What would you take of 10 items, music or books?

[french frank]

There's a memorable passage in Scott Fitzgerald's 'Basil the Freshest Boy':

"It isn’t given to us to know those rare moments when people are wide open and the lightest touch can wither or heal."

I have assured Mario that he and his contributions will be much missed, and that I hope he'll return.

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

As someone who has just returned from a brief sojourn to Rome, I can report what reading/ listening I took with me. I have an iPod, so didn't take any actual CDs, so list the music I actually listened to:

*Who's My Bottom? - Christopher Gillett. An hilarious/ poignant account of life as a professional opera singer

*La Dame aux camélias - Dumas fils, in preparation for last night's WNO Traviata, directed by David McVicar who bases it heavily on the original novel.

*Top 10 Rome - indispensable little DK guide book, especially its excellent map and lists of best cafés, pizzerias, gelaterie, many of which I visited (purely in the name of research, of course...)

*Mozart: Die Zauberflöte - René Jacobs/ Harmonia mundi, as I was planning to see the opening night at the Teatro dell'Opera there on Tuesday (ironically, a McVicar production from the ROH). Glad I went - I had a third tier box and it was a good performance, reported on elsewhere. On returning to the apartment, just off the Piazza Navona, my key snapped when trying to open an inner door. It was well gone midnight and I wondered whether I should phone my host (who'd certainly be in bed) or wait for someone to turn up. Within a minute, an Austrian gentleman returned and let me through. He saw the programme in my hand. 'Ah, you have been to the opera, no? I was there also.' Turns out he was Kurt Azesberger who was singing Monostatos... as he does on the Jacobs (and Abbado) recording. Small world.

*Puccini: Tosca - Callas/ Gobbi/ di Stefano/ Serafin... just because I visited all the locations in the opera.

*Respighi: Pines/ Fountains of Rome - Pappano/ Santa Cecilia ... I didn't visit all the locations this time, but did walk through the Borghese and Villa Giulia gardens

*Slavic Heroes - Mariusz Kwiecien
*Verdi - Ballet Music - BSO/ Serebrier - both for review purposes

[Richard Tarleton]

Hi ferney. I think it was a reference to shooting small birds and maligning Malta in his eyes.I too hope he reconsiders.

And not just small birds. I think I was guilty of driving Mario away from the old board a few years ago for the very same reason. He told us he was about to attend a concert by the Maltese Symphony Orchestra (I think they call themselves) which was to include a performance of Respighi's "The Birds" and I remarked that this was an ironic choice of repertoire for such an orchestra in the circumstances. I had no idea which side of the fence, as it were, Mario sat on, and he would not be the only Maltese who condemned the slaughter had he chosen to do so. One only needs feel insulted if one sides with the hunters.

The annual bird massacre on Malta is an international disgrace. The birds passing through Malta are migrants, on their way to breed in Europe. Among other things, Maltese gunmen annually slaughter a large part of the potential European breeding population of honey buzzards, rare medium-sized birds of prey. There is only one wood on Malta, Buskett Wood, and gunmen surround the wood and gun the birds down as they drop in to roost for the night, having just flown over from North Africa. This is against EU law and just about every international bird convention. Campaigners in Malta trying to stop this are routinely terrorised and have had their cars firebombed.

Ams is quite right, not only don't pack your binoculars for Malta, don't even go there, rather campaign to get this stopped. I speak with particular sadness, as I was born there. Malta has a proud history, I've just read Max Hastings' account of the siege of Malta in WW2, a harrowing tale.

For anyone interested in finding out more, here are some links from some impeccable sources:

http://www.birdlife.org/news/extra/e...led_birds.html

http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=1753

http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/details....d=tcm:9-241221

http://proaction.tripod.com/infoandlinks/id8.html

[french frank]

I have been able to hear Mario's side of the story. He was too diffident to say here that he is a major supporter of BirdLife Malta, and resented the impression given that all Maltese people accepted, tolerated and engaged in such hunting.

Arguably, if you care enough about the birdlife, you should take a holiday in Malta and spend it hunting the hunters and trappers ...

[amateur51]

There's a memorable passage in Scott Fitzgerald's 'Basil the Freshest Boy':

"It isn’t given to us to know those rare moments when people are wide open and the lightest touch can wither or heal."

I have assured Mario that he and his contributions will be much missed, and that I hope he'll return.

A memorable passage indeed, french frank - I hope that you included it in your message to Mario

[amateur51]

I have been able to hear Mario's side of the story. He was too diffident to say here that he is a major supporter of BirdLife Malta, and resented the impression given that all Maltese people accepted, tolerated and engaged in such hunting.

Arguably, if you care enough about the birdlife, you should take a holiday in Malta and spend it hunting the hunters and trappers ...

Well if the silly sod (the only suitable phrase in the circs) had been less diffident and had told me this, I would a) have been better informed about activities of pro-bird activists in Malta in general ; b) better informed about Mario in particular and I would have been able to apologise for my out-of-date ignorance and any hurt that I had caused him and I would have been able to thank him for the up-date & for his supporting the anti-hunting efforts.

As the old medical adage has it: "Never let the Sun set on undrained pus"

[salymap]

I think this shows up the danger of MBs. We don't really know each other but we feel that we do. Facial expressions and smiles are missing although we try with smilies etc. Phone calls bridge the gap to some extent of course but are not always welcome or possible.

[Richard Tarleton]

I have been able to hear Mario's side of the story. He was too diffident to say here that he is a major supporter of BirdLife Malta, and resented the impression given that all Maltese people accepted, tolerated and engaged in such hunting.

Arguably, if you care enough about the birdlife, you should take a holiday in Malta and spend it hunting the hunters and trappers ...

Thank you for this ff. I don't think I've ever presumed to guess what Mario thinks, and am delighted to hear this. I am a potential ally, in that case. I'd just take issue with your suggestion, though - people do not want to spend their hard-earned on a fortnight of being upset, and tangling with Maltese hunters is a dangerous, not to say potentially fatal, activity. Better contribute to Birdlife International or similar - being an RSPB member helps.

Since that episode on the old board I've exercised tact and discretion, tiptoeing away from Mario's threads or only contributing on purely musical matters, and occasionally. Suggesting Malta as a holiday destination was a step too far.

Mario has visited my profile before now. If he'd like to be in touich directly, and compare professional notes on the subject, I'd be delighted. I repeat, I was born there, and would like to help.

[french frank]

RT

I think Mario had two concerns: the birds and his home country. On the first, perhaps it's a psychological quirk that if you feel (rightly) ashamed and upset about something, it hurts to have it rubbed in your face and perhaps people tend to withdraw defensively when they ought to shake hands and make common cause. On the second, I note from one of the links you gave:

"Cyprus and Malta are however far from the only countries in the Mediterranean area with an extensive, and remarkably regular practice of illegal hunting of migrating birds. On the contrary, migrating birds are on principle hunted all the way from Portugal in the west to Lebanon and Syria in the east. Of about 5 billion migrating birds passing through the Mediterranean area each year, 500 million are shot or trapped. In other words: one migrating bird in ten is killed by hunters in the Mediterranean! "

I have personal reasons for discontinuing regular visits to Cyprus (in my case, for orchid 'hunting' - and 'shooting'); I think it's something I have out of proportion but I still feel strongly about it, though I wouldn't advise other people to boycott the island . I will pass on your message to Mario if he replies to my last email, though I don't doubt he has been looking in.

Am51 - I didn't mention this to you because I read your post and took it, I think, in the spirit you intended. I think all cultures have their unique antennae for picking up nuances of meaning which are missed by others

Can we close this particular digression by wishing Mario all the very best in his efforts, along with the BirdLife Malta people, to end the illegal killing of these beautiful birds.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Can we close this particular digression by wishing Mario all the very best in his efforts, along with the BirdLife Malta people, to end the illegal killing of these beautiful birds.

Mario:

[Chris Newman]

Originally Posted by french frank

Can we close this particular digression by wishing Mario all the very best in his efforts, along with the BirdLife Malta people, to end the illegal killing of these beautiful birds.

Mario:

Mario:

[vinteuil]

Yes - Mario - I hope you come back. Kull qalb trid oħra

[Hornspieler]

You are going on holiday. Don't ask why, you can only take 10 items. They can all be CDs or music in some other format, 1 hour or so each,or books. What would you choose? Titles and/or performers needed.

Don't ask me, I never go on holiday now

Books, because I have all the music I need in my head. So here goes:

Herman Wouk : The Caine Mutiny
E M Delafield: The Diary of a Provincial Lady
John Grisham: The Firm
Patrick Lichfield; ... on Travel Photography
Alec Guiness: My Name Escapes Me
Alan Clarke: The Alan Clarke Diaries
James Clavell: King Rat
James Mitchener: Chesapeake Bay
Neville Shute: The Rainbow and the Rose
The Oxford Book of English Verse

It would have to be a long holiday, preferably on a Pacific Island.

HS

[amateur51]

Am51 - I didn't mention this to you because I read your post and took it, I think, in the spirit you intended. I think all cultures have their unique antennae for picking up nuances of meaning which are missed by others

Can we close this particular digression by wishing Mario all the very best in his efforts, along with the BirdLife Malta people, to end the illegal killing of these beautiful birds.

My apologies if I have upset you Mario and it's good news that things are changing and that you are part of it

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

It would have to be a long holiday, preferably on a Pacific Island.

But preferably without a lot of schoolboys with an unhealthy interest in pigs' heads?