Beloved Mekren’s Bakery brings its baked goods to Malta!

Sep 19 2022

Renowned Gozitan bakery ‘Mekren’s Bakery’ has just opened its doors in Qormi, bringing it’s expertise in cooking up delicious ftajjar, pizzas, qassatat and other bread-goodies to the sister island.

Fans of the baked goods will now no longer have to cross the channel to get a whiff of freshly baked goods and sink their teeth into all of Mekren’s exquisite delicacies.

The bakery is renowned by many Maltese who, on their way to Gozo, seek out the eatery to take-out and enjoy by one of the island’s most gorgeous bays.

Now, that privilege will be extended to all Maltese on a more accessible basis. So inform your sunset watching buddies and head on down to the new Qormi outlet. Or, you know, order it via Wolt or Bolt right at your doorstep!

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Drop in Statistics, Not Squats: Only 7% of Maltese exercise regularly

Sep 19 2022

A Eurobarometer survey has shown that only 7% of Maltese people exercise or play sports regularly – a drop from a previous study conducted in 2017.

The survey asked respondents from different countries on the frequency by which they exercise. It found that 7% of Maltese respondents exercise regularly in 2022, 4% lower than 2017 results.

The survey collected respondent answers from April to May of 2022. 25% said they exercised with ‘some regularity’, whilst 37% said they seldom do so. A whopping 31% said they never exercise.

Meanwhile, the average percentage of those who never exercise or play a sport in the 27 EU countries is that of 45%.

63% of Maltese respondents who responded with never or rarely exercising were male. 74% were female, with Maltese people aged 55 and over being the group who least exercised.

Younger respondents, which includes the ages of 15 to 24, exercised far more than any other age. A total of 35% of men and 43% of women in this bracket gave such a response.

4% of local respondents said that they regularly exercise in other forms of physical activity outside of sports, which include dancing or cycling. 44% of Maltese people said they spend five and a half hours to eight and a half hours sitting on a usual day.

As per motivators, 47% of Maltese people said that improving one’s health is their main driver. 39% said they do it to relax, whereas 37% said that they wanted to control weight gain. Meanwhile, time constraints were the main factor leading to no exercise.

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Queen Elizabeth’s funeral: What happened so far

Sep 19 2022

As people from all over the globe watch on, the funeral for Queen Elizabeth II continues at Westminster Abbey.

Having kicked off at around 11am, the Queen’s lying in state ended at 6:30am. An estimated 300,000 people queued to pay their respects, with time reaching an estimated 17 hours.

As the Westminster Abbey opened, the King’s Guard trooped through the gates of the building, with two solders stained at the metal gates awaiting the start of the proceedings.

At around 9:30am, the tenor bell started to toll once every minute 96 times, marking every year of the Queen’s life. The coffin was carried on the state funeral gun carriage from Westminster Abbey to the abbey, towed by 142 sailors from the Royal Navy.

With procession took about eight minutes, with prayers and hymns being sung. After the Last Post played, a two-minute silence was held nationwide in honour of the monarch. The national anthem was subsequently sung, bringing the state funeral service to an end.

The procession, following the coffin and led by the King, will be made up of several groups, with each accompanied by a service band. These groups include representatives from the NHS and members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as well as detachments from the armed forces of the Commonwealth.

Guns were fired in Hyde Park by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery every minute during the procession, while Big Ben tolls every minute.

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From Sweden to Vienna: What’s next for Alexandra Alden?

Sep 19 2022

Song writer and musician Alexandra Alden has been hitting several international hotspots in promotion of her brand new album ‘Leads to Love’ alongside her international ‘wonderband’.

The mini tour kicked off in Sweden, accumulating rave reviews in the Netherlands, Belgium and Malta, and going on to perform on multiple Dutch TV shows. Drummer Luke Briffa, guitarist Jimmy Bartolo, bass guitarist Jurriaan De Kok, keyboard player Daniel Van Der Duim and photographer Justine Ellul joined in on the fellowship.

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She then took to off to Norrkoping, for the first edition of Future Echoes Showcase Festival – a massive feat for any Maltese artist. With another intimate show at a local shop, ‘Mandala’, Alden made her way to the UK, starting in Wales with three performances at Focus Wales Showcase Festival.

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She then took to London a week later and was subsequently invited to the first edition of SPIKE The Bulgarian Showcase Festival. With shows in Belgium and the Netherlands to round it all off, she was then invited to Waves Vienna as the first Maltese artist to perform there.

This was the penultimate stop in her 2022 tour, but she also got to meet EU President Roberta Metsola, EU President of Commission Ursula Von der Leyen, First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska, and MEP Cyrus Engerer.

The final showcase location is yet to be revealed in the coming days and sees Alexandra leaving European grounds to one of the music capitals of the world.

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Leads to Love is an album about the butterfly effect and feelings of belonging. In this case, the ‘butterfly’ is in fact a ‘ladybird’ in Alden’s world, which she found living in her windowsill at the age of 19. During her travels throughout her life, Alden has found beauty in the idea that having one’s ‘everythings spread apart everywhere’ can also mean that one has the opportunity to also belong everywhere.This trip has definitely solidified these thoughts- how one small action can lead to greater things and how a simple connection with someone can alter your life in some way, even if with just a beautiful and memorable experience.Alexandra’s outfits and some of the bands accessories were provided by Luke Azzopardi Studio following a ‘white-on-white’ theme.

This project is supported by the Arts Council Malta.

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