Charming memories of Xlendi in the 1930’s – Readers Letter

I took my two sisters there for a few hours but although we ate some delicious seafood at one of the restaurants on the waterfront, we walked the whole town looking for some local charm and found none.

We due respect Mr.Andersen Quote:- we walked the whole town looking for some local charm and found none! please stop your whinging, this is the way we are in Gozo and you’ll just have to take us as you find us, and this is what makes Gozo unique. End of Story..

Dear Salvino,
I find Gozo so wonderful because of its’ charm that I am now retired here! It is the Gozitan people that make living here such a wonderful experience and yes, I accept the people as they are because they have never disappointed me. I am only agreeing with the local person who was complaining about how Xlendi, had lost much of it’s original beauty by caving into the tourists and losing its’ natural beauty in the process! I should have explained that we found all of the other Gozitan villages wonderful! The architecture is beautiful, the churches are clearly a source of local pride, the landscaping and gardens are gorgeous and the Gozitan food is delicious. You have every right to be proud of your Gozitan heritage but we found Xlendi disappointing because so much of what we loved in the other towns was missing there. I did compliment the delicious seafood, so I hope you don’t think me entirely unfair. I apologize for the failure to find any charm there but I do think the natural setting of the town was breathtaking. The many palm trees were especially nice and of course, the beautiful bay!

@Drew Andersen… OK you made your point, Thankyou now please pass on your positive comments to other would be visiters to Gozo.

I remember Xlendi as it looks in the picture. Back in the sixties when I was an Altar Boy at St.Nicholas Church of Tarxien, our Spiritual Director used to take to Xlendi and exactly in the Remissa in the middle of the pictures between the two trees. Nice memories.

Hi all.
I just had to reply to Drew.
Just back from another visit to your beautiful Island and Xlendi! It was great to sit and listen to the birds in the trees at tea time near the car park without the roar of traffic speeding by.
As I walked along the front listening to the cry of the sea gulls in the cliffs and the lapping of the waves against the shore I noticed again the flashing of the light at the entrance to the harbour casting its glow on the night boats out fishing with their lights in the dark waters,
I wondered if the ghosts in the Underground Flour mill could hear these things and I know that the stars looking down on the new Tower were watching it all happen.
Strikes me that some people walk about with their eyes closed and their brains shut!
A book to read is “Islands of Dream: The Temples of Malta – Hidden Mysteries Revealed” by Francis Xavier Aloisio
Now that you have plenty of time this will/may open ones eyes

Dear John,
Thank you for your book recommendation. I will try and get a copy. I am currently reading the classic by Nicholas Montserrat, “The Kappillan of Malta”. I hope you read my reply here to Salvino’s letter because I love Gozo very much! Xlendi has a beautiful natural setting, but the view of the parking area is only wonderful if you are looking at the treetops and the sky! Thanks, Drew Andersen

Dear Drew, I can only quote Salvino’s reply
“OK you made your point, Thankyou now please pass on your positive comments to other would be visiters to Gozo.”
You must love Gozo as much as I or why retire there, as my late Mother would say, if you cannot say anything nice then don’t say anything. Good lick in your quest for Charm.

@ TO ALL FOREIGNERS RESIDENT IN GOZO

A book reccomendation to all foreigners who love Gozo should get a copy of ‘ Nostalgias of Gozo ‘ published by Judge Giovanni Bonello. This book consists of old photos of Gozo from the 1880’s to the 1930’s.

For more information please click this link

^[4]

That sounds like a good idea Carmel,perhaps I can borrow your copy next time I am in Ghawdex.

Another book worth looking at(if still available) is “Gozo a journey in the past” by Charles Cini,ARS Nova Publications 1992.This book was printed to commemorate the visit to Gozo of H.M.Queen Elizabeth in May 1992.

John,
Thanks again for your comment. Mothers give the best advice, and your mother is right!
I woud have made no comment at all had we not experienced the same disappointment as
the local writer who expressed why the town has failed to live up to her fond memories of it. Xlendi has become over-built and over-commercialized by the greed for money which she correctly described. In a word: vulgar expresses it best. I do not need to seek charm anywhere else because Gozo has so much! But I think the reaction to our original
impression was supported by the positive remark about the delicious seafood we enjoyed there! Anthony J. Stivala was not criticized for his original remarks. I find that somehow curious. Maybe only locals are allowed this privilege? Now your mother’s advice makes even better sense!
Best Regards to You Both!
Drew

P.S. Anthony, thank you for provoking this lively discussion with your picture! We can only hope that it is not too late to reverse the unfortunate trend. I was referring to Carmel’s remarks about the description and owe him an apology about the misuse of pronouns! In some cultures, Carmel is a feminine name because it refers to Our Lady of Carmel, but clearly this is not the case since he mentioned he was there as an altar boy. No offense intended!

Excuse me Mr. Andersen, but Carmel is not a Feminine name but the meaqning of it is ‘A Garden full of Life’. It comes from Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. I visited this place in a Pilgrimage in July 2010.

Dear Carmel,

Thank you for this information! Again, I meant no offense, but the name is used both ways in America, as indeed my own name, Drew, is. I hope I can make a similar pilgrimage there during my retirement here because visiting the Holy Land has always been one of my goals. our Lady of Mount Carmel is associated with this site in Israel.
Drew Andersen