On Tuesday the 21st of October 2008, Rotary Club Gozo will be hosting a special gala dinner at the Cittadella Centre for Culture and the Arts, St Ursula Hall, The Citadel, Victoria, Gozo. The dinner will commence at 7pm.

The 21st of October is the 250th anniversary of Nelson’s victory, known as Trafalgar Day. The evening will start a week-long exhibition of marine paintings by Thomas J Burnell, an international marine artist who specialises in ships, seascapes, battles (the Nelson period in particular) and historical events at sea. His works can be seen on www.studiointheyard.com.

Thomas will have his work on display both at the dinner, in St Ursula Hall, and the exhibition in St John Hall. Proceeds from the dinner, and commissions on all sales will go to the four chosen charities of the Gozo Rotary Club, namely: The Friends of the Sick and Elderly in Gozo, Wirt Ghawdex, OASI and Happy Moments Kenya.

Everything comes together under the roof of the historic Citadel in Victoria It was within its fortifications that the French garrison was blockaded by the Gozitans during September and October 1798. On 24 October, Rear-Admiral Horatio Nelson arrived on the Vanguard off M?arr Harbour and there he met Archpriest Saverio Cassar, Head of the Matrice (Cathedral), Superintendent of the Island, and leader of the blockade, to draw the articles of surrender of the French. The draft document is preserved at the National Archives, Gozo Section, in Victoria.

The exhibition will run from the 22nd until the 29th of October, and will be open to the public from 10am to 3pm daily, and on Sunday from 11am to 3pm.