Imagine for a moment, if you will, that you are a Maltese labourer living in Valletta in the 19th century. You live in the safely behind the walls in the capital city, but during the day you head out of the city in work on a farm in the rolling hills outside the city. You'd usually start out quite early to avoid the worst heat of the day, take a lunch break and siesta with your friends around midday, and then keep working from early afternoon until late. But you also know that, as a traditional walled city, Valletta closes its gates at night. How do you know when to head home, without a watch or clock in the fields?

As the sun begins to descend, you hear a distant shot ring out. Cannon fire. This is your steam whistle at the end of the working day, your cue to say 'yabba-dabba-doo!'. For while the sound of artillery fire would normally inspire fear or determination, this is how Valletta lets its inhabitants know that the gates will soon be closing, and it's time to come home.

So it was during the time of the Kinghts, the French, and the British, and so it remains to this very day.

Hope you enjoy!