Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/278185
41 maltatoday, Sunday, 16 March 2014 Events Ray's Adventure is a new fun and interactive game that guides play- ers through a number of important stages in one's life, all of which re- quire insurance cover. The game is not only intended to be fun but is also a life's journey which reflects reality. The game, created by GasanMa- mo together with Anchovy Studios, follows Ray, the protagonist, on his life journey - getting his first car, holidaying with friends for the first time, buying his first home, starting a family and enjoying more leisure time in the later years. Ray's Adventure illustrates the ne- cessity of planning and insurance in a fun but effective manner. It can be played through Facebook or via its website. Players have to collect coins to enable them to proceed to the next level. There are attractive prizes to be won for those who place first, second and third at the end of a given period. Mark Mamo, General Manager, GasanMamo, spoke about the ob- jectives behind the game. "We feel it is indispensable to be familiar with insurance and the products available in order for us to be able to help and offer our clients peace of mind during the several stages of life. Ray's adventure is a light-heart- ed and fun way to interact with the community and deliver our mes- sage". Benji Borg, Creative Director at Anchovy Studios, said, "Ray's Ad- venture was developed thanks to the support of Malta Enterprise, so I would like to thank them for help- ing get the project off the ground. It was a challenging yet very enjoyable experience developing the game. The designs were inspired primarily by Maltese landscapes, however Ray also goes off elsewhere in his adven- ture. We hope people enjoy it!" Ray's Adventure can be played through Facebook, by liking Gasan- Mamo's Facebook Page or on www. raysadventure.com. Frank Salt Real Estate registered growth throughout all its operations during 2013, most notably an overall increase of 38% in sales turnover and an increase of 28% in letting. Activ- ity in the commercial property sector has also been very promising with in- creasing interest in office space, par- ticularly from overseas. This was announced at the Annual General Conference held by Frank Salt Real Estate at the Hilton Hotel earlier in March, during which the directors updated its sales consult- ants and stakeholders on the Com- pany's performance during 2013 and also put forward its objectives for 2014 – in line with the five-year plan announced by the company late last year – which will see the com- pany gradually augmenting its staff complement, both in terms of prop- erty consultants and support staff, to record levels. In his speech, Joseph Lupi, Manag- ing Director, confirmed a positive growth in business activity, particu- larly in the latter six months of 2013 with buyer confidence returning to the market. A good indication of this is the increase of 49% in active buyers and 31% in letting clients over 2012. Sales to foreigners amounted to 45% of the Company's total sales with an increase in interest by foreigners looking at taking up residence. Tak- ing a closer look at the local market, there was a very positive increase in market share for second-time buyers, also thanks to the current scheme being offered to this market, which puts together an excellent portfolio of good value properties sought by these clients, and added value provided by the company through cash vouchers and furniture discounts. The Sec- ond Time Buyer scheme is available till June 2014, with a similar scheme for First Time Buyers expected to be launched in the coming weeks. The buy to let and commercial property market shares also regis- tered a very positive increase, with the former amounting to a consid- erable percentage of total sales for 2013. In 2013 the company increased the number of new consultants by 15%. This is also thanks to the introduc- tion of new remuneration packages and a number of initiatives aimed to attract new property consultants to join the team. The company is also seeking new offices in Sliema, San Gwann and Fgura. Due to the expected increase in demand, both for properties for sale and property to let, and the drop in supply of good value properties, a call was also launched to owners and landlords of properties to register these on the company's books. "Frank Salt Real Estate enjoys an excellent reputation throughout the industry, be it developers, property owners and local and foreign clients. Coupled with the company's ongo- ing marketing efforts and forward thinking approach, we expect 2014 to be an excellent year and we want to be fully prepared for this. We are looking for properties that offer good value, in terms of price, location and potential, stated Joseph Lupi. The evening also saw the pres- entation of the Annual Awards to the top performing consultants and staff members. Amongst others, the Mellieha branch was awarded Best Branch for the year, whilst Julian Caruana and Ludwig Farrugia were conferred as Best Sales Consultant and Best Lettings Consultant for 2013 respectively. Emirates launches new service to Boston Ray's Adventure - celebrating life's milestones with GasanMamo 15% increase in sales force and 38% increase in sales turnover for Frank Salt Real Estate in 2013 2014 expected to be one of the company's best years airline's eighth uS gateway connects passengers and cargo to new England hub Emirates, a global connector of peo- ple and places, has launched its daily, non-stop service between Dubai and Boston. Boston becomes the airline's eighth US destination and the 142nd on its global network which links key tourism and trading destinations across six continents. Emirates will operate daily flights between the two cities with a Boeing 777-200LR aircraft in a three-class configuration, offering eight seats in First Class, 42 in Business Class and 216 in Economy Class. "We are extremely upbeat about our new Boston service. From the moment we first announced plans to connect Massachusetts to our global network, we have received a strong and positive response from travellers and our business customers - not only in the US, but also in our home mar- ket of the UAE, and other major cit- ies Asia, Africa and the Middle East," said Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airline. "Emirates' inaugural flight carries passengers from the UAE and 39 other destinations, illustrating the reach of our global network and the potential tourism and trade opportu- nities of our daily service. We thank our friends in Boston and Massachu- setts for the warm welcome and look forward to serving this exciting city and state." In addition to passengers, Emirates SkyCargo will operate bellyhold cargo space to help transport goods to and from Boston – goods such as elec- tronics, medical equipment, phar- maceuticals, machine parts, leather products, consumer commodities, as well as New England's finest lobster. Emirates SkyCargo can carry up to 15 tonnes per day. One of the oldest cities in North America, Boston is also a popular tourist destination with an abun- dance of cultural and historical land- marks. EK237 will depart Dubai at 09:45 and arrive in Boston at 15:15. The re- turn flight, EK238, will take off from Boston at 23:15 and land in Dubai at 19:30 the next day. Emirates began passenger services to America in 2004 with the launch of daily non-stop flights from New York JFK to Dubai, and now offers daily flights to Washington, Hou- ston, Dallas, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Emirates operates daily scheduled flights from Malta to Dubai. On Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays Emirates flies via Larnaka, Cyprus, while on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Fridays, the airline operates direct flights from Dubai to Malta and return flights fly via Tripoli. For further information about Emirates and to book flights to Bos- ton, one may visit www.emirates.com or contact the preferred travel agent. In continuation with an ongoing educational campaign about puppy socialisation and habituation by the breeder or early caregiver in the first 8 weeks of life, Dogs Trust Malta and the SPCA are now turning to the public, to guide them on what to ask for when looking for a puppy. The Puppy Plan is a sixteen-week socialisation and habituation plan that follows the puppies' natural physical and emotional develop- ment, exposing them to audio, vis- ual, physical and social stimuli in a comprehensive, step-by-step and formalised way. The Puppy Plan is an initiative of Dogs Trust UK and The Kennel Club UK together with behaviourist and trainer Carolyn Menteith, that has been re-launched in the UK on the 12 February of this year as part of the Assured Breed- ers Scheme (ABS) and has now been brought to Malta with the support of the Parliamentary Secretariat for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights, The Malta Kennel Club, The Malta National Canine Federation and all the dog shelters in Malta and Gozo. Many, if not most, behaviour prob- lems in dogs such as fear of visitors to the home, noise phobias, and separation anxiety, could have eas- ily been prevented with the right so- cialisation in the first sixteen weeks. The Puppy Plan leaves little room for guesswork for anyone raising a litter of puppies. "It is very common for unin- formed people to end up with pup- pies that are unhealthy, and very un- der-socialised and this often leads to a breakdown in their relationship with their pets, making it easier to abandon or give away their dogs. We expect to see an improvement of breeding practices in Malta in fu- ture, which coupled with our efforts to neuter dogs, should largely reduce the number of unwanted dogs", says Sarah De Cesare Dunkerley, Head of Dogs Trust Malta. After holding a series of seminars on the 13 October last year and the 13 and 15 February this year where breeders and canine carers were in- vited to learn about The Puppy Plan, the charities are now launching an offer enabling people who buy or adopt a puppy from responsible sources that have implemented the puppy socialisation plan to get one year free pet insurance from All- Care Insurance Ltd. The Puppy Plan, along with new regulations on the breeding and sale of dogs, will bring a revolu- tionary change in breeding, selling and adoption practices of puppies in Malta. Proof of the Puppy Plan needs to be presented to Dogs Trust in the form of a journal, pictures and videos of the daily tasks in the first eight weeks of life, for new owners to be able to get their year of free in- surance. People are encouraged to register their interest by contacting Dogs Trust before confirming the adoption or purchase of the puppy in order to avail themselves of the offer. The charity may be contacted on 777 111 00/21 421 500 or by email on office@dogstrustmalta.com. More information may be found on www.dogtrainingmadeeasy.org/ the-puppy-plan. Emirates' Boeing 777-200LR in-flight Dogs Trust give away free pet insurance for puppy plan graduates