Does anybody know these mortal souls by the name of, David Collins (Australian) hitched to a local(YSW). I am told he has three kids, or certain Gareth Thomas (British) used to live in SKW(south)....????

No , sorry
But I will be in Malta soon, probably around St Julians/St Andrews. Fancy a beer in the Highlander or somewhere?

SURE !!!
But tell me the exact date 'cause I might not be around due to work,ok . Mind you, I have seen your profile and I take it that you're joking in how you have described yourself !
If that's the affirmative, then you'll be meeting your match in here !
Till then, Au revoir.

Let's put it this way.

On my last visit I learnt some Maltese but this is all I can remember...

1 - Wiehed ( wa-heed )
2 - Tnejn ( t - nain )
3 - Birra ( bi-erra )
4x4 - Sittax Beera ( sita bi-erra )

I hope to be back around March April and may stay for a while. Please warn the CISK people that I am coming.

Well done my friend, I can see that your are armed to the teeth ! It's getting interesting here. So, what's the connection Hong kong , Malta How did this come about ? It seems that you've been here before.

Well I am English but I was living on lamma for years. Then I got fed up of HK and came back to UK while I found somewhere else to live. Malta was one of two or three places at the top of my list. Last year I popped over for a week to see what was going on, check out the banking. cost of living, house prices, flat rentals and communications, etc.

Everything looked good so I'm coming back for a longer look. Hopfully I can sort something out before the EU thing happens. I will need to rent a flat and a dsl connection and that seems to be fairly easy.

I see, but how and in what ways does the EU effect you anyway ?
And what do you think about our accession ?

I was talking to a guy from GRTU and he was not sold on the idea of Malta joining. It will be expensive to join unless there is a good finacial package offered with the deal. I think there may be a problem with the water system too Re. EU requirments for drainage. I didn't go into it a lot. From my own point of view there is the tax angle. If Malta is in the EU tax stuff will change slightly which affects where my business is officially parked.
All very dull stuff. I better go get a beer.

Oh....those GRTU guys ! I don't blame them as they 're preocupied about their businesses but I am sure that ,it's not gloom and doom. Those who were wise enough and have restructured their business will cope well but those who did not and are afraid of competition, of course they will have a rough ride.
Those GRTU guys are well pampered here, they want to maintain status quo and in favour of protectionism, levies and all the perks that our government offers them , that's why that they are so apprehensive, It's now time for change !

Oh well, malta will be in within 2 years I guess. So you will get some change.

Where are you in Malta? on the coast or inland like Mosta?

Well, I hope so ! I personally think that we will gain in the long run being a small country. Of coarse, I'm not saying that everything is a bed of roses. You always have to weigh the pros & cons though .You don't sound very keen about EU either ! Well....in here the people are divided on this issue......but due to partisan politics and scaremongering from the Eurosceptics. We'll wait and see !
Oh.....I live in the south of the Island at Kirkop, a bit of both.

That is next to the airport i think. I hope it is not too noisy, or do you work at the airport?

Yep, that's right ! Very close to the airport but I 'm used to the noise and sometimes I don't even notice a plane landing a km away and no I don't work in the airport , I work in the pharmaceutical industry. Well... tell me about you, why do you fancy coming to Malta ? Are you in some kind of business ?

I do internet stuff using HTML/CSS/JavaScript/ColdFusion/SQL. My main thing is designing web applications for home or business use. I can live/work anywhere with broadband available. I like malta because it is a freindly place, it is warm, it has good tax rules for offshore companies and at present the residency rules are handy for me.

While in UK I set up a business with my friend who handles the engineering side of things and neither of us want to stay in UK be cause it is cold, the tax is too high, and everything is broken.

At present I am making a home server application using Apache/PHP to use on our main web site. It is here but it is not finished yet. http://213.106.0.107/

Next I have to set up stuff for Malta before I come over. I should be all finished before the end of April and my partner may come over too for a week or so but he has to go back to UK to run stuff at that end for a while.

I see that you've done some good fact-finding about the island !
Yes, you've desribed Malta very well, actually very friendly with the brits, surely you're very welcome among us and shouldn't have any problems living here.
Now, what's your connection with HK/ Lamma and why did you leave may I ask?

i went to school in hongkong and when my parents went back to uk i moved to ysw lamma. i left because hk and lamma had changed a lot. also there was not much business around for what i did anymore. i was generally just fed up so i left.

Oh....I see, and you would like to have a shot here now? well...suit yourself !
And what school did you attend in HK ?

I was at KGV

The GRTU guy asked me to include Malta in our main website and as I was thinking of being there a lot I thought it was a good idea. Our main business is not in Malta, I just like Malta and would like to spend a lot of time there. If I can help some of the local small business guys out while I'm there too, that's great.

What's this guy's name, I might know him? I may know a thing or two about him !

Ooops sorry about the delay, I got busy and kept forgetting to find the guys business card. Still can't but his name is Philip and he runs the Jazz Club in Paceville.

One thing I would like to know is if Maltese is written with the western alphabet or its own character set like arabic.

Also. I didn't get to see all of Malta, just Valletta to St Andrews and the Mosta area. Are some places cheaper than others? I noticed that Mosta beer was cheaper than St Julians beer. Is rent lower if you live away from the coast?