Crossfire

The Maltese flag has a representation of the St George Cross on it, depicting the award given to the whole nation in recognition of the appalling bombardment the island suffered in 1942 during WW2.

We've spent today in museums dealing with the terrible price paid by a people living on a very strategically placed island. They have been successively occupied by various external forces and the architecture of the two major cities reflect a defensive mindset: Mdina we saw yesterday and was built on a hill in the middle so the Maltese of mediaeval times could watch for corsairs; Valletta was built by the Knights of St John who were largely seafarers and were given Malta after they were driven out of Rhodes. They were responsible for the massive defences seen guarding the Grand Harbour in the collage above and existed to defend Christendom against the Infidel. A fort we visited today had a beautiful chapel to St Anne; the knights and men at arms in the fort sacrificed their lives to the Ottomans, the last dying in this little chapel, to buy time for their compatriots to defend themselves.

Like many institutions, the Order was riven by factional disputes and the Enlightenment across Europe undermined their raison d'etre. Their rule crumbled when Napoleon landed thousands of men and basically melted down the accumulated wealth of 250+ years in order to fund his campaign in Egypt ... and Malta now became French.

However, the Maltese were pretty unhappy with this and enlisted British help (enter Nelson, amongst others) and managed to oust the French in the early 1800s ... but now became part of the expanding British Empire. In fairness, I do think the British were seemingly the least despotic and Malta's key position guarding the route to the Suez Canal and trade with India certainly meant it was valued highly. However, shifting European power meant the island was still a key to wealth and it was enormously important during WWs 1 and 2, the latter particularly as a jumping off spot for air attacks on Italy and Africa.

Which brings me back to the terrible bombardment it suffered as a consequence in 1942. It was the most intensively bombed piece of Earth, ever.

I don't blame the Maltese one iota for petitioning for and gaining independence; and for becoming politically neutral. I absolutely understand where they are coming from.

From the Armoury in the Grand Master's (now the Presidential) Palace (the Grand Master headed up those Knights) to the guns lined up to salute every noon, to the Gloster aeroplane on display at Fort St Elmo, the overwhelming feeling I've had today is that power badly wielded and corrupted benefits no-one in the long term. And that although every dog has his day, eventually the underdog also has his moment.

And I should also say that there's a memorial in the main square in Valletta consisting of a photo of a local investigative journalist who was killed by a car bomb in Oct 2016. She was looking at corruption in the Maltese government. Her memorial was surrounded by freshly laid flowers.

On a lighter note, the wind was warmer; we sat out drinking a cold beer or two watching the world and his wife wander by; Poppydog was mentioned in worried dispatches from LD as she'd thrown up (all fine now); it feels like we've walked miles (maybe 2 if we're lucky); and we are now ready to go home.

Perfect timing :-)