm, even for us.

In my 16 winters’ experience of Malta, I can usually reckon on getting to Christmas without feeling too chill in the house. We’ve had very wet, cold winters of late, but this year is true to form and it’s only now – early January – that my thoughts turn to heating. Many northern Europeans think the Mediterranean doesn’t get cold in winter. I remember a BBC TV programme about Brits emigrating in which one lady packing to move to Spain unwisely thew out her hot water bottle; I bought one last winter for my son’s bed.

The issue of how to heat a Maltese house to ambient room temperature never quite gets resolved. I’ve tried most forms of heating. What I need is a level of warmth that means I don’t have to wear fingerless gloves, two fleeces and a hat indoors – and still feel chill. It is often warmer outside than in. Maltese houses are built to resist sunlight.

We’ve had several queries from those abroad thinking of relocating to Malta about how we heat our houses for those crucial months – Jan to March; February is the really bitter month indoors, I find.

How you heat and how well you keep warm relate largely to your type of flat or house – stone, concrete, top floor, lower floor, thickness of stone, layout of rooms, number of windows and so on. Structure plays a large part in the choice and effectiveness of heating. Few people have central (oil-fired) heating as that requires planning while building or renovating. Fewer still use alternative bio-fuels or have photo-voltaic panels installed. And I haven’t heard of anyone with an Aga or fuel-fired cooking range in Malta, let alone one that can run heating as well.

Clearly, if you are renting, you have fewer choices. If you are house or flat hunting in the summer, do think about the heating issue!

The short answer to ‘how we heat’ is most of us don’t (effectively). We just wear more clothes. For the longer answer and the regular heating options, read on. No solutions promised though, even with modern technologies available!

Wood-burning stove

I installed one three winters ago in my metre-thick walled lounge. The pipe goes up the stairwell and just heats my bedroom above.

Pros: it looks nice, is a focal point, and provides comfortable warmth in one room at least.
Cons: It gobbles wood (one bag @ €6.30 lasts two nights for five hours of heating). Can be messy to clean. Needs to be on a couple of hours to really feel heat. Pipe drips liquid tar when it rains (chimney and piping badly installed!). Some possibility of flu clinker catching fire (not heard of chimney sweeps here, but probably a do-it-yourself job if you’ve a stone chimney breast not piping).
Verdict: I like it for atmosphere and can make room cosy. Not efficient and can’t hope to heat more than one room.

Kerosene Heaters

I had a digital, very effective Japanese-make kerosene heater that gave central heating equivalent ambient warmth – until it went wrong three years ago and no one here can mend it! It would cut out if oxygen in the room was low and had a child safety lock button. About two years ago, the price of Kerosene more than doubled, making it very expensive a form of heating.

A few years back you’d hear a lot of praise for Potez heaters. Estate agents still advertise homes with a Potez kerosene heater in glowing terms:”…a homely living room with a Potez Heater,” was how one put it recently. People now are trying to see if they can find alternative fuels – lighting oil – to use in these heaters. Anyone who was child in the 1960s and 70s in the UK would remember a Potez heater in classrooms. I’ve heard that a Potez heater can heat an entire Maltese farmhouse; shame about the kerosene price. I would recommend getting expert advice on anything to do with kerosene heaters!

Pros: does give great heat – if a modern type of heater. Centrally located, it may heat the whole house.
Cons: kerosene prohibitively expensive. Heater needs care and attention and they can be a hazard for pets and kids, and fiddly to operate. Need to ventilate rooms frequently.
Verdict: If you inherit one, use it in the really cold periods as it is effective, though costly to run.

Gas

My very friendly gas man called this morning (not to be greeted as Rik Mayall did his in that infamous episode of the BBC’s comedy, ‘Bottom‘.) Malta’s gas men deliver bottles, not check meters. They call in my street twice a week, delivering yellow bottles we can’t do without – for cooking and heating. Portable gas heaters on wheels are the main source of heating for most of us. I hate them, but can’t live without them come winter.

Pros: Easy to obtain (if you have a bottle already). Delivered to door. Instant heating. Easy to light. Can move from room to room as you please.
Cons: Heaters can smell (both mine do, even with adapter and piping changed). Bottles heavy to heave around. Metal casing ugly. Won’t last that long in peak winter. Safety concerns: eats oxygen and you need to ventilate rooms often. Produces moisture. Price doubled to €10.50 a bottle last winter.
Verdict: I’d really freeze without them, but don’t like them on safety grounds. So an evil necessity.

Aircons

Some of my rooms have them to cope with summer heat, so why don’t I use them in winter? Well, with electricity prices what they are, it can prove very costly. I abandoned using aircons as heating ages ago, and resorted to gas heaters. If you’ve a more modern flat, fully airconned, you are more likely to use them, swear by them for heating and not worry about the cost. Older houses rarely heat up well with them, and always cool down the minute they are switched off – warmth from a solid fuel stove can linger till next day.

Pros: Easy to use. Safe. Instant heat.
Cons: Costly to install and in older houses, rarely placed in all rooms. Expensive to run. Heat dissipates immediately they are switched off. Dry eyes and skin out.

No heating at all

Yes, this is an option. We won’t have frost on the inside of windows here, though hail storms and temperatures around 3-4°C at night are quite possible in wet periods. So a first line of defence is to put on more clothes. I know someone who won’t bother with any heating at all in their old house – apart from a rare open fire. Their mantra is that if people lived in the 1700s in it without heating, then they can too. I could just about live without room heating but not without an electric blanket to remove the damp, cold feel of my bed.

Roof insulation

Less a heating method and more heat loss prevention. The foam layer on top of the roof can be costly to install and may not do the business in winter. People I know say it can cut out summer heat but that it makes only a subliminal difference to room temperatures when it has to keep warmth in. (I am waiting for per metre costs so will add these soon).

Under-floor heating

This has been quite popular in recent years as it’s become less costly to import the technology. It’s best to install when you are renovating or building afresh as it’s too disruptive to dig up floors later. It runs off electricity, so in theory is expensive. A friend put in in his old farmhouse a year back so has trialled it for one full winter. Here are his views:

Pros: Quiet, efficient [low voltage so, in theory, also low cost]. No big impact on our energy bill – but we’ve only had one winter so far so hard to quantify. But we do use it judiciously – we keep two rooms on consistently [study and main bedroom] and it kicks in for about 10 – 15 mins per hour. It’s silent, cuts out humidity, offers even heat and kills dampness at source. In use with a de-humidifier, we maintain a temp around 18 degrees.
Cons: Needs planning to install. The only thing I’m not yet sure about is the relative cost.

Oil-fired Central Heating

Very few people have this installed, but it does work when it is! Can be ugly and expensive, and you need space to house an oil tank and few people in Malta have that. It’s rare to find here and thought of as a real luxury as it would only need to run around one month a year in reality. I am tracking down more details from the only friend I know with it. I remember her saying she didn’t put it on unless she had to!

Solar & Alternative Energies

Clearly, with all the sun Malta gets, solar energies have come to the fore in recent years, and a lot of people are making use of government subsidies to install solar panels primarily for water heaters. Fewer install photovoltaic systems that generate domestic electricity. You need a good deal of roof space for that I understand. I get a flyer a day through my letter box from local firms offering all manner of solar, eco-friendly, power systems. If you want some unbiased information about the practicalities in Malta of alternative energy supplies in the home, try contacting the Institute for Sustainable Energies at the University of Malta. See also the Malta Resources Authority for background info and about subsidies.

We will be updating this article as we’re sure to get comments in. Heating a Maltese house is a hot topic of conversation in winter!

Photo: Brandi Sims

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WiFi coverage - if only it were as simple as painting it on

Blasting WiFi to all corners of the office or home has become the passion of many who exercise a parallel existence within the virtual world. Malta presents its fair share of unique challenges, so here’s a quick guide on how best to go about getting the job done right first time.

First, a quick primer on the essentials
A WiFi link is created to ‘do-away’ with running a wire or network cable between two network-able devices. These two connected devices could be your laptop to your internet modem, or to your printer or to another computer or for business users to a network of computers. The advantages of not having yet another cable to trip over doesn’t take much brain processing power to figure out. But it doesn’t always follow that wireless means painless…not in Maltese buildings, at any rate.

To get a WiFi connection working you will need a minimum of two components – a ‘WiFi Access Point’ commonly referred to as a ‘WiFi AP’, and any WiFi enabled device’ a catch-all phrase that can potentially represent your laptop, Smartphone, internet radio, gaming console or whatever else the industry throws WiFi at! washing machines included.

On a good day you can expect to plug in you newly procured WiFi AP and establish a connection between your devices within a couple of minutes – literally. But wander around the building with your live stream and you’ll soon realise that there’s a nasty side to WiFi – Coverage!

The Walls between you and your WiFi
Walk away from your WiFi AP in an open field and you’ll still be connected to it a whole 95 metres away! That’s nearly goalpost to goalpost! Pretty good stuff you may say. But take it indoors and for the first measly 9 inch thick concrete brick wall the signal has to pass through, you sacrifice 35 metres in equivalent ‘open-air’ distance. The second wall, an additional 45 metress due to the now weakened signal and the third wall totally obliterates the last remaining waves altogether leaving you with a ‘wave-free’ side of the wall. A good thing, but only if you’re into EMF free environments.

Try tackling the ‘more established’ buildings of our country and the waves simply don’t stand a chance. Once they hit the first limestone wall standing at a full 24 inches thick its total absorption on a mammoth scale. There is one good feature with these buildings however, and that’s the ceilings. Since most are based on slabs across beams (xorokk) they do allow a signal to go through one level quite comfortably. Modern ceilings based on in-situ concrete with iron mesh act as a barrier to the waves and don’t, allow much signal thru. The more steel mesh there is the worse it gets. In techie terms it’s a bit of a Faraday Cage.

It’s all in the planning
Strategically locating the WiFi AP is key to getting maximum coverage. Don’t get into the thinking that the only place to locate the AP is in close proximity to the internet modem simply because it needs to be connected to it. You’ll have to see the big picture if you want any descent coverage.

Begin by defining which areas need coverage in all directions, vertically and horizontally, and then try to establish a point most central to this coverage.

Fire-up your AP at this location and take a walk round the intended coverage area. Internet connectivity isn’t required yet because all you’re doing is testing for AP coverage. In each area you require coverage, attempt to disconnect and reconnect to the AP since this is the process which fails if the signal isn’t strong enough. Compromises will inevitably have to be made but once you’ve found the best spot for you AP your next challenge will be to connect it to your internet modem. Traditionally we do this by means of a cable running between these two devices however since we gave totally disregard to the internet modem location in relation to the AP, I’ve got a wee trick in store for you.

Power sockets: the answer to wall problems
It’s a relatively newer technology to the AP called PowerLine. In a nutshell it allows you to pass network signals through the standard power lines. These devices come in pairs. Plug one of the devices in the wall socket closest to your internet modem and connect a network cable from your internet modem into this first power line device.

All of a sudden, all the power sockets around the building have become potential network points! So all you need do now is plug the second of the PowerLine devices wherever your AP is and hitch up a network cable between this device and your AP.

Now your AP is connected to the internet.

Getting past those walls isn’t such a problem anymore, now that we’re passing network signals through the power lines. Simply add another PowerLine device and another AP wherever required. Have a good shop around and you will find a combined PowerLine with AP device saving you unsightly wiring.

If the budgets are tight take the combined PowerLine & AP device and plug it in whenever and wherever you require coverage!

Happy WiFi-ing!

This post was sponsored by:

Your iTdept 53 Norfolk Street Sliema SLM 2014 Web: www.youritdept.biz Email: info@youritdept.biz Tel: +356 2133 0879 Mob: +356 7932 4522 Skype: youritdept LinkedIn: Your iTdept Facebook: Stephen Hall Twitter: twitter.com/liveITsupport

Photo: Palagret

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Old view, new horizons: what will the new year bring?

As a child, I thought Boxing Day was about a noble and violent sport. It was with considerable disappointment that I gradually realised that the day had less to do with fisticuffs on a black and white TV than boxing up presents for the ‘less wealthy’ and ’social inferiors.’ My British in-laws do actually refer to the yearly thank-you tip they give the milkman as a ‘Christmas box’, so the term is still used, just, in some parts of Britain.

Nothing much remains in Malta of this very Anglo-Saxon tradition, despite years of colonisation. The day after Christmas is now about unwrapped presents, headache management and gentle anti-climax. While yesterday I was woken up by a child squealing at a bulging sock on his bed, this morning was met with black coffee and a quiet shower. It would all have been pretty stereotypical were it not for the fact that my wife had work to do.

As freelancers, we are the exception to the rule that dictates that most of Malta is on holiday till January 4th. So by 9.15, my son and I were blinking at a watery sun over the runway at the Old Luqa airport and my wife was starting her copy writing assignment for a flying school. We watched her climb into the Diamond DA40 behind the pilot, and waved, feeling like bit parts in a play.

It was then I realised that about forty years ago, I had spent an entire afternoon in the same location waiting with my father for a plane that never arrived. He had arranged for me to be taken up in a Vulcan, by an English pilot friend of his. And the day had ended in terrible disappointment, because the pilot forgot to show up and I spent my afternoon waiting outside the the Air Traffic Control building in Luqa, watching the planes take off instead. And my father kept biting his lip and looking at his watch. I was nine; more or less my son’s age now.

The memory now stirred was the cue for my own impromptu flight, fuelled by mental snapshots of RAF bombers and silver Camberras, when my father wore a uniform that gently smelt of engine oil and tobacco. I only stopped gabbling when I sensed my child fidget to hide his boredom.

So we went back to watching the clouds from our perch outside the old barracks. Until the little plane dropped out of the sky and the propeller stopped as suddenly as it had sprung into life.

“We should get up there more often,” said my wife as she climbed out over the wing. “You can see the pockets of green and space in Malta that are so difficult to find when you’re down here. Every contour, wied (valley) and inlet. Let’s go for a walk somewhere new tomorrow; not the seafronts.”

Boxing Day is a waiting room for the new year; a penny for your thoughts. And for floating above the clouds to find your personal space outside the box of this island.

Photo: Andrew Galea Debono

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A well-preserved vintage model on Malta's roads. It can take years to pass the driving test too!

Even though the minimum age for driving in Malta is 18, there is a considerable number of luckless and frustrated twenty-somethings who still do not possess a driver’s licence – and not for lack of trying. While there are some for whom not driving is a personal lifestyle choice, the vast majority of Maltese youngsters can’t wait to obtain that much-sought-after and almost mythical legal document signifying a blessed release from the horrors of public transport.

Malta’s Car Culture

The Maltese have embraced a private car culture –  there is at least one car in circulation for every two people – and this places high social pressure on young people to obtain their license as quickly as possible. Owning and driving a car signifies increased independence and grants freedom of movement: you’re suddenly free to completely avoid Paceville on a weekend outing and look for an alternative instead. Yet the system in place often seems to deliberately obstruct such a goal. Statistics show that almost 60% of people fail their driving test first time.

Getting that licence…

With such odds, it is important to know exactly what to do and what to avoid if you want to get behind the wheel in a time- and cost-effective way. Getting a driving license can quickly become a massive financial burden if you’re not careful. While reform of the system is on the horizon for 2010, the costs involved can still quickly shoot up into the hundreds of euros. Most of the problems encountered can be effectively eliminated by being prepared to not let them arise in the first place. This means preparation has to start from before you take your first lesson.

Tips to take to heart

I speak from experience: at the time of writing I have been taking regular driving lessons for almost two years and have been failed three times on my test. Nevertheless, in retrospect, the torturous experience allows me to understand what I did wrong and to see what I would have done differently. Take these tips to heart:

• Set your agenda by answering these questions: why do you want to learn to drive? Are you sufficiently motivated? For how long are you willing to pay for regular driving lessons? Be methodical when choosing your motoring school: do not rush ahead and simply sign up with the first familiar sounding service. You would regret doing this later. Even if a particular school has been recommended by a trusty friend, look that service up.  The internet is your best friend: search for reviews and clients’ reactions.
• Obtain a pass in the theory test which is held at the Test Centre in G’Mangia, easily found by taking the first left to the side of St Luke’s Hospital. The test is multiple choice and can be taken either in English or Maltese. You do not need to wait for your instructor to give you the go-ahead. To prepare yourself, you can obtain a copy of the question bank in CD format from the Floriana Driver Licensing Unit against a fee of €6.9. You can also peruse The Highway Code on which most of the questions are based.
• Make a list of 7 or 8 schools to contact by visiting the website of the Transport Authority. Try and include some small or lesser known names as these tend to have a smaller number of clients, which in turn may result in a shorter waiting list when the time comes for you to apply for the test.

Choosing the right driving school

Know what you need to ask each school before you enlist. Do not allow yourself to be sidetracked. Take notes as to the answers given so you can make an informed decision later. Questions you should definitely ask include:

• The duration of lessons: some schools only offer 45 minute lessons while others range between one hour up to 90 minutes. Decide according to which duration is in line with your goals and which you would feel most comfortable with.
• The fee for each lesson: this may range between 12 euros up to 22 euros and is frequently linked to the duration of the session. Make sure you know clearly what the fees are beforehand and also that your school won’t up the fee without your knowing.
• The frequency of the sessions: establish a routine beforehand and stick to it. You might prefer two shorter lessons each week or one longer one every fortnight. Whatever your choice, keeping a rhythm to your lessons will help you develop a learning pattern.
• Any extra charges: some schools ask for a fee which acts as insurance against any potential accident or damages to its cars. Also, most schools require you to pay a service fee when applying for the test on your behalf: while the ADT fee is € 23.95 some motoring schools may ask for a fee of up to € 80 when applying on your behalf.

And finally…

• Don’t believe rumours: Check things out – make sure to check with the relevant authorities about anything you might hear before assuming it is true. For example, it is a common myth that in order to switch motoring schools once lessons have started, one has to pay a high fee. In truth, If your motoring school does not nominate you for the test within 12 months, one simply has to file a fresh application form.
• Establish a conversation with your instructor: Ask for help in identifying weak spots at the end of each lesson and request feedback the next time round. Do not be afraid to complain if you feel time is being wasted from your lessons. Ask questions and do not allow yourself to be guided along as this will simply increase the number of unnecessary lessons you have to take.
• Keep to time frames: Be aware that if your motoring school does not nominate you for the test within a year of starting lessons, you must inform the ADT in writing that you are still interested in obtaining the license. Failing to do so will cause your application to expire.

Above all…Aim to learn to drive rather than learning simply to get your license. Try and enjoy the experience and do not think of it as a chore.

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Flying in for Christmas? A Neopolitan crib, just one of the delights to discover here.

Before moving to live in Malta, I used to holiday here regularly over Christmas. I wasn’t really involved in family festive meals, so I was left pretty much to my own devices; somewhat an outsider to the local Xmas holidays.

That does have its pros of course – firstly, the seafronts are almost deserted during the peak lunchtime hours on Christmas day. So you can enjoy a walk with great views and dollops of sea air while others feast. Your health will be all the better for it, having broken the rule of gluttony on the 25th.

But you may ask:”Isn’t Christmas day in Malta just a bit miserable when the islanders are all inside feasting with friends?” Here’s some reassurance that there is life still for people here as tourists on Christmas holiday.

Are things closed?
Christmas Day, 25th, is the only official public holiday day, along with New Year’s Day. The 26th, called Boxing Day in the UK, is not a public holiday in Malta.

A lot of cafes in major towns, resorts and the cities – Sliema, St Julian’s, Valletta, Mdina, Bugibba, Qawra and Gozo resorts – Marsalforn, Xlendi and so on – will be open. Of course, you’d need to book ahead at restaurants, many of which will be open, if you were intending to eat out on Christmas day. But you won’t be far from a light snack, hot chocolate (it can be cold on those seafront walks) and cappuccino. Hotel cafes will be open should you not find a quainter, trendier or more traditional one open on the high streets or promenades.

Shops will be closed (apart from the enterprising traders who predict that someone will be missing a Christmas present). So some stationers may be open, but it’s the only day in the year newspapers don’t print. Cafes doubling as confectioners or bakeries will be busy as guests buy delicacies to take to their Christmas day hosts. International chains of fast food restaurants will also be open.

What’s the weather like at Christmas?
Obviously it’s a lot warmer than in Northern Europe. December daytime temperatures can be a pleasant 16-22 or more if you’re in a sheltered sunny spot. Nights are chill, and wind can swirl around. It can be damp as it’s a maritime climate, but the real cold starts in January-February. Come with layers, and be prepared for stormy periods. See our hints here.

What can I do?
If you’re wandering the streets, you can find plenty to amuse yourself looking at the various household Christmas decorations! From the traditional door wreaths to an entire plastic Santa village (as one house I saw last week near Gnejna Bay had on display!). The Christmas lights from dusk in Republic Street, Valletta, are magical. Crib viewing is a main Maltese occupation, so join the throngs. You’ll see cribs – Presepji – in all styles from the kitsch and mechnically-operated to the lovingly crafted and historic. Window shutters open to offer a peep of householders’ crib displays, while other residents turn their whole garage into a crib for public viewing. There are several major crib displays – Auberge d’Italie, Valletta; and a masterpiece of Neopolitan origin at the Carmelite Priory, Mdina; as well as an entire, life-size remake of Bethlehem at Ghajnsielem, Gozo. A word you’ll need to know is’ Pasturi’, which means ‘crib figurines’. There’s a real art and craft to making them (well) that’s carried on in Malta today.

What else is going on over the Christmas holiday period in Malta?
See our article listing events like circus, Christmas villages and pantomimes. Also see: carol concerts.

Christmas Shopping hours
Valletta has late-night shopping until 9.00pm on each Saturday in the run-up to Christmas. Sliema shops stay open late too. Bay Street complex in St Julian’s is open until 10pm. Expect to join thick crowds ambling down Valletta’s main drag, Republic Street. It’s a ritual – shopping, supping a coffee, munching a cake, and enjoying the lights. Linger when the shops close and have a relaxed supper at one of the city’s many restaurants in historic piazzas and buildings. Wine bars tempt too!

What’s Happy Christmas in Maltese?
‘Merry Christmas’ in Maltese is ‘Il-Milied it-Tajjeb!’

Christmas Eve & Christmas Day masses
The cathedrals, as well as all parish churches, have their midnight mass on Christmas Eve. The usual parish midnight mass includes the tradition, dating back to 1883, of an altar boy (or girl these days) preaching the sermon, in Maltese, which is on this occasion called ‘Il-Priedka Tat-Tifel’. It will take the child a good few weeks to learn it all by heart! Another traditional sight worth catching, again in many parishes on Christmas Day morning, is the Procession of Baby Jesus. Children from the locality dress up as biblical figures, accompanied by a band.

What is a Maltese Christmas Day lunch?
Today, the same as the traditional British one – turkey with trimmings, Christmas pudding, mince pies or some Sicilian-style desserts from a fine confectioner. The Maltese love the Italian Christmas cake, Panettone, which is dry sponge with either a little candied peel and dried fruit, or chocolate filled. Hotels will offer the traditional lunch, usually as a buffet.

Does public transport run over Christmas?
Buses run every day as usual in the Christmas period. There will be a reduced – or Sunday – service on most routes, and there won’t be many buses over the peak lunchtime hours on the 25th, as drivers need their lunch! Gozo Channel Ferry operates on Christmas Day, with a slightly reduced service.

Are museums open?
Yes, with business as usual apart from on Christmas Day itself. For state museum and sites’ opening hours, see Heritage Malta.

Photo: Peter Grima

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