As you may recall, Christine has a second cousin in Sliema. Carol has been staying in touch with us and Eve said she would like to see Carol and Joe and their daughters Francesca and Rowena. Eve contacted Carol via FB Messenger about a get-together. As it happened, Rowena was having a show and sale of her vintage clothing and accessories. Rowena, the younger daughter, has been making a side business of selling vintage clothing and things. She’s an English teacher, as are Francesca and Eve (interesting that the daughters all are English teachers, don’t you think), but is taking a sabbatical this year and is building up her vintage business. The showing was just the activity to get us all together and arrangements were made for us to meet at the show, which was being held at Rowena’s boyfriend’s apartment in Sliema. We would then go to lunch.
It’s nearly an hour bus ride from Xemxija to Sliema because the bus makes a gazillion stops. And of course, the bus gets very crowded, “move back, please.” Unfortunately, we missed our transfer at Sliema Ferries and had to wait about a half hour for the next one. But I never tire of people watching so I occupied myself. We then went up Manuel Dimick Street just one stop, but it is all uphill and has narrow, uneven sidewalks. It would not have been good for Eve to walk up that street.
Once off the bus, we easily found the place by seeing a banner, Vintage, outside the door. All the Farrugias were there and it was nice for Eve to meet Rowena and see Carol, Joe, and Francesca. The vintage clothing, mostly 1950s through 1980s, was fun to look at. I saw a blouse that I knew my mother had, and also there were similar things to what I probably had worn, too. Hard to think that my clothing can now be called vintage. The accessories, especially the scarves and earrings were really neat. Rowena dresses in vintage and always looks so chic.
While Eve and Christine were talking with Rowena and Fran, I sat with Carol, who is always entertaining. She’s a running commentary on politics, weather, lifestyles, culture, family, history and just about any subject you bring up. And she can be really funny.
Eventually, we gathered ourselves together and Rowena’s boyfriend took a family photo.
We went to a nearby Italian cafe. Carol and Fran joined Eve, Christine and me for a nice lunch. We are happy that Eve is making her own relationships with Fran and Rowena. Hopefully that will keep the Malta connection strong for years to come.
After lunch, we walked to our little market on College Street and picked up a couple of things. We went round the corner for a gelato and sat across the street from our Sliema flat. I will be happy to return there to very familiar territory on Thursday for our final week.
We took the bus back home, had a little rest, and then put together our final dinner with Eve, who flies back to London tomorrow. It was a very lovely evening sitting out on the terrace having a candlelit dinner and talking. It has been so special sharing this time with Eve.
