Readers Letter – I am writing in reply to the Readers Letter entitled “A nightmare two weeks in ‘quiet and quaint’ Gozo” which was published on the 30th of August 2009. I have read all the comments on this letter and like the vast majority of others, I am saddened by Ms French’s inaccurate comments and views of this lively island of Calypso. Of course, Ms French’s views and experiences are her own and cannot be undone, or altered in any way.

My fiance and I came to Gozo from the UK (not far from Nottingham actually) in August 2010, we were completely bowled over by the friendliness of the local people, who literally could not do enough for is. We rented a spotlessly clean apartment in the beautiful Xlendi Bay, where the owner collected us late at night from the ferry, provided us with everything we needed and told us to contact her day or night if there were any problems whatsoever (there weren’t).

We had a fabulous holiday, so much so, that we returned 6 weekd later for longer, this time staying on the waterfront in Xlendi at St. Patrick’s Hotel, which was again, a wonderful experience.

My fiancée and I are entertainers, and during this 2nd holiday we performed four shows in Xlendi; the reception, support, and love we received was overwhelming; We went back to the UK, sold everything and moved lock stock and barrel to Gozo by December 2010; we have been here ever since and pinch ourselves on a daily basis as we can’t believe such an idyllic place exists in the modern world.

Yes, Gozo has it’s problems like any place on earth, but, I can’t think of any other place where I feel safe walking the streets alone after dark, or where I can leave my car and door unlocked, or where I have experienced such friendly people who are pleased to have us here and have embraced us as their own.

We got married here last year, and had far more Gozitan and Maltese friends at our wedding than people from the UK, as we had made so many friends. Their ongoing generosity exceeds our expectations of what we had come to expect in the UK.

Gozo’s roads are not the greatest and the place has been dirty due to the ongoing improvements of said roads. What we now see is a vastly improved road system, with fewer bumps!! As for parking tickets, well, …. it has been said dozens of times now, if you don’t want a ticket, don’t park illegally. We have had one ticket since we came here and yes we were parked in a no parking zone. We paid up and it hasn’t happened again.

Gozo is famous for its feasts and festivals; having been to many of these we can honestly say that we have never witnessed the loutish behaviour, which would be inevitable in the UK at such a large gathering.

People do enjoy a drink, but we have never seen anyone fighting, or falling down drunk, or berating their children. People take pride in their feasts, they dress up and celebrate with families; there is a sense of community, which has all but disappeared in the UK.

We have come away from these festivals smiling and relaxed as these lovely people have welcomed us into their culture and encouraged us to party with them, with no accompanying trouble, swearing, shouting or drunkeness. We have seen men sitting quietly in the bars watching Premier football, without the usual bun fight you would see in England.

This island has it’s own magic, and we fell under it’s spell the moment we arrived. Gozo or the UK?? I know where my loyalty lies.

Georgia Rose

Gozo.

Views of Gozo by Alain Salvary.

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