Castle not fort

For many years, I have been arguing and insisting that what we have at the end of Vittoriosa is a castle and not a fort. It was originally known as Castellum Maris.

One may ask: what is the difference? The reply is simple. They are both fortified buildings but a castle was the residence of a noble person. In fact, one can still find the palace where such noble knights used to live. 

Reading the article by David Dandria (August 7) entitled ‘Theirs not to reason why’, there is a reproduction of a letter sent by the chief secretary’s office in Valletta, signed by H. Greig A.C.S. and C. Bayley M.S. to the officer commanding the Royal Artillery, dated August 4, 1823, which “grants salutes on the 9th Instant at noon and on the day following at half past ten A.M. and in the evening during the procession, from Castle St Angelo, accompanied by the tolling of the Castle bell”.

It seems that in later years St Angelo was demoted to a fort and later to a ship, namely HMS St Angelo. 

Now so many years later and after having restored the building, I think it is high time for us to give it back to its former glory and start calling it Kastell Sant’Anġlu. This is our heritage.

PHILIP BONELLO – Marsascala

Will no one help?

Is there no workers’ union ready to assist the Bolt food couriers who bravely stood up for their rights?  Are we all going to coldly look the other way while these people are exploited shamelessly?

I, for one, am not going to use any of the services that Bolt offers. I will not be a tacit accomplice to a scandalous, cheap labour set-up.

CARMEL ZAMMIT – Naxxar

Card payments

Is Maltapost the only national postal operator that still does not accept credit card payments? A postal service, owned by a bank, no less, and you have to use cash. The least they could have done when increasing their tariffs is to offer the convenience of cashless payments. After all it is 2022.

ROBERT AGIUS – Sliema

Cost of living

Everyone is experiencing an increase in the cost of living in Malta. Prices are going up day after day. This is a fact.

It’s not acceptable to be told that other countries also have the same problem. 

Something has to be done soon, especially for us pensioners. 

JOSEPH CINI – Paola

Only for the few

The government relies too much on the construction industry for economic growth. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

TVM recently said that more foreign nationals were coming to work here. Malta is already overpopulated and, as a result, our infrastructure is simply not coping.

Because Adrian Delia had once highlighted this problem, he faced heavy criticism.

The more people that come to live here, the more buildings are needed. Our farmland is being rapidly destroyed, our open spaces are disappearing and the quality of our air is deteriorating. You cannot live a healthy life if all you see are stones, traffic and concrete.

This government has no social conscience and relies too much on the construction industry for economic growth. Malta is becoming like a factory for concrete blocks.

Malta fits 24,312 times into Australia, yet, we have a very high population density. That is why young people no longer want to live here.

Speculators only care about themselves and, as they become multimillionaires, they enjoy the fresh air in other countries because they can travel as often as they like.

Malta’s future is not being planned with the common good in mind but only for the few.

JOE MONTESIN – Sliema