Last Update August 2007

The New Club

The Building of Our New Club Premises in 2006

On Friday, January 20, the marble slabs for the secondary stairs were delivered.

. On Sunday, January 29, work was initiated on the second decorative emblem which will eventually be placed on the secondary facade of the building. This emblem is associated with music and consists of a sculptured lyre, a V-shaped harp. On this day, some work was also done in the storage area of the basement involving the pouring of concrete.

. On January 31, the Society received the designs of the marble floor of the St. George Hall from Innocent Centorrino which was passed on to the contractor the following day.

Frontispiece Number One

Martin Formosa constructing one of the Frontispiece

. On Thursday, February 2, a large amount of (torba) was delivered to the Billiard, St. George and Committee Halls. This material was used in leveling the floor in preparation for the laying of the marble tile work in these halls.

Martin Formosa finalized the wooden door and window designs for the St. George Hall and presented them to the Central Committee on February 6. In addition, the Central Committee also decided on the design of the (ferrobattuto) stair railing.

. On March 3, the Central Committee examined the tenders submitted and awarded the work of the wooden doors and windows of the respective halls as well as the stair railing to the chosen bidders.

Frontispiece Number Two

. On Sunday, March 5, Salvu Magro, helped by Baskal Ellul, Michael Aquilina and Michael Farrugia resumed work on the, plumbing and drainage systems. Work of a tidying nature was also done in the billiards room while Martin Formosa resumed work on the sculpturing of the second decorative emblem.

. The work on the five secondary stairs covered with travertina and white marble (bianco carrara) was completed. On March 8, work commenced on the laying of tiles in the Billiards Hall - this was completed by Wednesday, March 15.

. On Sunday, March 26, Peter Caruana, Baskal Ellul and Michael Farrugia modified part of the provisional wall, at ground level, in front of the building facade in order to accommodate Enemalta in the replacement of an electrical pole. Joseph Aquilina resumed work on the plastering of the radio room walls and the balustrade. In the meantime, Salvu Magro installed a large water storage tank on the radio station roof and made all the pipe connections to and from this tank.

Marlon Aquilina

. Charlie Bugeja worked on the laying of tiles in the toilets at the radio room level while Salvu Magro completed the installation of the water system at this level. Simultaneously to this, more work was being carried out by Carmelo Magro, Frankie Mifsud and Salvu Magro on the installation of the electrical system at ground floor level.

. On March 27, Martin Formosa completed the sculpturing of the decorative emblem of the secondary facade. The bulkier blocks were reduced in size on the bandsaw thereby eliminating unnecessary hardship in lifting.

. On Tuesday, March 2, work was started on the laying of the tiles, with geometric design, in the St. George Hall. This work continued until Saturday, May 6, when the central part of this hall was completed.

. On Saturday, May 6, the sculptured blocks making up the decorative emblem of the secondary facade were lifted, together with Stiefnu' s winch, onto the roof. Stiefnu' s winch is used in the lifting of individual blocks of the emblem into position without the use of much effort.

. The following day, Sunday, Joseph Aquilina resumed with the work of plastering the balustrade and the radio room. In addition, Salvu Magro and Michael Farrugia resumed work on the installation of the water system. More volunteers worked on the laying of the blocks making up the decorative emblem of the secondary facade among whom were Baskal Ellul, Michael Aquilina, Martin Formosa, Joe Zerafa and Karmenu Borg.

. On Friday, May 8, Salvu Magro together with his son Carmelo Magro did the bulk of the work in connection with the installation of the electrical system in the bar area. Martin Formosa initiated work on the first finial which will eventually find its place, together with thirteen other identical finials, on the top-front of the building, above the balustrade. When installed, these finials will signify the completion of all the work related to the entire facade of the building.

. On Sunday, May 13, work on the laying of the decorative emblem of the secondary facade was completed, Salvu Magro carried on with more electrical and drainage .work. Work of a tidying nature was also done.

. The following Sunday, the decorative emblem just installed was grouted while Joseph Aquilina did more work on plastering and grouting of the facade. The first finial was placed in its final position to one side of the emblem.

. Joe Spiteri erected the shuttering, later to be filled with concrete, as an extension of the existing concrete block for the flagpole. The concrete was donated by the Minister of the Ambient and Infrastructure, Architect Ninu Zammit.

. On May 28, the decorative emblem was given the final retouches and the scaffolding around it was removed. Additional scaffolding was put up in order for Joseph Aquilina to be able to plaster the underside of the upper balcony.

. The rest of the marble floor in the St. George Hall was now completed. Work of a preparatory nature was initiated in connection with the laying of the marble slabs on the upper part of the main staircase.

. While plastering and grouting work on the facade resumed, more finishing work was done on the bands around the door and window openings of the St. George Hall. Some building equipment was removed from the bar area in preparation for the festive season.

. On Sunday, June 11, Michael Aquilina continued with work on the main staircase while Joseph Aquilina continued with the plastering of the balconies. Preparations and the necessary consultations were made with the carpenter in connection with the installation of the main front doors. Some concrete, which was later covered with liquid membrane by Michael Farrugia, was poured in the balconies as a precaution against water seepage.

. On Monday, June 12, the (ferrobattuto) handrails were  installed on the stairs on the roof. The marble tiling of the Committee Hall has now been started.

. In the week that followed, the floor of the Committee Hall was completed while the marble in the kitchen adjacent to the St. George Hall was also finished.

One of the stairs before concreting

. It was agreed that in the not too distant future, three doors and three windows will be made for the second floor, on the front of the building. All the stone block and other debris was removed from the bar area in preparation for the opening of a temporary bar during the days of the local feasts.

. The last item on this list worth mentioning is the delivery of the two artistic (ferrobattuto) handrails for the secondary stairs. These handrails will be finished and painted by Grezzju Farrugia with the help of others.

This great edifice, built by volunteers and with the minimum of problems, bears witness to the generosity, ability and hard work of the members of this Santa Marija Society of Qrendi. One can safely say that this is the greatest project undertaken in our village in these latter years, the cost of which approaches the Lm200,000 mark. The building itself was erected in a style that respects the ambient of the village centre, with correct architecture that pleases the eye. Shortly, this building will lend itself to more activity within our Society. This added activity will in turn help the St. Mary's Band to continue to be the biggest band in our village with even more than 34 elements that at present make up the band. In this building we could coordinate better the activities of the various sections within the Society, the ultimate goal being the more organized celebration of the feast of the Assumption in a way that most pleases as well as honors Our Patron St.Mary.

Marbling the Floors

Felix and Joe Zerafa closing the last and centre part of the balcony

Nazzareno Axiaq waqt tikhil tal-Faccata

We thank all the voluntary workers mentioned above and more. Because of them not a cent was spent on working hours.