From the sublime….

to the ridiculous…as the saying goes. There’s no more fitting phrase that sums up the last week for me. I don’t talk much on here about what my husband, Allan, does for work because until now it hasn’t really been integral to our adventures. But this week has been a bit different…….

We live in Rome because he’s the UK Naval and Air Attaché to Italy and the Defence Adviser to Malta. So he spends some time on the little Mediterranean island each month. (If you’ve seen some of the Royal Family based British press you may see where this story is heading. Alternatively, if you even vaguely know my Mum, you’ve probably already heard all about it!)

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh have just spent four days on Malta to mark the 60th anniversary of the island’s independence and to celebrate its shared heritage with the UK…..as such, Allan has had quite a busy week.

I flew out to join him for a few days and it’s been a trip of two halves…..from one extreme to the other. Just as an example to illustrate the antithesis I’ve experienced this week, Monday night (whilst Allan was at a Commonwealth Reception) I hired a mountain bike, explored the island, enjoyed a couple of beers at a waterfront bar and devoured a Greek kebab from a food truck for dinner. In complete contrast, Tuesday night I accompanied Allan to a small dinner party at the Maltese Prime Minister’s residence, with the Duke and Duchess, where we all dined on a delicious four course dinner with wine pairing. Talk about pinch me moments!

I won’t bore you with every single detail of the trip but the days consisted of me alternating between being a horrendously sweaty mess in cycling gear and donning glad rags to attend a function or church service. The second day was the big one for Allan, he helped orchestrate a wreath laying ceremony on a small Maltese patrol vessel. Luckily they didn’t leave the main harbour of Valetta so his sea sickness didn’t kick in! They then docked at the Birgu waterfront next to a humongous super yacht where the Royal party disembarked and Allan escorted them along the quay to the Malta Maritime Museum. I, on the other hand, was risking life and limb in the madness of the Maltese traffic to get round to take some action shots. I locked up my bike, scrambled up a cliff path to take advantage of high ground to carry out my paparazzi role! Needless to say the photos were pretty terrible and the official ones were luckily much better. I also think I annoyed the personal protection officers as I got caught up in the following cavalcade of blacked out 4x4s crawling along the dock behind the visitors. A crazy woman on a mountain bike wasn’t the best look I suppose!

The rest of that day I spent exploring further south down the East side of the island. I found some deserted bays, great gravel tracks, some salt pans and long-abandoned fortified towers. Deciding to turn around and head back at Marsaskala I took a beautiful dip in the most pristine, clear water you’ve ever seen before facing the chaos of the city again. The island itself seems to be one of two extremes, it’s either hugely built up and chaotic or it’s deserted and quiet. The buildings are either luxurious complexes or tiny, run down shacks. It really is quite unlike anywhere else I’ve been. My favourite area was probably Vittoriosa (a spit of land the other side of the harbour to Valletta) which was a glorious rabbit warren of quiet, narrow streets and beautiful, colourful houses. Not easy to find one’s way out but it was so wonderful it didn’t seem to matter.

That evening was again a huge contrast to the day’s activities. I finally had the appropriate occasion for which I could wear my new dress; which my Mum bought me for a special occasion. So after getting ready we headed to the High Commissioner’s Residence where we met the Duke and the Duchess and joined the cavalcade which whisked us along with a blues and twos escort to Villa Francia where we were spending the evening with the Maltese Prime Minister, his family and a handful of select guests. The setting was the most beautiful palazzo you’ve ever seen. Adorned with immaculate formal gardens out the front, a red carpet led the way in to the 18th century building which was crammed with beautiful antiques and full of historical charm. We enjoyed a glass of champagne in a small reception room whilst being serenaded by a harpist before being led through to the dining room. This is where the evening took a slightly embarrassing turn for me; one of two awkward situations as it turned out! The seating plan for the oval table was outside the door, naturally the esteemed guests had gone ahead and were all stood behind their chairs waiting for everyone to be in place before being seated, there wasn’t a huge amount of room around the table so I excused myself as I shimmied past the Prime Minister’s wife and the Duke of Edinburgh to reach my chair at the far end of the table…..Only to get there and discover it wasn’t my chair at all and I had to shimmy all the way back towards the door where I started! I wanted the ground to open up!

I was seated next to the British Deputy High Commissioner on one side and the wife of the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff on the other. An absolutely delicious four course dinner ensued, with wine pairings and I felt very accomplished as the evening wore on and I hadn’t spilt anything, knocked a glass over or used the wrong cutlery. The dessert was a typical Maltese date filled pastry which when the Prime Minister’s wife asked if I liked, I of course said I did, perhaps a bit too emphatically. (I’m not exactly someone who doesn’t enjoy a dessert!) She then asked me if I’d like another one. I said no I couldn’t possibly as I was really rather full but thank you very much. Mortifyingly, the next thing I know there’s a lull in conversation around the table and a waiter brings me a second plate of dessert!! Everyone turns to look and Prince Edward raises his eyebrows! I could have died! Thankfully the rest of the evening was short lived and it was soon all over. Give me a beer and Greek kebab any day!

The rest of the week passed in a whirlwind of more of the same, a bit of cycling, attending a church service at St Paul’s Cathedral (of which the main talking point was the ring of candles going up in a mass ball of flames during the last hymn! In typical British stoicism not a beat was missed whilst the fire was extinguished) and attending the Kings Birthday Party on the last evening. The latter was held on the lawn of the High Commissioner’s Residence and was a very pleasant evening (mainly as the food was fish and chips and a cheese board!)

I’m pleased to report normal service has been resumed, I’m back in Rome in my leggings with Peggy and a full schedule of cycle tours ahead! I’m sure these will be the first of many such events over the next few years but don’t worry, there’s no chance of it changing me!