An eventful week!

It was quite a colourful week indeed!

Probably the biggest event was the killing of the world's most wanted man, the leader of the group Al Qaeda. Osama Bin Laden, regarded by many as the mastermind behind 9/11, was shot dead after a raid in an unassuming house in Pakistan. It is beyond the space of this post to discuss whether it was justified or right or whatever, but it brought to an end a decade-long quest by the Americans and, quite conveniently, at the start of President Obama's preparations for the 2012 elections. Am I the only one thinking of Macchiavelli?

Back home, besides all the nauseating tit-tatting in the pro/anti divorce camps, the main occurrence was the pulling down of that horrendous hole which from 1964 till 02/05/2011 served as the main entrance to our capital city. A historic moment indeed. It was a shame that I was not at home to take a snap or two to preserve the image of that monstrosity for posterity, but in this day and age, one can find 100s of images online. I am putting one here too, for the sake of completeness. I am now anxious to see the final product: the realisation of the dream of a visionary architect who will not replace the gate but will leave an open (albeit narrow) doorway inviting people to enter magical Valletta rather than keep them out.

Another demise, this time not pleasant, took place this week too. Maltese author Frans Sammut passed away, sadly. I never met the man personally (I only managed to talk to him accidentally once on the phone when I called the Sammut residence intending to contact his son) but I am sure that his legacy will live long. Rest in peace, Frans.

Oh yes, on the 1st of May I recalled when I hit a truck a stone's throw away from home and nearly died on the spot. Not a nice memory, at all.

Here in London, the weather persisted with plenty of sun and mid to high 20s, although it did rain one night. What a funny micro climate! Other than that, I was quite busy modelling 400x400x3.8mm (mild and armour) steel plates subjected to close-in blasts...bla, bla, bla...but that is my work these days. With an upcoming progress meeting next week, I have to make sure that I have new stuff to present to the funding body, rather than show them the same material again; otherwise they would have seen it so many times that they would be able to present it themselves to me.

This weekend I started my most enjoyable task of researching, studying and planning the upcoming Paris trip. Yes, Paris! By now, I almost know the map by heart and have a good grasp of the main attractions and the not-so-well-known ones which however are a must for 2 architects to visit. More on that after the 17/05!

And finally, now that AC Milan how won, they can claim this year's scudetto, which means that my dear Inter have to settle for 2nd place after winning 5 consecutive titles. Forza Inter, nonetheless!