74: Echoes by Lou Drofenik

As we approach the new year and we all promise ourselves fresh starts and the courage to chase our dreams, Esther Lafferty reviews the latest book by award-winning Maltese novelist Lou Drofenik, Echoes: distant voices; distant lives in which characters...

73. Away in a Manger

Taking the ferry to Gozo from the modern metropolis of Malta is like stepping back in time. Instead of tall tower blocks and bustle, the buildings nestle close to the land, an unassuming stripe along the skyline where traces of...

72. Red is the Colour – Christopher Saliba

Red is the Colour is a new exhibition running at the Ta’ Mena Experience in Xewkija, Gozo until 31st December. Art writer Esther Lafferty talks to artist Christopher Saliba, about the works hanging in this intimate space and discovers that...

71. Esprit Barthet: a colourful life

Next weekend, on 16 and 17th November, an exhibition at the Cavalieri Art Hotel in St Julian’s, Esprit Barthet, 1919-1999, A Critical Appraisal, marks the centenary of the artist’s birth and offers visitors a rare opportunity to see a large...

70. A feast of femininity

This month, the contemporary Victoria gallery Arthall Gozo presents Sophistikós, a vibrant and thought-provoking exhibition of colourful women underpinned with wit, wisdom and wow-factor. The exhibition includes the work of three artists, Fox Daniels, SJ Fuerst, and Tomas Hed, who...

69. A Halloween recipe

It’s Halloween and, on Gozo, it’s no surprise that Nadur, famed for its February carnival madness, takes the lead with costumes and crazy behaviour. As ever on this island, however, family is foremost and so the party kicks off with...

68. The Last Blacksmith

Tucked away on the western edge of the archipelago, the Ta Dbiegi craft village is a honey-pot for visitors to the island. For an insight into the island’s artisan heritage in situ, however, walk three hundred metres further west along...

67. The weather paints a rainbow

Gozo is a tiny place, and the uninitiated might be surprised by the vast and vigorous weather that wraps this mere drop of rock: dwarved by a giant sky, this Mediterranean island is buffeted by weather systems that sweep over...

66. Prickly pears and pomegranates en route to The Redeemer

On a cloudy day the other week, The Significant Other and I climbed Tal Marzuq Hill on the top of which stands a giant statue of Tas Salvatur (Christ the Redeemer; as replicated by The Significant Other in the picture...