Pawlu Mintoff

Actor Pawlu Mintoff loves satire, but he takes his religious and family life seriously. Interview by Zillah Bugeja

Wednesday

I'm a sales person with Attard & Co. and I've been with them for about a year. I enjoy my work, especially meeting people and making contacts. It's a real challenge to be in sales. But what I like about this company is that I have to do all the paperwork too from A to Z, and that means I know exactly what's happening and I can be in control. If there's a mistake, I would have made it myself, and it means in the end you give a better service.

But I was on leave today, so we all went off to Valletta to do our Easter shopping. We bought some figolli from Camilleri. My wife Denise loves shopping. I try to help her with decisions, you know, but when she takes longÖ even my daughter Paula who's nine has taken after me. Not even when we're buying stuff for her does she enjoy it, she has no patience.

We ate together at home. I didn't cook, but I do love to! It's my way of relaxing, with some good classical music in the background, maybe a glass of wine: red, Italian like Barolo or Montepulciano. My favourite dish is chicken breasts which I fill with spinach, mushrooms and garlic. It's cooked in a bit of olive oil and white wine, when the liquid starts boiling you add the chicken, add a stock cube and garlic powder and cook for 15 minutes. You leave it so set a while and then slice each chicken breast. They come really good.

I also like to cook pasta. My speciality is a baked pasta with aubergines, peppers and mushrooms, which can also have a breadcrumb topping. When Paula's at school, I'm the one who prepares her lunch every day, and I always take Denise a cup of tea in bed - so I might not help with the cooking as often as I'd like, but I do my share. And whenever I cook, I make sure I do the plates too.

Thursday

This is always my busiest day. Apart from Supernews on Net, I'm also involved in a programme on radio with Manwel and Gorg Peresso, called Lapsus. We do the recordings on Thursday and it's on air on Saturday at 1pm. It's doing well, and has been nominated for the BA award for the second time. After that, I normally go to do the recording for the Supernews programme. So we normally do a week's recordings, but being Maundy Thursday the timetable changed radically. Right now we are being satirical about the Pope's visit, poking fun at the stage they've built in Floriana.

The chemistry between us is what makes the programme a success. You have to be natural. And another thing, I don't like to offend anyone. I just want to have a good laugh and that's it. Sometimes my daughter does complain that I'm ëalways working', but that's the reason I do all the recordings on one day.

This was a special Thursday. I was still on leave. We met up with the others from the Maranatha prayer group and had a beautiful Passover-type meal at the Palms. First we all had mass together, there were about 150 of us. Then this was followed by the washing of the feet, with an explanation of its significance. We also learned that the bread was unleavened because the Jews were in a hurry to leave for Egypt, so had no time to leave it rise! We ate lamb with vegetables and a bitter radish sauce to dip the bread in. There are 13 in each cloche within the prayer group, and it was the leader of each group who did the washing of the feet. The function was over by midnight.

Friday

Good Friday today. Soon after waking, we went to Valletta to do the seven visits in different churches. After that my daughter wanted us to buy her an qaqgha tal-appostli, we obliged, and it was back home. After lunch I rested a bit, then I went with my daughter to church for the function at 3pm, in the Old Church of Birkirkara.

After that I had wanted to see the procession, but decided that it was too cold for us to be standing around for hours, so we stayed home and watched it on TV instead.

I did a bit of reading from the Bible. We make it a point to pray together, and I like to spend time explaining the Bible to my daughter, I think that's important.

For 17 years of my life I used to play the part of Jesus in pageants, ever since I was 13 years old, it started in St Roccu church, then ta' Giezu and after that at the Catholic Institute. To prepare myself for the part, I used to go on a retreat. I really miss taking part, I don't miss acting at all but these parts I miss a lot - we always used to do a modern version of the Bible story, not exactly verbatim.

Thank God at the moment we will be going abroad to evangelise, and I will be taking the role of Jesus in a mime. It will be in Sicily where we're going to hold a big healing service at the Catania stadium. At 42 I'm too old to play the part of Jesus in pageants, but I can get away with it in a mime.

I can say that having played Jesus, I have realised just how much He has done for us, and I feel I'm not doing anything for Him. After just 15 minutes on the cross I get so tired, so I have had an inkling into the kind of physical suffering He went through.

Saturday

Woke up late today, 10am. Came to Valletta and did some more shopping. We then ate together at home and I had some work to do. A friend came around to help me fix the TV aerial and we did some more work, mending the electricity plugs. It all took a while, till 7pm and I had to go to the Easter Vigil with the group again at Gudja. We do three days together at this time of year. The function went on till 1am.

Sunday

My wife Denise prepared lunch for eight people , it was going to be pork roast, veg and some very good wine. Everything went well, and all the guests stayed till 6pm, when Denise and her parents joined me to visit my mother again, seeing as it was Easter, it was a special occasion. We gave my mother her presents, and she was very happy because all my brothers and sisters were there too, so it was a very peaceful occasion.

Monday

Woke up at 7am, and out to 7.30am mass. At about 8.15 I started work. So I was off to St Julian's and Mosta to sell my wares, including Saquella coffee, Citra wines, Bianconi pasta and Fiorucci salamis and cheeses. I've been on the road for 14 years, so I'm used to it, but of course the worst time is in summer.

Working in South Street means I often pop in to CafÈ Marisi. After work I visited my mother at Villa Messina. Monday is my day, so she'll have a visitor every day, it's important.

After that I went to watch the match. Although I live in Birkirkara, I'm from Valletta, so it was a happy ending for me! I do get very nervous when we're playing though, as you can tell if you look at my nails!

Straight home by 10pm, managed to spend some time to play with my daughter and then spent time talking with my wife.

Tuesday

Mass is something I look forward to, I feel I need the blessing! When my daughter is at school, I go to 7am mass and then take her to St Michael's.

Started my work day at Busy Bee and then it was off to Sliema and to the Eden Century where I was making contacts and gave them a sample of our tortilla chips. Back to the office after 1pm. Fiorucci constitutes the largest percentage of our sales, but this restriction due to the foot and mouth scare is losing us business. There is no danger from Italian products, and we can prove that our products are fine.

Afternoon at the office. Sometimes after work I prepare stuff for the Supernews programme. I'm always alert to what's happening. But even then you have to find time to spend with the family too. This is the fifth year we've been doing the programme. We have an audience of 15 to 20 thousand, not bad for a five minute slot daily!

I love doing satirical stuff the best. I also pay attention to any ideas that people pass on. You have to be careful but nowadays people are more open to satire. Paula's got a small part on the programme Bricollage, she wants to take after her parents, but we don't push her into acting - school is more important.

We make it a point to play as a family too - games like Pictionary or Uno. I don't watch much TV unless there's a game of football. Denise supports Inter too, because of me maybe.