Rather than confuse the reader with copious footnotes or an extensive glossary at the outset of the book, descriptions of items of food, for example, are given in the text whenever these might not be obvious. One question that will arise, however, is over place names, where there is sometimes a difference between Maltese spelling and Anglicized spelling. For the record, while Valletta can be spelt as Valetta, I have chosen to stick with what seems to be the more widely used former version, and again I have favoured Ta’Qali rather than Ta’Kali for the same reasons, and Paola rather than Pawla, and having lived in the latter place, I know that it is never spelt as Paula!
Place names have been spelt in full even in those cases where the Maltese will often abbreviate them, as in Birzebbugia, more usually spelt as B’Bugia, and Birkirkara, often seen as B’Kara.
As for the rest, I have used the Maltese ‘Santa Marija’ rather than the Italian Santa Maria.