Dunnett Siege of Malta

This was an international Dorothy Dunnett Gathering held in Malta in October 2005. It was organised by Simon Hedges and Cindy Byrne and consisted of a series of visits and talks.

Dates

The Siege<ref>http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20051016/local/the-dunnett-siege-of-malta.75109 Times of Malta report</ref> ran from Mon 17th Oct 2005 to Thu 20th Oct 2005.

Attendees

There were 96 attendees from Scotland, England, Ireland, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, the USA and Malta.

Organisers

It was organised by Simon Hedges and Cindy Byrne. Assistance was given by Heritage Malta, Alliance Group Malta (the Destination Management Company) and The Hotel Phoenicia, Valletta, where the Siege was based.

Programme

Day 1 - Valletta Day

This was the welcome day for the Siege. The first event was a welcome meeting with a talk on the history of the Knights of St John, followed by a meal in the open air by the Phoenicia pool beneath the fortifications of Valletta.

Day 2 - Birgu Day

On this day there was a tour of Birgu, including the English Langue, the Maritime Museum and Fort St Angelo. In the afternoon was a cruise of the Grand Harbour.

Day 3 - Gozo Day

The Siegers took the ferry to Gozo, to visit the ancient site of Ggantija, followed by the Citadel of Gozo.

Day 4 - Mdina Day

There were visits to the Catacombs, the Roman Villa and the silent city of Mdina itself.

Further Information

WG090

Simon Hedges gives an excellent summary of the the four days' events and this is followed by four coloured pages of picture by various attendees:

ILLUSTRATIONS - Colour Insets

* Pg i

1. Grand Master's Palace, Val/etta. Tom Blackie
2. View from the pool, Phoenicia Hotel. Mickey Thies
3. Antonio Espinosa Rodriguez of Heritage Malta . Tom Blackie
4. Michel/e Cassar. Tom Blackie
5. The Gala Meal, Poolside, Phoenicia Hotel. Tom Blackie

* Pg ii.

1. Fort St Angelo from Va/letta. Tom Blackie
2. Plant-lined street in Birgu. Tom Blackie
3. The Altar, St Lawrence's Church, Birgu. Tom Blackie
4. Fra' John Critien, Grand Cross of Grace and Knight Resident for the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Tom Blackie
5. Flags Over Fort St Angelo. Kerstin Hehl
6. The Grand Master's house, Fort St Angelo. Simon Hedges

* Pg iii.

1. Panoramic view from the Citadel in Gala. Tom Blackie
2. The Citadel Gate, Gala. Tom Blackie
3. Lunch at Ta' Rikardu's. Simon Hedges
4. Street in the Citadel, Gala. Tom Blackie
5. Mgarr Harbour, Gala. Denise Gannon
6. Kathy Lewis taking a break. Tom Blackie

* Pg iv

1.Mdina City Gate. Tom Blackie
2.Cindy Byrne, Michelle Cassar, Beth Powers and Marla Farensbach enjoying lunch at the Ciapetti. Simon Hedges
3.Ide Bradley, Nancy (Buster) Wyman, Nancy Wright at the Gala Dinner. Simon Hedges
4.The Desserl. Tom Blackie
5.The Siegers. Tom Blackie
6.The Roman Domus, Mdina. Denise Gannon
7.Casa Inguanez, Mdina. Ann Buchanan

WG095
Kathy Lewis recounts her return visit to Malta in April 2006 in order to present the Birgu library with The Lymond Chronicles as a small "thank you" to the people of Malta for their kindness and hospitality during the October 2005 visit by 95 DDRA members called the Dunnett Seige of Malta.
"The first thing was to write to the Maltese government's Director of Libraries, Philip Borg, to seek permission to donate the books to Birgu libraIY. I wrote on behalf of the DDRA and explained about the organisation, the gathering, and the warm welcome given to us by the Birgu librarian, Desiree Bascetta. Mr Borg was 'delighted' to give his approval and said the books would be very welcome indeed ....".

Kathy's article is fulsome, indeed, with changes that had occurred with restoration since the previous October and with accounts of visits to key Knights of St John members who still live on Malta. There is an illustration of a 15th-century illuminated manuscript illustrating the life of St. Anthony the Abbot, which was one of many treasures that she was shown (including an original letter from Henry VIII to the Grand Master!).