SCRIPT

It's a great, big, wonderful world.

A wonderful world where nature rules supreme. Where trees reach for the sky.

Where oceans mesmerize and mystify.

Strange sounding names. Strange horse drawn carriages, on an enchanting island in the Mediterranean.

Where street names are written in two languages. Where buildings, which seem not to be here yesterday, suddenly appear today.

Where people paint their houses all the colours of a rainbow, as if to show the world how happy they are. And others live with the planning of the 20th century.

From London, and from all over the world, they come to the terminus of today. The airport, gateway to the lands across the seas. The huge jets of the 20th century glide down from the skies to bring the thrill of new places to their passengers.

The national flag flies proudly at the mast head on an island on latitude 36.

[Title]

High on a hill are the arcaded gardens of Barakka. A gift to the city from an 18th century knight.

And if you still don't know where you are, the Grand Harbour of Valletta should tell you. The Mediterranean island of Malta.

The fleet's in, and to be correct, the American fleet's in Valletta's seaport, Grand Harbor.

Gaily painted row boats, called Dghajsas, ply for hire, just as they did when sailing ships called here. Cruise liners call.

Main Street, Valletta, is Kingsway. One end metropolitan, the other like a village street. Merchant Street, a mass of men and machines.

In the 16th century, the Auberges were to Malta, what Oxford and Cambridge are to England.

The Auberge de Castille. Auberge de Provence. The Auberge d'Italie. The office of the Prime Minister, and a view from Independence Square.

Palace of the archbishops. Palace De la Salle. Palace Square and main guard building. And in Victoria Square, they sit and watch Valletta go by.

An arch, looking as if it belongs in ancient Rome, leads to Floriana, an attractive Valletta suburb of boulevards and trees.

Night falls here, just as it does everywhere else. And like most places, Valletta lights up and the town jumps until dawn.

At the top of Kingsway is the fountain of the Tritons. At Kingsway Terminal pink is not for girls and blue for boys. Each bus is painted in a different colour, and from its colour its destination is known. You can see a bus coming a mile off.

Balzan, stop for San Anton Gardens. The gardens of the San Anton Palace are peaceful, strictly for looking at rather than talking about. So let's do that, shall we?

Malta's countryside is countryside with a difference. Windmills help to irrigate the land by pumping water from deep underground. Picturesque and cleverly constructed walls conserve the sparse rainfall.

Mdina, the silent city. Enclosed in a world of its own by massive encircling walls, Mdina is a unique citadel town. A small place with hardly any traffic. There's a strange feeling about it. Once the nobles of Malta lived here. Today, many still do, quietly, in this far away from it all, tiny town.

Marsaxlokk, a sun baked fishing village by day, in the cool of the evening, a haunting, quiet retreat.

Windmills waltz in the wind at Dingli, where the sea and cliff scenery is some of the finest in the world.

Here, there's real communion with nature if you want it. Here, there's tranquillity, which is very hard to find in today's design for living. Here, one can be completely at peace.

Prickly pears proliferate in profusion. It's wise to peel them before eating.

From Dingli. Wied Iz-Zurrieq. A picture which tells its own story. A page from a picture book.

It's a buoy. At the magnificent Marina of Sliema, yachts jostle each other for a place at the sun drenched quayside.

A last look at Wied Iz-Zurrieq. I hope that we can soon return. There's a blue grotto here, equalled only by the one at Capri.

Commanding a marvellous position above the sea is Ħaġar Qim, which, with a place called Tarxien, is noted for its ruins of ancient temples, where mystic rites were practised so long ago that no one really knows for certain exactly when. But it is certainly many thousands of years ago.

There's nothing new under the sun. There's nothing new under the sun. Famous for its variety of beaches, the sea and sand brigade vigorously pursue their love of the sun. Bays and creeks abound, and life is lived here, just as it is anywhere in the world, where the ocean meets the land.

And what a day for St Paul's Bay! Temperature is a breeze, caressed 78 degrees. The sea is warm and I wish I had been there.

That's the trouble with speaking these commentaries. I have to talk about all these glamorous places and one gets a little jealous. I must inquire next time if I can go out to the location to do the commentaries from there. Because I can assure you, the place in which I'm sitting at the moment doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to the scenes you're looking at.

I hope he misses that sailing yacht. Can't bear these clever chaps who think they're so athletic. Serves him right for trying to overtake without warning.

It's not bad either at the open air pool at Sliema. At the Sheraton, on the Dragonara complex, this is another scene when I think you will agree that words are superfluous. And as I'm speaking this dialogue, I'll just sit back and watch for a short while and hope you'll do the same.

This is Dragonara Palace Casino, where if you fancy, you play games that are chancing.

Here, the chips are down. Your number comes up. It's a Las Vegas flavoured medley of sophistication and elegance.

Dragonara Palace, where it's all very much on the cards.

St Paul's Bay is left behind.

The hydrofoil to Gozo passes the American aircraft carrier Saratoga. First stop, Comino, which is bang on latitude 36. Situated in a channel between Malta and the island of Gozo, Comino lies 58 miles due south of Sicily and 220 miles to the north of Tripoli in Africa.

They're only a mile long and less than that wide. To come to Camino is a wonderful experience in beauty. It's great to go to Gozo. Larger than Comino, yet only nine miles long and four miles wide. Gozo has many charms of its own, Xlendi Bay being one of them.

Even on latitude 36, it was ever thus.

There's a great view of Valletta from the town of Vittoriosa, and in Valletta and throughout the island are magnificent churches.

This is St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta. St Catherine's in the village of Zejtun. St Paul's at Rabat. The Church of Paola. St Publius Floriana, Valletta. Mosta, the Church of St Mary, with its fantastic dome.

A typical Maltese country lane. A typical Maltese horse drawn carriage.

This not-so-little piggy went to market. This one looks as if it had been carved out of rock, but it hasn't. It's the one that stayed at home.

And now, a look at the three cities of Malta's history; Cospicua, Senglea and Vittoriosa.

These are the walls of the bastion of Cospicua. The steps of the Church of Immaculate Conception, at Cospicua. A view of Kalkara Gate from the city's walls.

Cospicua is linked to Senglea, another of the three cities where the Knights of Malta settled 400 years ago.

Senglea, in turn, is linked to Vittoriosa, which completes the famous triangle.

So there you are. On latitude 36, on Malta, Comino and Gozo. We must admit that we didn't know it was quite like this. But how were we to have we never seen it? It's a fair question. Maybe as fair a question as he's asking her. He's a persuasive sort of chap, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if.. I wouldn't be at all surprised if.. I wouldn't be at all surprised.. I wouldn't be at all.. I would.

[The End]