Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1017392
17 COMMERCIAL maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 22 AUGUST 2018 New violin-making course at the Malta Society of Arts THE Malta Society of Arts (MSA) has just launched its schedule of courses starting in the first week of October. The long list of exciting visual, applied and performing arts classes has some interesting additions for this year's win- ter semester, including a new Fine Arts Portraiture course and a Violin-Making course tutored by an Italian violin- maker – what's known as a lu- thier or 'liutaio' in Italian. Students attending the vi- olin-making course will be creating the head of their very own violin stringed with a theoretical base for building violins in the classical Italian tradition. The sessions, which will be held in the English lan- guage, will be practice-orient- ed 'laboratory' sessions taking place at the MSA's seat, the Palazzo de La Salle. The art rooms of the Palazzo will then be hosting the Fine Arts Portraiture course con- sisting of several consecutive sessions with one model pos- ing in the same pose to instill discipline in the participants. The course is aimed at lovers of fine art portraiture with some knowledge and experi- ence in traditional techniques, and it will surely be one of the popular visual art classes in the coming months. Other winter courses which fall under the visual arts um- brella will include Fine Arts Nude Figure, Art for Juniors (varying ages), Preparation for Art O'Level, Art for Adults, Art for Mature Students, Clay Modelling, Art Workshops and Photography. The applied arts section on the other hand will offer les- sons in Crochet, Lace Mak- ing, Cottage Crafts, Crib Building, Cake Decorating, Dress Making, Tailoring, Embroidery, Gold Embroi- dery, Cross Stitch, Cut Work, Hardanger, Hansa, Gilding, Knitting, Monastery Work, Parchment, Patchwork, Soft Furnishings and Ganutell, among others. Finally, stu- dents in the performing arts courses can choose to learn the guitar (electric, acoustic and classical), piano, violin and voice. Most of the courses con- sist of 12 sessions of around two to two and a half hours per session, with the first les- son starting at the beginning of October and concluding towards the end of January 2019. Bookings are now open. For more info, kindly visit artsmalta.org/courses or call the Malta Society of Arts on 21244339/21244400 or email on info@artsmalta.org. AS a freight forwarder and customs clearance agent, Thomas Smith is licensed to handle shipping of live animals. The Pet Cargo divi- sion, which falls under the Airfreight department, was recently involved in the plan- ning and execution of the re- location of 13 pet cats from Dubai to Malta. The move presented numer- ous challenges given the unu- sual number of animals being imported. Prior to the travel date, the Pet Cargo team advised the pets' owner to microchip all animals in ac- cordance to ISO 11784/11785 requirements and have all the cats vaccinated against rabies, 21 days prior to their arrival in Malta. An Original Health Certificate was prepared for all 13 cats. Establishing a smooth and safe trip relies heavily on the ability of the team to familiar- ise themselves with the pets' habits and behaviour, such as if it's their first time travel- ling, whether they are on any medication or if they show signs of aggression towards others. Any issues are taken into consideration to ensure no complications arise. Due to the unique extent of this job, the owner flew from Dubai to meet the Pet Cargo division at the Thomas Smith offices to discuss the essen- tials. The team worked close- ly with the owners' appointed agent in Dubai, who handled the export documents, such as health certificates, and the purchasing of animal trans- port cages. All documents were reviewed to ensure full conformity with live animal shipping regulations. The application for the import li- cense from the Trade Depart- ment was filed, the CVEDA certificate was prepared from the state vet in Malta and cus- toms declarations forms han- dled prior to the pets' arrival. To ensure a safe and com- fortable flight, the IATA Live Animal Rules & Regu- lations were adhered to and the owner was advised which best cages to purchase based on size and type. As the com- pany handling the export, the pet owner's Dubaian agent supervised the purchase of storage accommodation for the 13 cats. A direct flight from Dubai to Malta was booked for all 13 pets, plus their owner, who travelled back to Dubai to ac- company her cats on their long journey from the UAE to Malta. Pets cannot always travel as accompanied cargo, however, in this case, the ar- rangement proved to be cost- effective, whilst giving the owner further peace of mind. Once the aircraft arrived in Malta, the pets were cleared in, while the government vet and customs agents reviewed that all documents and mi- crochips were in order. Once the vet confirmed that all was correct, the customs agents approved the release of the pets. Pet owners are reassured of their pets' full protection after a complete walk-through of the shipping process and how their companions are treated throughout the entire transit when they meet the Thomas Smith Pet Cargo team. The International Air Transport Association de- mands that at least 2 employ- ees complete the LAR (Live Animal Regulations) course to supervise the shipping of live pets. Four Thomas Smith Pet Cargo employees have the authority to oversee pet im- ports and exports, follow- ing in-house training as well as completion of the LAR course, which gives them full knowledge about animals' be- haviour during flights. Thomas Smith is a PET ap- proved shipper (LAR certi- fied) and an IATA member. For further information, con- tact its airfreight department at airfreight@tcsmith.com or call on +356 2205 8146. Applications are now open for around 25 winter courses in the visual, applied and performing arts taking place at Palazzo de La Salle, Valletta 13 cats' journey from Dubai to Malta