Operation Excalibur

[susan]

Morning Bridget  yes you can walk round it in no time at all then what do you do sit and get attacked by flies.  No thank you

[Jane]

Hi april  I found Malta barron and dried out with no greener whatsoever nothing but flies and the heat was intense but it was August when I stayed there the leather shoes were good I bought many pairs and when I got home realised they were not practical so they never got worn

Susan, hi. We only ever went there in February and October and the weather was always glorious. It was unbelievably green in February, but by October it was as you describe it.
The shoes are to die for but quite impractical and being Italian, much too narrow for me. I did a pretty fair impression of Cinderella on a couple of occasions!!! I couldn't get over how much the English are loved by the Maltese.

[susan]

Hi april  I must say the people made us feel very welcome and I suppose by August the hot sun had scorched all the greenery.  The Italian shoes were beautiful but not very practical for rugged Yorkshire wellies or boots are the thing for the area where I live.

[Bridget]

Morning Bridget  yes you can walk round it in no time at all then what do you do sit and get attacked by flies.  No thank you

One thing I found very offputting was their trapping and shooting of songbirds. It's been 10 years or more since I went there so I don't know if they still do it, but it was happening all over the island at the time.

[susan]

Hi Bridget  I did not know about the trapping of songbirds it is about 20 years ago since I was there but what a horrible thing to do

[Bridget]

Hi Bridget  I did not know about the trapping of songbirds it is about 20 years ago since I was there but what a horrible thing to do

Yes. And as I recall they were fiercely defensive over it. We hired a small 4x4 so that we could go off the beaten track and that was how we came across it. The field boundaries there are, as you probably remember, made from stones cleared from the fields. The first thing I noticed was that perched on these walls were numerous tiny wooden cages with small birds inside. Somewhere in each of these fields would be a stone built 'hide'. They were using the birds in cages to lure other songbirds in, and they would sit in the hides shooting them. They got really stroppy when we got in the way. This was happening literally all over the island, but never where the tourists would normally see it.

[susan]

Hi Bridget  I wonder why they would want to do this awful thing that kind of behaviour would not encourage tourists was it being done illegally or were the Authorities in the know barbaric lot

[Bridget]

Hi Bridget  I wonder why they would want to do this awful thing that kind of behaviour would not encourage tourists was it being done illegally or were the Authorities in the know barbaric lot

It was apparently a national tradition, and legal. I think there were restrictions on the trapping and shooting of certain types of bird, but it all looked pretty indiscriminate to me.

[susan]

Hi Bridget  sound like a bunch of barbarians to me glad I don,t visit anymore I would probably end up in Jail if it was still going on as I would release all the birds in the cages.  april1 do you no if this cruelty is still going on in Malta.

[Jane]

Hi Bridget  I wonder why they would want to do this awful thing that kind of behaviour would not encourage tourists was it being done illegally or were the Authorities in the know barbaric lot

I seem to recall that ortalon were a delicacy. We had nothing like that, infact generally the food served in the hotels was dire. We found places frequented by locals, asked for whatever they were having and were frequently rewarded with a bottle of wine on the house!!! Rabbit was a favourite local dish. I had a problem with eating bunny which was quickly overcome by the delicious aroma and succulant flavour!!

[Bridget]

Hi Bridget  sound like a bunch of barbarians to me glad I don,t visit anymore I would probably end up in Jail if it was still going on as I would release all the birds in the cages.  april1 do you no if this cruelty is still going on in Malta.

Yes it is, although it appears to be much more restricted by law, which many of them ignore. This is an article from a Maltese online paper from last month:

http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=144751

[maggie]

Hi Bridget  sound like a bunch of barbarians to me glad I don,t visit anymore I would probably end up in Jail if it was still going on as I would release all the birds in the cages.  april1 do you no if this cruelty is still going on in Malta.

They used to trap songbirds all over southern europe, they used to put up nets to trap them. They are regarded as a delicacy. Its illegal now but no doubt it still goes on.

[susan]

april1/maggie  it is dreadful to kill these lovely birds and april1 how could you eat bunnies I get upset at the cats eating them.  One thing I could not get in Malta was a decent cuppa we stayed at the Hilton so the food was delicious I came home about a stone heavier  always got good tea there but I would never go back they are too barbaric for me

[lookout]

Or how about throwing another kangaroo steak on the barbie.? Oh yes,,along with emu steaks,,they are sold in butchers shops in Australia.
Little song birds are a delicacy in the Far East.
I hasten to add that I wouldn't eat any of them.

[susan]

Hi lookout you are a woman after my own heart