Story of a business (not) foretold. A fashion & fabrics' retailer that documents Malta's commercial & social history

Take a walk through Valletta’s back streets, and you’ll come across old shop fronts with wonderful names, often faded or peeling with the patina of the years. Most are shuttered up relics of once busy shops. Some sport the names of the partners in the family firms while others prefix their wares or services with adjectives we’d rarely see in adverts today, such as ‘economical’ or ‘bespoke’. These shop fronts are the signs of Valletta of old, the ‘Vanishing Valletta’ documented by Maltese photographer David Pisani.

Not many of these old shops that were once the lifeblood of Valletta a century or more ago live on today. But one family of retailers can trace its history back that far; its story parallels that of Malta through World Wars, slumps and booms. It can document also consumers’ changing tastes in fashion and furnishings from Victoriana to 1930s’ modernism and 1950s’ post-war utility and beyond.

The firm, now run by the grandsons and great grandchildren of the founding brothers, is Camilleri Paris Mode, and it’s just turned 120. Once called ‘À La Ville de Lyon’, and located on the corner of Merchants Street and St John’s Square tucked next to the Co-Cathedral, it stocked general drapery and advertised that is was a “naval & military contractor”. According to an old newspaper cutting, its wares included “silks, woolen, cotton, linen goods, damask, tapestry, the latest novelties, and faldettas” (the traditional hooded cloak women wore in Malta and Gozo, known also as the għonnella).

The business witnessed its ups and downs and the story of the Camilleri family mirrors that of Malta. It grasped the market in the Fin de siècle era when it imported the lastest in Parisian fashion accessories to adorn Malta’s well-heeled society ladies, as well as ensuring wisely that it offered value and service to all strata of clientele; it saw a brother almost emigrate to Argentina; it saw the family business split and diverge; it had hard times following the First World War; and it saw its premises and the city around it all but destroyed by World War II.

As it celebrates 120 years in trade, Camilleri Paris Mode – its name still resonating with its history as a purveyor of Paris fashions – is no longer solely about fabrics. The firm’s now three shops, one still on Merchants’ Street, offer also wedding services (lists, gowns and accessories), design and manufacture of sofas, wines and delicacies, and lifestyle and living ranges suited to every interior from baroque palaces to marina penthouses.

Its nerve centre is thoroughly contemporary and housed in spanking new premises in Rabat. But appearances deceive. If there are two adjectives that describe CPM (as those in the know call it) today, just as 120 years ago, I’d say they are ‘bespoke’ and ‘fine’. Whether you’re calling in to get a single bottle of wine or talking about the interior of an entire flat, the family and its family of staff give you the kind of old-world service that you thought went out, well, a hundred years ago. It survived, when many shut up shop around it. There’s a lesson in that somewhere…

Photo: Rubelli Fabrics, courtesy of Camilleri Paris Mode.

Share this

Time for a quick glance around between numbers. Mellieha's bandsmen

Fancy a festa? If you do, then there are plenty to choose from, several each weekend across the Maltese Island throughout the summer from June – September. Some main ones are here below, but for the full diary, see, Malta & Gozo Parish Feasts 2010. Each festa has its own flavour, so ask around, for example, for the best for fireworks (perhaps Mqabba for sheer volume and Lija for aesthetics), or the most authentic, rowdy, village-like, religious and so on.

• Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Zejtun – Third Sunday of June
• Saint George, Qormi – Last Sunday of June
• Saint Peter and Saint Paul (Mnarja), Nadur, Gozo – 29th June
• Saint Joseph, Msida – Sunday following 16th July
• Saint Sebastian, Qormi – Third Sunday of July
• Saint Venera, Santa Venera – Last Sunday of July
• Saint Gaetan, Hamrun – Sunday following 7th August

I write this to the constant boom of fireworks both from my village and from a neighbouring one. Malta & Gozo’s summer festa season has begun big time. And there’s no getting away from festas, love them or hate them. People I speak to tend to fall into one of three categories in their attitude to festas:

1. Love them - relish the noise, colour, fireworks, excuse to meet friends, the mêlée, the fast food, nougat, bands, heat, sweaty faces, and the religious regalia everywhere…

2. Just see them (tourists’ view) – a quaint, weird, fun, in-your-face, tradition of Malta with amazing fireworks, so ‘must-see’ at least one good one while on holiday here.

3. Hate them – and all that goes with them such as traffic and parking chaos, roads blocked, noise (above the senseless noise of petards), and the fact that in some parishes, the religious origins are superseded by excess and rowdiness.

Island visitors seem the most middle ground in their views. Well, they aren’t subjected to non-stop festas for three or more months. Locals don’t tend to be middle ground about festas – it’s an all or nothing affair with us mostly.

What are Festas or Parish Feasts anyway?
They celebrate the day of the parish patron saint. But tend to last around a week to 10-days and involve weeks of build up and work. For a flavour of what festa is, see our article Saints and Street Parties.

Verdict: They are colourful – fireworks and the characters you see milling around at them. So for that alone, find a festa this summer, at least one, and enjoy it for what it is. A good time had by all in the community, with a statue of a saint involved somewhere!

Photo: Leslie Vella

Share this

The Swedes are in Malta, even if Ikea isn't.

A few years ago, the nearest most Maltese would come to the Swedish culture in Malta was a) overhearing some language students on the beach in summer months; or b) vaguely having heard of a certain Captain Olof Gollcher, OBE (1889-1962), the son of a wealthy shipping merchant of Swedish descent whose former home in Mdina, Palazzo Falson, is today an eclectic museum of his art and artefacts. The Gollcher name also lives on in Malta’s shipping and tourism sector.

Now though, Swedish is fast becoming the next language on Malta’s streets alongside Maltese and English. The number of Swedish expats living here has mushroomed. Originally, there were perhaps just the retiree generations who moved to seek Malta’s southern warmth, or a smattering of Swedes who married Maltese. Their numbers have swelled dramatically in the past five years with Swedes moving to Malta to work (thanks to Malta’s EU membership) and often to take up jobs in the online gaming industry.

The Swedish community is active and close. Almost all the ‘new’ Swedes I bump into seem to know other Swedes I’ve known here for years. Swedish expats soon get to know their compatriots in Malta.

A warm Swedish welcome. In Malta? (Photo: Anne Muscat Scerri)

The Swedish Club was set up in 2009 to promote the cultural ties between Swedes living in Malta and the Maltese society. The club also wants to keep Swedish traditions alive. If you’re a Swede in Malta, you might like to check out their activities here. You might also like to start a Swedish forum on maltainsideout.

Main Photo: Courtesy – Christopher Matson
Article contributions from: Anne Muscat Scerri

Share this

Tuning into hunting the real antique takes perseverance

Shabby chic, bric-a-brac, antique, vintage, period, retro, modernist or kitsch – however it’s described, you’ll find it at a Maltese auction or house clearance. Of course, one man’s rare find is another’s junk. Auction aficionado Annabel Mallia gives us a flavour of what to expect under the hammer in Malta, and advises on how to watch, wait and then blink an eye, twitch a whisker and grab a bargain – or not.

Adrenalin rush
Some people may get their thrills jumping out of planes or scaling Everest but, I assure you, I experience this kind of adrenalin rush when bidding at an auction. The satisfaction of a successful bid on an item which you really covet is immense, plus you have the smug satisfaction of having outbid another bargain-hungry customer. But beware pitfalls.

Plan & Observe
Auctions are advertised weeks before the event and you should take the opportunity to go to one of the previews, purchase a catalogue in order to read the description of the item and examine the object carefully. The catalogue lists the items in the rooms in which they are seen at the preview, usually starting with the kitchen items and working through to the bedrooms. There may be 2,000 items sold during an auction will lasts 4 days or more; no two auctions are the same.

Buyer Beware
Most auctioneers are scrupulous and are not out to cheat you, but it is a case of caveat emptor (buyer beware); you have the opportunity to scrutinize the items, to ask questions of the auctioneer and to do some research. If you are buying a valuable painting, for example, it may come accompanied by documents which detail its provenance: who commissioned the work, who painted it, where it was intended for and so on. It makes the piece more valuable and more interesting.

If it is an antique you are after you should either have some knowledge of antiques or take someone with you who knows what to look for. For example, old drawers usually have dovetail joints at the rear (triangular interlocking frieze). If the pieces wood are placed one against the other and nailed, be suspicious. Likewise if the bottom of a drawer or some part of the item is made of plywood. Plywood was sometimes used in the last 60 years but it is usually close-grained birch ply.

Sale Day
At a house sale there are maybe 100 people present; maybe 50 of them will be bidders. However, each person will have different items in mind. One lady wants old kitchen items, a gentleman wants a Turkish carpet and a third person wants 10 books.

Many first-time bidders worry that a blink or twitch may be mistaken by the auctioneer for a bid, and that they will end up being obliged to buy something which they did not want. I have never known this to happen, in fact. At a house sale the people sit ranged on chairs or standing and the auctioneer sits on a raised platform (which may in some cases be a sturdy table which will be sold later on).

The auctioneer starts the bidding at a price below that which he hopes to sell for in order to judge the level of interest of the audience. If no one bids the price may be lowered or the item ‘bought in’ (kept by the auctioneer). There may be a minimum price required by the seller who has given the item to the auctioneer to sell (the reserve price); you can check this with the auctioneer before the sale starts.

If your bid is successful you will be asked to give your name which will be recorded along with the catalogue number of the item and the price. I like to note the starting and selling prices of items whether I’m bidding or not, just to get a feel for what sells and what doesn’t; what commands a high price and what is difficult to sell.

After Sale Considerations
One thing to bear in mind is that the auctioneer will add VAT to the amount you have bid, plus his fee. These facts should be written on the catalogue as should the dates and times when you must come to collect the item. If you are buying large items of furniture you will need to cost in the removal firm whom you will have to ask to bring them home for you.

A Final Word…
So, for a successful, pain-free auction…examine the items thoroughly beforehand, decide on an upper limit for your bid, calculate in the other costs which are detailed above, bid clearly and do not carried away. Impulse buys are to be avoided. As are battles with other bidders where you go past your limit or buy something just to spite the other person.

Heartfelt advice from one whose garage contains 25 pedal bins……don’t ask! They were a bargain, really!

But it’s worth noting as the adrenalin rushes that good deals can be had (bins aside); you can pick up large pieces of furniture very cheaply as people live in smaller lower-ceilinged houses and flats nowadays and these bulky items do not fit nor sell well.

Who buys what?
After many auctions, I’ve got to know what types go for what items and why. As a rule of thumb…

- Expats who are living on a pension usually go for practical stuff from a house sale such as blankets and duvets on the first day. They don’t have the money, nor the need, for the expensive stuff.

- Younger expats also may be tempted by homely items such as a set of Denby breakfast bowls.

- Some expats and Maltese who are lovers of kitsch and less bothered about ‘real’ antiques, are seen going for job lots of ‘decorative items’ containing kitsch figurines and painted key holder racks.

- Younger, wealthier Maltese, often in business or the professions, tend to go for the more expensive items, even if not usually things younger couples would really need. They are making an investment and perhaps echoing their parents’ taste.

- Antique dealers though are the real big spenders.

Photo: courtesy of Emma Maria

Share this

It would probably have a Wi-Fi zone today if still in use as a forum.

A quick note about a feature we promised earlier this spring. We’ve now added a FORUM (see top navigation).

We get a lot of questions at Malta Inside Out, many of which don’t sit neatly as comments on our posts. So the forum is the place to ask away, access the collective thinking and get some answers or, more energetically, enter an ongoing debate.

HOW IT WORKS
You need to spend half a minute registering with us if you’d like to do more than just read forum posts. This is what you need to know to get going…

1. We started off by creating some top-level GROUPS – on subjects like Driving, Expats, Eating Out, Schools and even the hot topic of Censorship.

2. Then, within the groups, you’ll find FORUMS which are a kind of sub-themes. For example, Schools has ‘Kindergartens & Nurseries’ as a mini-Forum.

3. From here, it’s over to you with TOPICS within the forums. Post a new thread or contribute to one already going. The usual Forum netiquette applies of course.

SUGGEST A GROUP
If you can’t find a group or forum that you need, just contact us and we’ll start the new forum for your new subject. Then you can get going. In fact, let us know in the comments below what areas you’d like covered in the forum – diving, night life, festas or whatever…

BECOME A MODERATOR
If you have a niche area of expertise or simply some time to spare to keep track of a group here and there, let us know. We’re looking for people who have a natural ease in communication and know how to monitor group topic threads fairly yet in a friendly tone. Again, contact us if you can help…

A huge thanks to our now near 1,400 fans who make Malta Inside Out the living animal it is. More changes soon – an enewsletter to subscribe to with special info, deals and more..

Stay in touch!

Photo: courtesy:R.M Lowe

Share this

Sun power: It's only just dawning on Malta

This has to be one of our most info-rich articles here at Malta Inside Out, thanks to Charles Yousif of the Institute of Sustainable Energies at the University of Malta who is also Secretary General of the Malta Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energies Association. Charles’s clear information should help answer many householders questions on the whys and wherefores of installing a solar water heater, and more. There’s a lot of options on the market, and a lot of word-of-mouth advice around. Here are some facts.

The good old geezer

Q. How much energy does an electric boiler consume?
A: It depends on the use, the temperature and the number of people in the household. In general, 4 people consume between 3 or 4 kWh every day, at least for 9 months i.e. a total of between 800 and 1,000 kWh/year, assuming no losses. So, a geezer could account for around 20% of your electricity bill.

Q. What do you mean “assuming no losses”?
A: If you leave the geezer on all the time and the only control is its thermostat, then you will have heat losses from the hot boiler to the air surrounding it. These could account for an added 20-30% extra power.

Q. Geezers are normally insulated, so how come there are losses?
A: The insulation is generally very thin and inadequate. In addition, there are areas at the bottom where the electric element is connected which are not insulated and they are a source of heat loss too.

Q. Do you mean that one would save if the geezer is switched on only when needed?
A: Definitely. Using a timer could also help to reduce the hassle of switching it on and off.

Now to Solar Water Heaters

Q. If I install a solar heater, would it save on my energy bill?
A: Yes, provided that it is installed properly and sized properly.

Q. What are the important points about installing a solar heater properly?
A: There are 4 important aspects:
1) For domestic use, when the home owner will use hot water between September and May, the ideal inclination angle of the panel should be between 45 and 55 degrees to the horizontal.
2) The panel should be facing south.
3) The hot water delivery pipes should be well insulated and the insulation well protected from UV radiation and sealed at the edges to stop rain water from seeping in.
4) Last but not least, the amount of water in the hot water storage tank should be proportionate to the area of the solar panel. For a flat-plate collector, the ratio should be 50-60 litres per square metre of collector. For an evacuated-tube system, the ratio should be 80-90 litres per square-metre of cross-sectional area of the vacuum tubes.

Q. This is complicated: Can you give an example?
A: A typical 200 litre hot water system should have 4 square metres of solar flat-plate panels or 2.5 sqaure metres of cross-sectional area of vacuum tubes

Q. So does this mean that a vacuum tube collector is better than a flat-plate collector?
As long as you keep to the above 4 rules, both systems should give you more or less the same output.

Q. But people say that vacuum tubes work better in winter because they absorb the UV radiation.
A:The UV radiation is available on sunny days be it in winter or in summer. On cloudy days, the UV radiation is very low. Therefore, this statement is untrue.

Q. But experience shows that people who have evacuated tubes fair better in winter.
A: This may be true because normally flat-plate systems are under-sized for the needs of the family and tend to suffer in winter. On the other hand, evacuated tube system could dangerously over-heat in summer. The conclusion is that Malta has over 300 sunny days a year and both systems should work properly on most days. Sometimes, the problem would also come from the user because as time passes by they either start connecting the solar system to other parts of the house or the family increases in number and they don’t realise that they need more hot water, which the solar system cannot provide alone, having been designed originally for lower demand.

Q. What do you suggest for a normal houshold – a gas heater or a solar heater?
A: Gas is a fuel and pollutes the environment. It has to be bought and its price may change in the future. Solar heating uses free energy and provides a relaible and clean source of energy.

Heat Pump Water Heaters

Q. But some households have no roofs, so how can they install a solar heater?
A: That is a problem and MEPA, so far, does not allow installation of solar heaters on the facade. There are heat pump water heaters, which could save energy too. This is simply an air-conditioning unit that heats water instead of heating air. it saves around 60% of the electricity consumed by a geezer. This should be supported by Government because a heat pump has been accepted by the European Commission as an electric component that may contribute to renewable energy

Q. What do you mean? A heat pump needs electricity to operate the compressor, so how can it generate renewable energy?
The heat pump absorbs energy from the air which is renewable energy and passes it to the water to heat it up. If the energy absorbed in the water is more than the energy used by Enemalta to generate electricity to drive the heat pump compressor, then the difference between these two values is actually a contribution to renewable energy.

Q. Are these heat pumps available in the market?
Yes. One has to aim to buy a high efficiency heat pump with a COP of 3 or above. However, the prices are still relatively high due to the small market in Malta.

Further Information
The Institute for Sustainable Energies offers a technical inspection of installed, domestic, solar water heaters. For an appointment, call Eur. Ing. Charles Yousif on 2165 0675. See the Institute’s site for details too.

Malta Resources Authority (MRA) operates government’s support schemes including subsidies for first-time installation of domestic solar water heaters as well as schemes for photovoltaic panels.

Photo: Courtesy of Peter Grima, Know Malta

Share this

Perfect in its imperfection

Life’s too short to paint a louver.

I came to that conclusion last weekend. As I laboured over the louver shutter with sandpaper, my mind recalled the phrase, coined over 30 years ago by British writer Shirley Conran on publishing her book ‘Superwoman’, that ‘life’s too short to stuff a mushroom’.

I’d been attempting to scrape, undercoat and apply two coats of top-coat gloss to louvered doors leading out onto a balcony. I did them two years ago, but already their paint has flaked off from the constant blast of sun and rain they get in their elevated position. I can just about paint regular doors and frames (27 in all on my house’s exterior), but the one and only louver I possess is another matter.

Malta’s spring, all to brief, sees most householders, and cafe and kiosk owners too, in a mad race against time to do repairs before the heat dries paint on the brush in an instant. It’s tough finding enough time between winter’s last throes of dampness and summer’s searing heat to get these D.I.Y jobs done. Inevitably, spring comes and goes and I get perhaps one door painted. Meeting the louver biannually has made me pause for thought and reason out why I am happily giving up on painting this year…

Peeling, neglected paintwork in sun-bleached muted colours is an archetypal feature of the Mediterranean and no stranger to Malta. Visitors here fall into two camps when the see the poor paintwork: either they think it endearing, and worthy of picture postcard shots (Judging by our Flickr stream, faded doors and shutters are a popular photo subject); or they are astonished we don’t care for our houses more.

They are both right: I don’t care because it is darn hard work painting against the odds. Now, as a local, and no longer taking holiday snaps, I must remind myself how quaint the peeling veneer once seemed to me. It is the stuff of a thousand coffee table books on Mediterranean style, homes and life. But I am lucky enough now to live here and have the real thing to admire!

Photo: Courtesy of Gege Gatt

Share this

Tigne' Point, Sliema: The shape of all our housing to come. High rise and boxy.

Whenever I come back from the UK, the first thing that strikes me when I walk in my front door is how spacious my home seems to most I visit in my native country. Here, I find far higher ceilings and larger, open plan rooms. It’s something that’s struck me since I first visited Malta 20 years ago. How ironic that we love our space (inside) when we’ve so little open, communal space outside.

Farmhouses or older town house properties can have stratospheric ceiling heights. I estimate the height above me now, in my study, as close on 5.5 metres. My sister-in-law’s lounge ceiling is easily two or three metres higher and in a room of barn-like proportions. Of course, older properties may have those weeny rooms, where you bow your head, and all sorts of other oddities in layout. Palazzos and town houses generally have a full complement of airy rooms. Ceiling height is an important dimension here as it equates to cooler rooms; a must in our summer heat.

Times are achanging though, and new build properties can easily vary from very small, ‘can’t swing-a-cat-around’ proportioned flats and maisonettes to vast, deluxe penthouses or duplexes many recessed discreetly on apartment rooftops. One agent marketing Tigne’ said that the development is for people who don’t like flats. Apparently, the average apartment size is some 250m2 with some penthouses 650m2. While a lot of Tigne is billed at ’semi-detached’ – a new term for me in flats – it does look as if you can shake hands across those balconies, even if you’ve superior space inside.

Malta’s limited land mass and relentless building since the 1960s has seen the demise of space. You can still pay your money and get space as in those penthouses – but believe me, you pay for it. Malta is not a cheap housing option in comparison with what your cash can buy in even Provence and Tuscany these days.

For example: next door to me is a property on the market for Lm137,000 m (old Maltese currency) / Euro 319,000. It is a newly-renovated, end-of-alley, 3-bed house village house with small central courtyard (no garden, but church views from the roof terrace). A browse of a French estate agency website of similar places in Provence, showed I could get a 3-bed, old stone village house (near a premier village, that of writer Peter Mayle, ‘Year in Provence’ fame), with large central courtyard and garden with space for a pool, for Euro 50,000 less.

So why are we happy to pay a premium for living in Malta?
Malta has its pull and charm – we get around six people emailing us at Malta Inside Out each week saying they want to move to the Islands. Malta’s cache’ is that it’s English-speaking, has broadband, an airport within 20 mins for most of us, the sea nearby, and, for urbanites or those who like to have a lot of nightlife nearby, no property is ‘out in the sticks’. And we have all-year round mild temperatures (unlike N. Italy or Provence with their snow and Mistral winds). And, if you compare Malta as an urban area with major EU cities (we are an island-city after all), then Maltese property prices come in at good value – click here for comparison indices.

So, those who seek to live here, might not seek out a home with view in among the olives, as you can find in our Mediterranean neighbours. You are likely to come to Malta for social life more than anything. And that means it isn’t a particularly quiet retirement destination – more one for silver surfers and the active aged.

On the bright side, if you do buy here, Maltese property prices rarely, if ever, drop. The house for sale next door hasn’t dropped in price despite being on the market for near on two years now! The seller, who can afford to wait, knows that with each year passing, the space gets less and the price of a plot goes up. And, yes, it’s a house that still has those desirable ceiling heights in its favour. If it’s too small for some, there’s a country Palazzo going for Euro 8 million on the Islands!

Photo: courtesy of Pierre D. Zammit

Share this

Full of character, but still waiting to be understood.

If you’re thinking of renting a house in Malta, for a holiday or longer stay, you’ll come across the term ‘house of character’. My first reaction to this charming personification that crops up in holiday brochures and estate agents’ descriptions is ‘yes, they certainly are’! My second is ‘but whatever their faults, I love them!’ I’ve 12 years’ experience to fall back on, so I’ve got to know every quirk of my place.

But if you’re new to the concept, what is a ‘typical house of character’ in Malta and Gozo, and in what sense do they have character?

What they are
Well, the pictures you’ll see mostly show honey-coloured old stone houses perhaps with a shock of bright pink bougainvillea over the door or gracing the courtyard, but hopefully not near the pool as it drops brachts (the ‘flowers’) all the time! The limestone will be mellow and roughly hewn, not smoothed and bright white in the sun. You’ll see arches, wooden beams, spiral stairways (internal and outside), terraces, never a straight wall, pregnant (bowed, wrought iron-clad) windows and myriad niches, nooks and crannies. Charm indeed.

Where they are
Houses of character are mostly found in old village cores up the winding alleys. Even though terraced houses in theory, they are often called farmhouses because they feature large, arched rooms that were used as stables or as milling rooms. My neighbour must have one of the few mill rooms in a time warp, with the old mill stones still in place. Occasionally, you’ll find a house of character detached, out in the countryside; though the standalone ones are often partly or entirely newly built from old stone (a trend in Gozo where developers realised there weren’t enough of the right-sized holiday homes to meet demand). The term house of character is somewhat loose as it also covers older town houses with roofed balconies. I don’t tend to think of any 20th century town houses as being ‘of character’.

Living in them…
Their true character shines through when you live in them though. If you are passing through them on a week or two’s holiday, they will charm. But here, we relate the findings of some longer-term residents of character houses. Their experiences are useful to those thinking of moving to Malta and renting one.

Finding the house
Most properties (sale or rental) are listed with more than one real estate agent, so make sure you don’t see the same place twice. Be clear about what you’re looking for and if you are an expat, be prepared for some raised eyebrows. Quote: “Our agent was young Sliema (ie. town) lad and shocked we would consider a character house and the countryside! Most assume expats want to live in penthouse flats.”

Rates you can expect to pay
Rental rates vary widely, and it’s not always a case of you get what you pay for. Be prepared to negotiate on the rental. For a 3- to 4-bed place, with some guest space, outdoor BBQ area and pool/pool deck area, you can find properties ranging from €2,000/m – €6000 (and the upper rate one included a view of the old rubbish dump)! Houses of character can have weird bedroom layouts, with one room accessed only via another (so no landing or corridor). So the concept of ‘bedrooms’ to gauge size is vague. You have to go and see places to really know what’s what and whether they are worth the price.

What to look out for when viewing. Hidden extras to pay? Ease of getting maintenance done?
Some larger places do come with a handyman/caretaker,which is a boon to new arrivals in Malta. Electricity is expensive, so look for other ways of heating and cooking (and cooling in summer – ie. some people almost never use AC). There is a pool licence to pay which can mount up if your pool is large. Pools need maintainance (€40-150/month!), and in the summer if being used a lot, pump needs to run 12+hrs a day – which bumps electricity usage up. If you’ve children, be aware of pool safety. Many pools are in courtyards or open to deck areas.

Location: do check the vicinity
Beware noisy neighbours! Especially dogs on the roof. Constant barking can be mind-blowing. I’ve had a neighbour’s dog bark for 10 hours non-stop, literally. And think about parking in those alleys and village cores.

Costly houses don’t always buy you peace and comfort. The vast place for €6,000pm out in the countryside was swamped with flies (surrounded by stables), stank (because of rubbish dump), and was noisy (dogs and a generator next door), and when the wind blew (most days in Malta), it picked up dust and dumped in pool.

Hunters – I can hear their guns from a village core, so expect more noise at dawn in the bird hunting season if you live in the countryside.

Heat, damp, shade and light
Beware rising damp, or penetrating damp and humidity. It seeps in everywhere in most limestone houses, but can be difficult to contain in old ones with no damp proof course, and with wells in the house or courtyard. Damp is not good for asthmatics. See Heating a Maltese house. Air character houses as much as you can – open wide the windows (and let in dust of course) everyday, winter or summer. Some old houses have rooms with few apertures and little light. Do check some rooms have enough task lighting for comfortable reading.

Outdoor areas need shading in summer. Trees are better than relying solely on canvas. Quote: “If you have a shadeless courtyard pool, in peak daytime hours in July-August you won’t be able to use it!”

Trees also mean deep shade in winter, so any limestone paving outside will inevitably go emerald green and dangerously slippery during the winter rains.

Furnished or unfurnished?
Long-term expats usually move with furniture so just want the kitchen kitted out with oven, hob, dishwasher and perhaps washing machine. These do usually come standard in rental places. But be prepared to face the landlord’s mass of furniture, whether you want it or not. There is no storage facility in Malta (apart from the odd private (damp) garage, so landlords prefer to keep it in the house! Beware expensive breakable antiques and bad taste – sometimes the two go together. Again, negotiate to get it shifted somewhere if you want your own stuff in the house. If you need to store furniture, do be prepared to find it smelly and damp when you dig it out to use. Tip – air, air, air everything from wardrobes to kitchen cupboards, year round.

Travel & Transport from out of town places
Buses do go almost everywhere, eventually, even if on long, winding, rough routes. But expect to drive to get around easily unless you are central or in an urban area. One family moving from London had this to say about their location in the Maltese countryside: “We’ve got a cliff-top view, so it’s very quiet and beautiful, and feels very remote sometimes. Amazingly, the local shop delivers and the school bus comes here, but do check as one person we know in Bingemma said the school bus wouldn’t come her way. If you need them, check their routes before you rent.

Final word
Don’t let the list above dent your desire to live in a house of character. Just realise that they do have character, and so, like people, need getting to know and managing! And, they rarely loose their price, wherever they are located, should you love one so much you want to buy.

Photo: Gethin Thomas

Share this

Sending a message from the past: British postbox in Malta:

Earlier this year, an old RAF colleague of my father turned 80. To mark his birthday, he came to Malta on a trip down memory lane to visit places he’d not seen for well over 50 years. He was stationed here in the early 1950s for three years. He showed me some sepia photos of himself among colleagues – groups of tanned young men, diving off rocks, ladding around somewhere in Sliema, or was it near Delimara? John tried to recall the Malta he knew – with the contours so changed, it was hard to decipher where the photos were shot.

Quite a bit of British tourism to Malta is still fuelled by people keen to recall their past stationed here, from World War II onwards until the last naval bases closed and the British forces left in 1979. Many, like John, are increasingly frail, but want to get around to see as much as they can. To help them and anyone else interested in exploring Malta’s 160 years of British rule, we’ve listed the main places and museums that recall this past; as well as note the British-influence on current-day Maltese life, from language to driving on the left. For a potted history of Malta under British rule, click here.

Most places are accessible by public transport. Though, to find the exact piece of rocky beach where John swam, I had to chauffeur drive, slowly, and scour rock faces for etched names, eroded and lost to time. But we think we got the spot – by today’s Exiles beach club, Sliema!

British influence today
There’s a strong affinity between the Maltese and the British. It’s an easy place for Brits to visit, what with English a joint official language and widely spoken, driving on the left, cups of tea with lots of milk, and familiar names around – from shop fronts to street names. Battered old vehicles still on our roads, like Bedford vans, Ford Anglias and Triumphs, can take you back to ’50s – 70s Britain in a flash. Then there are red post boxes (good examples in Valletta and on the Sliema front) and red telephone boxes (again, in Valletta) which are often more common there than on British streets.

Museums with British or wartime exhibits
National War Museum, Fort St Elmo, Valletta: the place to start as it focuses on the two World Wars. Displays the George Cross awarded by King George VI to Malta for the islands’ bravery in WWII.
National Maritime Museum, Birgu Waterfront: This vast museum housed in the old British naval bakery traces Malta’s sea-faring history from Phoenician times to WWII and beyond. Mock-up of a naval waterfront bar, uniforms, navy photographs, letters and memoribilia galore.
Malta at War Museum, Birgu: this new museum, housed in 18th century barracks, tells of the daily hardship and suffering of the islanders during WWII.
Aviation Museum, Ta’ Qali: a veritable treasure trove of memoribilia of the R.A.F. in Malta, and Malta’s wartime air defence. Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire in aviation sheds. Great for kids too!
Lascaris War Rooms, Valletta: one of only four remaining WWII military operations rooms remaining (currently closed though).
Mgarr Second World War Shelter: Located under Il-Barri Restaurant, this is one of the largest underground shelters on the islands. Recently restored and open to visitors, it shows the hard life in the shelters for the local farming community. Open: Tue – Sat: 9.00am till 2.00pm; Sun: 9.00am till 11.00am

Forts, Barracks & Fortifications
Pill boxes & Gun Posts: these dot the skyline of Valletta’s perimeter. There’s a pill box now turned cafe-snack bar on the corner of Marasamxett and St Sebastian Streets just before the War Museum. If you do a harbour cruise or get under sail, you’ll see just how many concrete pill boxes there are still preserved around Valletta. For anti-aircraft gun posts, a good example is through the car park at the end of South Street, Valletta, overlooking Marsamxett Harbour.

Victoria Lines
This line of inland defence – built up with walls, forts and batteries – runs along a natural ‘great fault’ some 12km, in effect dividing southern and northern Malta. The fault has proved a natural defensive ridge since prehistoric times, but it was under British rule in the mid-1870s that it was fortified more extensively. Forts along its length include Fort Madliena, Fort Binġemma, and Fort Mosta – which is open to the public. Join one of three tours Mon-Fri; 09.30 – 12.30.

Pembroke
This area of Malta, just north of the Paceville/St George’s Bay area was the base of British military life in Malta, with its officers’ mess, barracks and married quarters. A drive around Pembroke gives you old, crumbling barracks, those put to new uses, as well as Australia Hall – still standing though somewhat derelict, but once an entertainment venue and cinema built in 1915 – and a host of wonderful street names like Alamein, Normandy and Anzio.

Auberge d’Angleterre, Birgu: first home of the English Knights of St John in Malta before the Order moved to Valletta. Today, it’s home to Birgu Libary. You can pop inside the courtyard and view, but it’s not an official tourist sight.

Outdoor Sights

Dockyards: all the Three Cities area is of interest as the heartland of Malta’s naval history and maritime trade. Good to view from across Grand Harbour, and Upper Barrakka Gardens.

Garden of Rest, Floriana or Msida Bastion Cemetery, or ‘the Protestant Cemetery’: wonderfully tranquil spot with great views of the inner reaches (Msida Creek) of Marsamxett Harbour. Well tended, open to the public. Read the gravestones. Even holds concerts!

Queen Victoria statue, Palace Square Valletta
Victoria Gate, Valletta

Old Saluting Battery: Sited below Upper Barrakka Gardens, Valletta, the battery not only has the Grand Harbour views, but also offers a chance to learn how cannons worked and were fired in days gone by. Two guided tours daily just before and after the firing of the noon-day gun at 11.15 and 12.15.

Sir Alexander Ball memorial, Lower Barrakka Gardens. Great views from these gardens out to sea and over the Fallen Soldier and Siege Bell memorials. Sir Alexander Ball was Malta’s last British Governor.

George Cross commemoration plaque on the Palace, Valletta. The Cross itself and King George VI’s message are on display in the War Museum (see above).

St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral, Valletta

Kenuna Tower, Nadur, Gozo: one of three semaphore towers built by the British in 1848 on the cliffs near Nadur.

Ta’ Qali & Hal-Far airfields: the Aviation Museum, Ta’ Qali, is the best source of information on airfield history.

Share this