How annoying!

It is 7.36 a.m. according to my computer and I am just back from my pilgrimage hot, dusty and feeling as if I have been dragged through Maghtab!

I made it a point to remember this morning that the clock on Spinola Square has been out of action for months... but that is totally by the way!

As we brace ourselves to face yet another heatwave; officially 35 Celsius, I was persuaded by a charming walking companion to accompany her all the way to Manoel Island. The object of this was to see the state of the promenade from the Ferries to the Manoel Island Bridge!

After the well-kept St Julian's and Sliema walk this was a descent into hell! A hell entirely of our own making!

Every morning from Spinola to Ghar-id-Dud there are men picking what is left of the revels of the night before. It would take a Hercules to get some sort of sembianza d'ordine to the harrowing Gzira stretch!

This is Dirt with a capital D!

The few bins that exist, are overflowing and there are horrid black stains all over the paving. It is simply terrible!

The worst bit is where the pergolas and the statue of Turu Rizzo are. I would have imagined that this would be the Gzira council's pride and joy. Not a bit of it! It was as if an army of litterbugs had desecrated the place!

Can the wardens be on patrol in the evening before we are totally smothered under a mountain of debris?

Can we not have a conscience and remember that it is human beings like ourselves with a sense of smell, among other things, who have to clear up after our mindless littering?

This morning the whole of St Julian's is enveloped in an acrid stench. I shudder to think what we are breathing in!

We are a nation of grumblers, but we are also first class litterbugs! There is nothing for it but to physically control this and fine on the spot if necessary as no amount of appeal will stop the malaise.

PS - I have given up on Radio Bronja in the morning and switched to 100.2 FM. The music may not be so highbrow but at least one knows what it is!