• Many unused sites along the Mrieħel bypass are in a terrible state. Specifically, a field lying adjacent to the new Progress Press premises, having been used as a dumping site for years, is in dire need of a clean-up. Swarms of cockroaches and massive rodents roam the place. Surely this is detrimental to the health and safety of employees working in the area. Some enforcement, and not just notices that are evidently being ignored with impunity, should do.

Flowery

• Certain liquid detergents and fabric conditioners are becoming runnier as time goes by. Is it possible that the heat makes them watery or are they being diluted somehow, somewhere?

Fumble

• We have it on the authority of prison director Abraham Zammit that Corradino Correctional Facility is not crawling with illicit substances. However, he also admits it is not drug free. One can only wonder whether random but frequent inspections with sniffer dogs and the promise of longer sentences tagged on to present ones would perhaps discourage a number of inmates from contributing to the statistics. And what about a serious, independent inquiry?

Frequency

• Pharmacists complain because, despite warnings and explanations, customers still insist upon purchasing over-the-counter antibacterial lotions for skin conditions, even when they are not indicated and can actually do more harm than good. The solution is simple, make them available solely on prescription as has been done by one conscientious pharmacist in Floriana. Or will this affect sales?

Fastidious

• Two basements in Triq il-Ħalel, Buġibba, just round the corner from the higher end of Islets Promenade, are being renovated. The owner was conscientious enough to block access with two large iron gates. Yet, there is a space between the lower edge of the gate and the ground through which a toddler can easily crawl or fall. This must be remedied as soon as possible

Fellows

• We are informed that ARMS Ltd’s customer care offices will now be situated at Blata l-Bajda. This is good news because the offices will now be at a crossroads, lessening journey time for most people. It is hoped there will be no further need for hundreds of people to congregate there in the future.

Friendly

• George Debono is proposing a scheme called Healthy Mobility in Sliema, whereby traffic would have to crawl slowly enough so as not to endanger the lives of pedestrians and cyclists. This, on the face of it, appears to be a good idea. However, the chances are that once out of such areas drivers will zoom away to make up for lost time.

Furtive

• There has been a spate of handbag snatching, sometimes in reaction to people not wanting to give money to those who are begging. A lot of fuss has been made about this but nothing is being said about foreigners who knock on doors pleading poverty and a number of children to feed. Sometimes, these hand residents papers to read because they say in broken English that they don’t know either that language or Maltese. Is this legal?

Freaky

• The section of road overlooking the part of the beach near the Torri in St Paul’s Bay has been embellished to look like the deck of a ship. It looks lovely, however, the bars in the balcony are placed across, such that they may act as ladders to inquisitive children. The balcony, it is true, is wrought in the “pregnant window” style, making this more difficult. Yet, it can be done as was amply demonstrated last Saturday. It will only take one moment of distraction for a terrible accident to happen.

Fashion

• It has now become fashionable to boast that one has saved animals from a fate worse than death and then use them as attractions, albeit in a much more humane way than that from which they were saved. This is illogical.

Fruitful

• Much ado has been made about how bambinella (tiny pears) from Malta is making it big, despite its size, in Great Britain. A lot of this fruit has been exported and the exquisite taste has even led to a supermarket chain to sell it. Ironically, however, this fruit is rarely found for sale locally, and when it is, it is clear by the quality of what is available that it has been picked over already and the prime fruits removed – perhaps for export.

Fixed

• A client using the ATM machine at Fleur-de-Lys Junction had the system indicate that he could take out €600 because his account was clearly in the black. Yet, when he keyed in that amount, he was told that the maximum the machine could dispense was €500. This happened on August 15. What if he specifically needed €600 to pay back a debt on deadline?

• Fumes

On August 14, the smell of drainage in the air was almost palpable. However, no streams of effluent were seen in the streets in the general area of the Immaculate Conception church in Ħamrun. Is there something wrong with the system or was it merely a fluke caused by the hot weather?