If you have no plans for tonight, consider an alternative evening featuring 4 local bands. The headliners are For Strings Inn, who are quite well known on the island especially after their latest album last year.
Bands participating are:
Doors open at 20:30 and the entrance fee is 5 Euro.
Location: Razzett L-Ahmar (Triq id-Durumblat, Mosta/Attard)
I will go straight to the point; I have voted against sprint hunting for two reasons:
1. It’s the breeding season, it’s the worst time to hunt birds!
2. People never change
Looks like I was right on point 2. So, what happened on the second day of spring hunting?
(the spring hunting season in Malta opened yesterday)
The police are now in possession of an illegal Cuckoo bird which was killed today during hunting. The hunter himself was trying to hide the bird when the police came by but thanks to people close by who observed the incident, they managed to find it. All this has happened in the area of Manikata, close to Mellieha.
A few days ago, the Prime Minister of Malta – Joseph Muscat said that he will not tolerate anyone who does not follow the new hunting laws and he would close the hunting season as soon as someone disobeys.
I refer to:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150412/local/muscat-spring-hunting-season-to-open-on-tuesday-final-chance-for.563642
At this point, I hope that the hunter will be prosecuted as per new spring hunting laws:
And I also hope that this hunting season will be gone once and for all. Otherwise, I guess the mockery we have been getting from various countries in the EU, is very well deserved. Being democratic in this case was not a good solution.
P.S. Malta is the only country in the EU who allows recreational spring hunting (Source: BBC)
Attending a festival such as Rock the South, makes me realise how much talent there is in such a small island, and how unfortunate it is that most of these bands will not make it far because of lack of proper marketing and how difficult it is both money-wise as well as luck-wise to get recognised and heard by music labels; Let alone being chosen to tour within Europe and further away.
It’s very hard to chose and pick my favourite bands that participated within these 4 amazing days, but my favourite picks are:
1. For Strings Inn – My top favourites from the whole 45+ bands. I have followed these guys since 2009 or 2010 and they have come a long way. The vocals has improved so much and the music is not repetitive whatsoever. These guys rock my socks.
2. Massacre House Party – Loved their music videos but never seen them live until this festival. Must say they do not disappoint and sure know how to party and get the crowd going! Won’t be the last time seeing these guys.
3. Brodu – Seen them live twice in a month; varied music, sometimes serious, sometimes almost funny. What about the jokes? All the guys are hilarious, especially the drummer!
4. Cosmic Erotic – Mentioned them once, but will mention them again. Just amazing, with the right promotion this band could make it far.
5. Sempliciment tat-Triq – A pleasant surprise for someone like me who’s not a big fan of hiphop and rap. That French guy did certainly give them the edge!
Honourable mention goes to… The Silent Disco! I have never experienced this before in my life, and I most certainly wish that events like this will happen again, possibly with a bigger spectrum of music genres.
One of my huge disappointments during this festival, apart from the fact that it had to end sometime, is that Cable 35 cancelled their participation pretty much at the last minute (on the day) and left their fans baffled. No words can be said when I looked at people’s faces… I am not their biggest fan but I can say that it also killed some of my buzz that night.
One other mistake I made from my end is taking my camera without an SD Card. Yes, I was really pissed at myself, but these things happen I guess…
I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart the organisers of this festival as well as Zion for hosting it. I look forward for a bigger and better one next year! For now we can only dream and hope… But the count down has already begun!
At the Blue Stage:
At the Orange Stage:
Closing the Night: 11:20PM – Bass Culture
Bands start quite early which means that I had to unfortunately miss the first three bands, and this was not out of choice. For us people who work office hours, it is a bit tough to make it to the fest at 6:40PM. One has to go home, have a bath or quick shower, rest a bit from a busy working day and have some quick dinner. I had to add a 30mins drive to that, which make me arrive at St Thomas Bay at around 8:15PM.
This was my first time at this festival, and also the first time at St Thomas Bay and Zion itself. I expected the outside area to be bigger, and perhaps I can blame this on the map I found online. I thought that the distance between the two stages was more than you 20 seconds walk 😉 But I am not complaining! Especially considering that no bands were playing at the same time, so there was no sound interference, and one could watch all bands if they wanted to.
The only suggestion I would make at this point is about the 
wristbands. I have bought a 4 day ticket, and I have a green paper-made wrist band. I already know it will be a challenge for it to survive 4 days on my arm! I think that at least for those who are attending the 4 days, we should have been given a plastic/rubber wristband which is more durable and can be removed while we are at work, having a shower or doing chores.
With regards to the bands, I think all have been amazing in their own style, but I would like to give a special shout out to The Cosmic Erotic, which were the biggest surprise to me. I loved the music and all of the songs they performed. Yews was also awesome especially during her first part of her performance. Keep it up girl, and I hope to see you live again sometime soon. Violent Violets never disappoint with their metal guitar riffs.
Photos will be added during the weekend as I’d rather get ready for day 2 now 😉
Join me today to watch the bands below
At the Blue Stage:
At the Orange Stage:
Closing the Night: Geddumu
Finally, the day is upon us! Tomorrow is the first day of a four day festival which happens in the South of Malta. The location is Marsascala and this happens in the limits of Zion, right opposite Thomas Bay.
Although this will be the first time I will be attending, I have heard good things about it and it is why I am looking so much forward to it. There will be two stages, merchandise area, indoor and outdoor bar, food stalls as what is known as a silent disco area. During the weekend before the weekend starts,, there’s the chillout area open for those attending!
This looks like it’s going to be the ‘place to be’ in the next days.
Have a look at the line-up and further below you can have a listen to a couple of bands which will be rocking the stages in the coming days. Do say hi if you make it to this fest 😉
My very favourite: Massacre House Party
Zatopeks
For Strings Inn
Crux (Teaser of Upcoming Video)
China
Sempliciment tat-Triq
Bass Culture
Some of us do not see the purpose in Trip Advisor and think that saying your thoughts about the service you have received in a restaurant is like you are attacking them personally, or attacking the employees. The way I usually end up rating a restaurant is with regards to various aspects:
Most often than not, before making a complaint on Trip Advisor, I try to talk to one of the employees; let them know I am disappointed or that something was not as expected. If they choose to not do anything about it, then it is no longer my problem. I have tried, and I got nothing out of it. And I feel like it is about time to share this with the Trip Advisor society, to warn them on things they can expect. When something goes wrong, I would still when possible mention the good sides of the place I have visited. And just because I see something as wrong, it does not mean that everyone should agree with me. It is only my point of view.
At this point I have given almost 200 contributions to this site, and I have received over 40 helpful votes; I think I am doing something right. I’d say, that even if in Malta it is not yet as popular as it is in any other country, the tourists are looking at it to decide on the best locations and services
So before you complain about a negative rating, learn from it and fix things… Reply with concern to negative rating.. That way a customer feels like his review was read and dealt with.. Especially if the negative comment is ‘voted up’.
Then, move on.
Another great area for walking, is the surroundings of Laferla Cross in Siggiewi. The walk is uphill and a bit tiring, however, you get to see the best views of Siggiewi and all the countryside which is part of the town I am living in. The photos below are of what you can see once up the hill. In the coming days I will also include other photos of the walk which leads to this cross. I encourage you to go here, as it is very peaceful and relaxing. It’s also really clean, and has just been renovated by the Siggiewi Local Council, thanks to the funds from the European Union.
Have you managed to see the solar eclipse?
Are you stuck at work?
Is it too cloudy where you are?
This is what I managed to capture in the not so sunny Malta:
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Steffi Says... 