The festa season has kicked off in Malta, bringing with it the usual complaints about fireworks and bells ringing at the crack of dawn. Every year, parishioners and new residents across several villages clash over whether bell-ringing should continue for tradition’s sake. Just last month the Żebbuġ archpriest had to intervene in a squabble on social media over bell-ringing on the feast day, while earlier this year Qormi parishioners started a petition to ensure the church clock bells are not silenced. Attempts to stop bell-ringing are not new, with history books showing that even the British failed to silence them when they ruled the island. And soon, people will also be able to listen to bell sounds, from every church on the island, by logging onto a website being developed by the National Archives of Malta to be launched later this year. Aptly called Memorja, the website will be an oral, sound and visual archive, and a main repository of the Maltese national and public memory. It will host hundreds of recollections dating back to the 1920s, with footage of interviewees talking about various subjects – from shipbuilding to migration and World War II events to herbal...