2204“It happened when I was about 12. I had skived school for two days with a few of my girlfriends. We went to a beach, got rid of our uniforms and spent the whole day smoking and telling stories. Back then it was exciting, now maybe I don’t see the hype.

”I went back home. Someone had caught us, had called and spoken to my grandmother, who I used to live with back then. And she’s peeling potatoes in the kitchen and speaking to me.

”She’s like: ‘Anything you want to tell me today? How was school?’ I was like: ‘It’s fine, we did maths, we did religion etc.’ She kept trying to push me into the direction of coming clean beforehand. And she looks at me and she says this, which means the truth always surfaces.

”It’s memorable for me because it applies with everything in life, when you think about it. People lie – the truth comes out. Don’t lie, don’t cheat.”

Noella runs the BoHo hostel in St Julian’s, Malta, where this photo was taken, so do check it out if you visit the island. Taken on the SOTM World Tour.