Malta Regency Weekend...To accompany the wine tasting, Meridiana will serve delicious Maltese finger...

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Malta Regency Weekend Friday 24th to Sunday 26th April, 2020

Welcome to the Eighth Malta Regency Weekend!

We have done our utmost to make the programme the most enjoyable yet, with

some really wonderful venues. We hope very much that as many of you as

possible can join us. Tickets will be sold on a ‘first come first served’ basis (with

a maximum for the ball of 70 altogether). Ticket applications will be launched on

Facebook and by email (for those on our data base) at the same time, to give

everybody equal opportunity. Prices of the various activities are indicated at the

end of this document, along with an application form. Please complete the form

indicating what activities you would like to take part in and submit your payment

to secure your ticket(s).

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It’s been a long wait for some of you, but entirely worthwhile as we’ve come up

with a unique venue for our Sunday Tea Dance. The full program will be:

Friday 24th – winery visit with light lunch

– dance workshop

– evening meal at La Giara Restaurant

Saturday 25th – Vittoriosa tour

– lunch at Cargo Restaurant

– the Ball at Palazzo Manresa

Sunday 26th – a day of leisure in the territory of the Knights of Saint John at

Fort Saint Angelo

Friday 24th April - Meridiana Wine Estate (modern clothes)

For the early-arrivers, we’ve organised a wine tasting at the Meridiana Estate,

which we last visited four years ago. Departure will be from the usual pickup

point outside the Phoenicia Hotel, meeting at 12:15 for departure at 12:30 in

modern dress. The Meridiana Estate was the leading light for the revival of quality

wine production in Malta. Their current portfolio includes ten labels, four whites,

a rosé and five reds, amounting to a production of around 140,000 bottles of wine

annually. Most of the wine produced is sold domestically but Meridiana also

reserves limited quantities of its wine for export to select niche markets such as

Japan, Russia, Denmark and Belgium, and to private clients in Germany, Austria,

Singapore, Hong Kong, Latvia, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and the United

States.

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The Estate Tour includes a visit to the fermentation-hall and underground cellar,

both set within a picturesque Maltese farmhouse, followed by tasting of four

premium wines on the panoramic terraces overlooking the vineyard.

To accompany the wine tasting, Meridiana will serve delicious Maltese finger food

comprising a selection of sausage, cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes,

bigilla (broad bean paste), ‘ftira’ bread and galletti (water biscuits). At the end of

the visit you will be transported back to Valletta, arriving at about 15:15.

Friday 24th April - Dance Workshop & meal (modern clothes)

The dance workshop will start at 18:00 in the covered courtyard of Palazzo de la

Salle in Republic Street, Valletta. Comfortable, flat shoes should be worn. Biscuits

and lemonade will be served during a twenty-minute break. The workshop will

be conducted by Sally Petchey, who will call the dances at the Ball.

At 21:00 we will cross the road to

the Sicilian restaurant La Giara,

which occupies the lower part of

Casa Rocca Piccola, for a tasty

supper and a nightcap. The

restaurant is run by a charming

Sicilian family who serve food to

die for. We will all have mixed

starters followed by a main course

which you should select when you

book. A list will be available, to remind you which main course you chose. Bottled

water and a good house wine are included but all other drinks, coffee and desserts

must be paid for there and then.

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Saturday 25th April - Vittoriosa Tour and meal (period clothes)

Departure will be from the usual pickup point outside the Phoenicia Hotel,

meeting at 09:00 for departure at 09:15.

Today we will visit the old city of Birgu (renamed Vittoriosa after the Great Siege

of 1565), where the Knights of St John made their home when they arrived in

Malta in 1530. There, we will be led on a guided tour through the narrow streets

and old houses of the Colacchio, which was originally an enclosed area reserved

for the members of the Order, savouring the historic atmosphere until we arrive

at the Inquisitor’s Palace with its beautiful, richly decorated rooms above… and

the austere dungeons below.

The Inquisitor’s Palace, Birgu

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If time permits, we will close the tour with a brief visit to the Oratory museum and

the Basilica of St Lawrence. Comfortable, flat shoes should be worn.

Cargo Restaurant

To round off our visit, we will have lunch at Cargo Restaurant which occupies one

of the old buildings along the Birgu Waterfront, overlooking the yacht marina,

with the cities of Senglea and Valletta as a magnificent back-drop.

We will all be served garlic bread and tomato bruschetta followed by a main

course, which you should select when you book, and dessert. A list will be

available, to remind you which main course you chose. Bottled water, house wine

and coffee are included but all other drinks must be paid for there and then.

Return transport will be by coach which will drop us outside the Phoenicia Hotel

at about 14:30.

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Saturday 25th April - Regency Ball at Palazzo Manresa (period clothes)

The Eighth Malta Regency Ball will be held in Palazzo Manresa (by kind

permission of the Archbishop) which is a 600m walk from the meeting point

outside the Phoenicia. We will set off from there together on foot at 19:00.

This baroque palace was built as a retreat house by the Jesuits between 1743 and

1751. It has an unusual oval chapel designed by the famous architect Carapecchia

and each of the five altars has a painting by Antoine Favray. The ball will be held

in the superb refectory, the walls and ceiling of which were decorated in 1762

with scenes, taken from passages in the bible, all of which relate to food and drink.

A 3D render can be seen at https://maltain360.com/pano.aspx?ref=110009449.

The Refectory, Palazzo Manresa, Floriana

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The Refectory, Palazzo Manresa, Floriana

The palace was taken over by the Order when the Jesuits were expelled in 1768

and it served various functions until the Order’s surrender to the French, who

used the palace as military barracks. This military use persisted under British

rule until it was handed to the Bishop in 1858 to be used as the Diocesan

Seminary. Since 1977, it has served as the Archbishop’s Curia, housing all the

pastoral and administrative offices of the Archdiocese.

Finger food and drinks will be served from

19:30 and dancing will start at 20:30 led by

our caller Sally Petchey, with music

provided by our string quartet, Cuerdas.

We will stop dancing for half an hour to be

served prosecco, sweets and coffee then

resume dancing until midnight. Chairs will

be provided in the courtyard to sit out and

enjoy the night air.

Palazzo Manresa, Courtyard

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Sunday 26th April - The Castellan’s Palace at Fort Saint Angelo (period)

We’ve been granted the most extraordinary privilege to be invited to hold our Tea

Dance in the private headquarters of The Sovereign Military Order of Malta

(SMOM), by kind permission of Fra John Edward Critien, Bailiff Grand Cross of

Justice, who resides there.

We will spend the day in an exclusive section of Fort Saint Angelo which is not

open to the public. This consists of the Castellan’s Palace and the Chapel of Saint

Anne, with various other associated buildings forming the raised portion in the

middle of the Fort. We will also be able to promenade round the rest of the Fort,

if we so wish. Entertainments will include water colour painting, Maltese bowls

(BOCCI), a presentation on the evolution of firearms, including a blank firing

demonstration, singing and anything else which may take our fancy. We will also

guide groups round the principal buildings of the Fort.

Apart from the coach ride from Valletta to Birgu, we are offering our guests the

option of crossing the Grand Harbour in a fleet of small boats, survivors from the

horde of water taxis which served the Mediterranean fleet at anchor in port and

the many eminent visitors to Malta. Each boat can take a maximum of six people.

We will group guests to the best of our ability. Please feel free to advise us with

whom you would like to be placed or if you form a group of six.

We will meet in the Upper Barracca Gardens, in period clothes, at about 10:30 and

at about 11:00 we will all take the lift down to the old Customs House where we

will find the coach and our boats waiting for us. We will gather again at the Birgu

Waterfront and proceed into Fort Saint Angelo.

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Fort Saint Angelo, from Valletta

Gate to the Castellan’s Palace The Castellan’s Palace

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View from the Castellan’s Palace Saint Anne’s Chapel

A cold buffet lunch will be served at about 12:30, followed by two hours of leisure

and entertainment. The Tea Dance will start at about 16:00, stopping for tea,

sandwiches and home-made cakes and biscuits at about 17:15 then dancing on

until 19:30. Coaches will convey us back to the Phoenicia Hotel drop-off point by

about 20:30.

And that brings our Regency Weekend to a close. We very much hope to see you

at this our Eighth event and welcome you to Malta and all its many delights, not

least of which is our home-made fresh lemonade which will be served throughout

the event.

If you would like to register for the event, kindly email Nicky Bianchi on

[email protected], specifying whether you wish to pay in Euro or Pounds

Sterling. You will receive the appropriate registration form by email. The form

includes space for you to indicate your main course preference for the meals and

also space for you to declare any food allergies.

The Dances

Sally has chosen a fine selection of old favourites for the Ball, and a few

less-known dances which deserve an airing. We will include two Maltese dances,

one published in full, the other compiled by Sally to suit music which was collected

in Malta in 1805. Due to limited space in the Refectory, we will not dance any

cotillions or quadrilles. There will be two Surprise Partner dances.

Dances for Sunday afternoon will be chosen by Daphne Abela and called by

Daphne and Annabel Mallia. We will certainly include some more Maltese dances,

as well as another two Surprise Partner dances.

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Friday 24th April - Meal at La Giara Restaurant

Antipasti (mixed starters):

Parma ham & melon

Caprese salad (mozzarella, tomato, basil)

Whitebait fritters (polpette neonati)

Grilled peppers, aubergines, marrows, etc.

Salami

Cheeses

Marinated fish

Fried calamari (calamari fritti)

Ricotta & spinach fritters (polpette ricotta e spinaci)

Main Course (choose one of the following):

(A) Fagotto di pollo

Baked chicken breast stuffed with ham and creamy cheese sauce

(B) Filetti di spigola al forno

Baked fillet of sea bass

(C) Fagotto de verza con verdure

Cabbage roulades – vegetarian

Half a bottle of water and half a bottle of house wine per person are included.

All other drinks, coffee and desserts must be paid for there and then.

We would like you to note that the information on food intolerances which you

indicate at registration will be passed to our caterers. If you have any concerns

about the contents of finger-food, please ask the person serving you. All food

served may contain traces of nuts, soya, dairy or wheat due to cross

contamination in an open kitchen.

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Saturday 25th April - Meal at Cargo Restaurant

Starter:

Garlic bread topped with melted mozzarella

Lightly toasted bread topped with chopped tomato

Main Course (choose one of the following):

(A) Moroccan Style Chicken Breast

Marinated chicken breast with turmeric, cumin & garlic,

served with fries and salad.

(B) Fresh fillet of sea bream served with roast potatoes & vegetables

(C) Ravioli filled with funghi porcini, cooked in butter, garlic & funghi

porcini, flamed in white wine and topped with Grana Padano

(D) Fresh Argentinean Beef Salad

Mixed salad of cherry tomatoes, onions, red peppers & rucola,

topped with marinated fresh Argentinian rib-eye.

Dessert:

Traditional Maltese Imqaret served with vanilla ice-cream

Imqaret are pastry pockets stuffed with a spiced date puree and deep fried.

Water and house wine are included and coffee will be served with dessert.

All other drinks must be paid for there and then.

We would like you to note that the information on food intolerances which you

indicate at registration will be passed to our caterers. If you have any concerns

about the contents of finger-food, please ask the person serving you. All food

served may contain traces of nuts, soya, dairy or wheat due to cross

contamination in an open kitchen.

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