Karen was the star of my class during my first stay in Malta and someone I much admired, but I thought she was out of my league. During our second tour I was pleasantly surprised that she also returned. Determined to ask her out at the Luqa Youth Club Christmas do at Hal Far in 1972 Dave Phillips and I turned up having shared a bottle of wine for Dutch courage and somehow I got the other girl and Dave got Karen; it was nearly so different though!