Mgpse 

3 creative works found

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  Majjistral
  by M G Pettett

  The picture is of a small island called Fungus Rock. It lies just off the coast near Dwejra on the western side of the island of Gozo, part of the Maltese archipelago. A rare plant grows there, prized for its medicinal qualities – so much so that the Knights of St. John forbade anyone to collect it on penalty of death and mounted a guard to keep trespassers away. Probably for this reason the Maltese call this rock “The General’s Rock”. The title means northwest in Maltese and that’s where this November storm was coming from, when this picture was taken near sunset. Tourists used to visiting in Summer might be interested in a somewhat different view of the place! Pentax K 10D.

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  Fishing boat reflections
  by M G Pettett

  These Maltese fishing boats have been made the same way for a very long time, and they are so colourful I find it hard to walk past without taking dozens of photographs every time! Such a boat is called a “luzzu” (pron. lootsoo) in Maltese and they are designed for deep sea fishing. One old fisherman told me that all they use for navigation is a compass and dead-reckoning . The fishermen were encouraged to buy trawlers by the government some years ago. However they were unpopular owing to the expense of maintenance, the fact that the Mediterranean sea bottom is anything but flat and trawler nets are designed for a relatively flat seabed, and also because many fishermen are reluctant to spend too long at sea. The yellow band indicates that this boat comes from the port of Marsaxlokk. The eye is supposed to be the Phoenician eye of Osiris protecting against evil, but there is some controversy about this. Pentax K10D.

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  St. Gennys church in early spring
  by M G Pettett

  This church is situated in a very isolated spot near the cliffs of North Cornwall. It dates from the 12th century, but there was almost certainly a church on this site in the 10th century dedicated to St. Gennys or St. Genesius. There were many such holy men who came over to Cornwall from Wales and Ireland in the first millennium – they would set up in such a spot near a source of water (for baptism as well as nourishment) and hold services in the open air. They would often live as hermits, and in time the water source would become a “holy well” of which there are many in Cornwall, one being located very close to this church.