Due to technical problems this year’s holiday message from our current publisher was wiped from the hard-drive and seeing as he is off to Bermuda for his annual knees-up, we have had to re-use the only one we still have on file — a holiday message from 1987.

Mr Bellamy says the Sony Walkman cassette player will be the big thing this Christmas

Dear Loyal Readers,

Another year is about to pass us and we are reminded of certain key events this past year that should serve us to pause and reflect:

First, in February the Tower Commission probing the Iran-Contra affair rebuked President Reagan. We look forward to hearing his views on this during an upcoming televised address.

On a more pleasant note, In March the Irish rock and roll group U2 released their best-selling album “The Joshua Tree’ and although enjoyable one can predict that this group has finally peaked and will now surely make a quick exit into retirement. They are definitely not spring chickens anymore!

Only a month later, the Fox television network showed just how desperate they are to attract ratings when they aired a cartoon called The Simpsons on the Tracy Ullmann Show. Not to fear Tracy, I’m certain your show will last for years to come and the crude Simpsons will very quickly be forgotten.

And who could forget that in May the  USS Stark was hit by two Iraqi owned Exocet AM39 air-to-surface missiles killing 37 sailors. This incident reminds us of the need to be tough with rogue regimes but one thing is absolutely 100% certain — invading Iraq is not the right answer. Thankfully, our leaders know better than to be drawn into that snake pit of endless tribal warfare.

Not much else happened in the summer, allowing people throughout the world to breed and boost the population to a whopping five billion people! Can you imagine?!

Our unpaid interns Andreas and David predict hair will be much bigger in 1988

In October, a time for ghouls and goblins, brought us ‘Black Monday’, October 19 to be precise, when the world’s financial markets crashed. The crash began in Hong Kong, which is ruled by the UK government, and then spread westward to Europe and then the US. Then it bounced back, just like in ping pong. Thankfully, Malta was spared.

Finally, whilst enjoying a glass of vintage port or two I found myself humming along to “The Loco-Motion”. The message in that little ditty is clear: All aboard and keep on moving forward!

Here’s to a wonderful and prosperous 1988! Cheers!

Yours,

Howard R Bellamy, Publisher

(Editor’s note: Mr Bellamy died in the spring of 1988)