A poets’ corner for Malta

Commemorating the nation’s greatest heroes and benefactors is not only a right but also a duty that we should never fail to perform.

The English could not have had a nobler thought when they decided to dedicate a corner for the great and the good in Westminster Abbey, the nation’s most famous place of worship.

Is it not high time for us Maltese to dedicate a corner or a chapel in St John’s Co-Cathedral for the great and the good of our nation?

People such as Sir Temi Zammit, Dun Karm Psaila, Francis Ebejer, Oreste Chircop, Charles Camilleri and, now, Oliver Friggieri, whose contribution to their native country helped to strengthen the national identity, promote the local values and consolidate the name of our island-nation among its European counterparts, should have their resting place in our ‘national’ church in Valletta.

Poets’ corner would be an umbrella term embracing various personalities, similar to the one in Westminster Abbey. Such a move would also avoid the forking out of thousands of euros spent in monuments risking damage or vandalism caused by bandits, graffiti-markers and the weather.

Fr Geoffrey Attard – Victoria

Sign of respect lacking

Prince Philip and Princess Elizabeth in Malta. Photo: Times of Malta

I went to Valletta a day after the death of Prince Philip. En route, I noticed that the union flag was flying at half mast on the British High Commission building but nowhere was any flag lowered to half mast in Valletta.

Have I missed something? If not, what is the reason for this omission?

As a long-time resident of Malta, British-born but of Canadian nationality, I am very disappointed that there was no apparent acknowledgement of the connection between this wonderful man and this island, of which he and the queen have been so especially fond.

Prince Philip, while serving in the British Navy in WWII, fought with distinction as a young officer in the Mediterranean, supporting the war effort in which Malta was involved. As consort to Elizabeth, queen of England, he, together with his wife, the queen, enjoyed a couple of years based here in Malta, for which island they had great affection, and, in recent years, supported the queen when she hosted the Commonwealth representatives, of which Malta is a member, both in London, elsewhere and in Malta itself.

Australia, Canada and most of the other Commonwealth countries have marked the sad occasion.

The duke also held close family ties to three other European countries ‒ Greece, Germany and Denmark, all members of the EU. He also set up the Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards, which many generations of Maltese must have worked towards over many decades, as well as being a pioneer in devoting time and energy to support wildlife, the environment and other issues before they became high-profile issues that interest us today.

I hope that the reason for Malta’s omission is not to do with a resentment of the colonial connection, which is long in the past, or the more recent rupture over Britain’s withdrawal from the EU, or any other anti-British sentiment. Is it perhaps mere oversight or owing to the important people having ‘clocked off’ for the weekend?

Perhaps I have missed something but, if not, I am sure the British and Commonwealth community living here in Malta, together with many Maltesenationals, would appreciate some sign of the mourning for the loss of this wonderful man.

But, most importantly, I would hope that the Maltese people would wish to express through an appropriate gesture, such as the lowering of flags to half mast, their deep condolences and sympathy to the queen and also to her family.

Kathryn Rance – St Julian’s

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