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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 3 JANUARY 2016 32 This Week EARLIER this year Comtec, Malta's leading company in the field of pest control, initiated an important col- laboration with the Notarial Ar- chives Resources Council (NARC) to 'Adopt a Volume'. Over €5,000 was contributed towards this adop- tion scheme. In this way Comtec is playing an important role in safeguarding the nation's paper heritage. The volume selected to undergo conservation treatment belongs to the collec- tion of notarial volumes of Notary Giacomo Baldacchino. This vol- ume is extremely important since various notarial deeds found in it were drawn up between May and September 1565, that is, during the Great Siege. The selection of this volume also commemorates the 450th anniversary of this historic event. This volume from the collection of acts of Notary Giacomo Baldacchi- no provides a unique account of the daily activities of a besieged commu- nity that struggled to survive against all odds. One of the most notable of these accounts is the inclusion of a note by Notary Baldacchino dated 7 September 1565 wherein he makes reference to the arrival of the Gran Soccorso. Notary Baldacchino gives details of the Ottoman forces and the great rejoicing of those desperately besieged in Mdina on hearing the news that a relief force had arrived from Sicily. Dr Joan Abela, Presi- dent of NARC, tells us how Notary Baldacchino recounts that the be- sieged community lay 'prostate be- fore God, while praising, glorifying and blessing the Lord God, our Re- deemer, who never forsook us while seeking (his aid), sing the hymn 'Te Deum Laudamus'and sing the psalm 'In exitu Israel de Aegypto'. Such a precious eyewitness account is extraordinarily rare. A qualified team, led by book and paper conservator Dr Theresa Zammit Lupi, executed all conser- vation work necessary. Dr Theresa Zammit Lupi commented that, "Through these sponsorships, we can make young graduates aware of the opportunity to pursue an exciting career in conservation, a much-needed profession for the preservation of our country's paper heritage." This particular volume required various time-consuming interven- tions including the removal of the damaged and half lost 19th century rebinding, surface cleaning, exten- sive textblock repairs, flattening of deformations and creased cor- ners, consolidation of ink-corroded leaves, resewing and rebinding. The style of binding selected for this manuscript is based on that of other existing manuscripts belong- ing to Notary Baldacchino. A pro- tective enclosure was also created to house the volume safely. Peter Mercieca, Comtec Director, commented that "Comtec has, for many years now, been involved in that part of the preservation proc- ess that involves the eradication of wood and paper boring insects and this being done either via traditional phosphine fumigation methods or more novel non-chemical anoxia solutions that we actually take on site. Our decision to sponsor the preservation of a small part of Mal- ta's heritage initiated from a similar newspaper article that illustrated others taking this path before us, and thus, we from Comtec, appeal to all other like-minded Maltese that want to give back the support that ensures our heritage receives the highest and most professional care it so deserves". T E A T R U M A N O E L M A L T A T E A T R U M A N O E L 2016 St. John's Co-Cathedral Monday 25th January 2016 - 7.30pm For tickets: bookings@teatrumanoel.com.mt | T: +356 2124 6489 www.vallettabaroquefestival.com | www.teatrumanoel.com.mt DU TREUER GOTT THE TRUE GOD J.S. Bach: Cantate BWV 103 "Ihr werdet weinen und heulen" J.S. Bach: Cantata BWV 115 "Mache dich mein Geist, bereit" D. Buxtehude : BuxWV78 "Nimm von uns, Herr, du treuer Gott" J.S. Bach: Cantata BWV 101 "Nimm von uns, Herr, du treuer Gott" performed by COLLEGIUM VOCALE GENT conducted by PHILIPPE HERREWEGHE 1101. Teatru - Baroque Festival 2016 - Du Truer Gott Advert - 20x3.indd 1 10/12/2015 16:57 Comtec adopts a 1565 volume at the Notarial Archives Before treatment: the textblock showing a damaged spine After treatment: the textblock repaired and newly sewn in a 16th century style NEWLY published novel Gramma was this year's surprise best-seller at the Book Festival. Aimed at teenag- ers, the story is a snapshot into 14- year old Analiża's life: her loves and her struggles. It also includes her bat- tle with anorexia. "But the novel is not a moral les- son on anorexia," said debut author Leanne Ellul. The teen-friendly style of writing, the every-day second- ary school setting of the plot, and the non-judgmental approach used throughout for such a complex subject as anorexia are probably the novel's winning features with young readers. Gramma is a fiction book, inspired, however, by a Leanne's own personal experiences and brings out the real- ity of the pain of those suffering from eating disorders. "My aim in Gramma was not to tell my own personal story of how I dealt with my eating disorder, nor to try and give readers tips and sugges- tions," Ellul, 25, said. "We need more books for ado- lescents which, rather than trying to lecture or instil fear in them, en- courage them to think more deeply about the decisions they make, but at the same time still offer the beautiful experience that comes with reading any good book." The novel won the Young Adult Literature Award in 2014, after which the author worked with a Merlin Publishers editor on the original text prior to publishing it in November. Ellul is also a past winner of the Fran- cis Ebejer award for playwrights. Merlin Publishers director Chris Gruppetta said that the book's pop- ularity was a welcome surprise as young adults read less, and crucially read much less in Maltese. "Street cred is the be-all and end-all at that age, and countless beautifully- written young adult novels in Maltese have struggled to attract their elusive audience," he said. Gramma, he said, was "easily" the fastest-selling book at the Malta Book Festival and sales figures kept rising in the follow-up to the Festival. "It's possibly the only Maltese young adult novel to have featured in the Agenda chain's Top 10 charts. I don't recall any such reaction to a Maltese young adult novel, except- ing perhaps Pierre J. Mejlak's seminal Riħ Isfel which had arguably created the genre in Malta." Gramma is available from all bookshops or online directly from www.merlinpublishers.com Bestselling debut novel tackles anorexia Leanne Ellul's debut novel was a bestseller for Merlin at last year's edition of the Malta Book Festival