Letting off fireworks is one of the great national pastimes in Malta and I was going to be there for two of the three displays over Grand Harbour to mark Malta's entrance into the European Union.

By Australian standards the fireworks were not much of a spectacle. However, I was not in Malta for the first night of fireworks which were set off to mark the start of the celebrations, so I may have missed the best of them. Three nights of fireworks is a big drain on resources.

There are over 20 small fireworks factories in Malta with each village competing with the others to have the biggest, best and noisiest display at its annual Festa. I am told that at these times everything is thrown up at once, as we do in Australia, within a short, sharp and very spectacular few minutes.

The displays I saw were not of this nature. First there would be the announcement over the loud speakers naming the factories from which the next lot of fireworks were made and then they were set off, one at a time, with an interval for admiration and reflection before the next one was sent up. This certainly gave one the opportunity to enjoy each particular firework, but a lot of them looked just like the last one and after a while it became rather monotonous and all I wanted to do was to go to bed and get some sleep - something which was impossible in my hotel room overlooking Grand Harbour where the display was shown.

The grand finale was a waterfall from below the Upper Barrakka Gardens which looked as though it could have been worth the wait - unfortunately I was positioned almost behind it and therefore missed its impact.

I was given to understand that one of the main aims of the fireworks, besides the visual display, was the amount of noise generated, a sentiment which I am fully in favour of. There were displays of firearms almost everywhere one went, with cannon outside the cathedrals, on the fortifications and in the armoury. When a friend and I went to the Rinella Battery to see the 100-ton gun we were treated to a display of cannonfire with a team of archaeologists showing how it was done, followed by a demonstration of gunfire and its resultant echo from the battery itself, with one shot sounding several times as it echoed around the ditch. I can imagine any enemy who survived an attack at that place being surprised at the poor marksmanship as there were about three apparent shots for every live round fired.

On my first Sunday morning in Valletta I went, reasonably early, to the Opera House in the hope of getting a photograph of it when it was devoid of parked cars and I stumbled on a very colourful parade up Republic Street to Freedom Square.

Parade of Knights of the Order of St John

The marchers were very colourfully dressed and marched to the rousing sound of drums and trumpets. When they reached Freedom Square they formed up and re-enacted the presentation of flags from the various langues of the Order of the Knights of St John, a demonstration of readiness for battle, should it become necessary.

I tried very hard to photograph this man from the front but he was too quick for me

Following the presentation of flags the muzzle-loading guns were fired to the accompaniment of much noise and smoke.

A lot of noise and smoke

The men (some with a distinctly female look about them) then marched back to Fort St Elmo, from whence they had come. It was all great fun, a very colourful spectacle and was followed there and back by a hoard of tourists.