On the Dot...

Most of the Robellina palms chosen to decorate the main thoroughfare into Saint Paul's Bay, opposite Villino Chappelle, are struggling to survive and failing dismally. The rest have already lost the battle. Washingtonia would have been a much better choice than the present one, if the type of plants required were definitely palms for the aura they impart; otherwise, something hardier or at least indigenous would have fitted the bill much better.

Not e-Talking

How often are the internet-enabled street booths checked to see whether they are in good working order? People who cannot afford an internet subscription but who were encouraged nonetheless to adopt a free di-ve account are apt to find that they would be better off visiting their local council offices, or using an internet café, against payment, to access their e-mails.

Street Wise

Something appears to be holding up work at what ought to have been the zebra crossing at Mrabat Street, Sliema, on the Birkirkara Road side. This had to have Belisha beacons or at least a spotlight installed, such that drivers would perhaps finally realise this is a much-utilised pedestrian crossing zone.

Money Talks

There appears to be mutual agreement between the government and the opposition with regard to the amendments to the laws governing inheritance between spouses. And, yet, this legislation has yet to come into force. Why is the process taking so long?

Iron Filing

The steps enabling one to get into and out of the sea at the popular Iz-Zonqor beach, in Marsascala, in front of the Red House, were dislodged by rough seas a long time ago and never replaced. A few centimetres of sheared-off iron bracket, however, is still there, posing a grave danger to anyone unwary enough to trip over it. Not only must this danger be removed; the steps must be replaced forthwith.

Bread Alone

People with coeliac condition, it is true, receive gluten-free wheat from the Health Department in order to offset expenses they would otherwise incur. However, whereas the flour is indicated as "suitable for baking", making bread with it is well-nigh impossible. One wonders whether the type of flour previously available can be brought back instead.

Clean-Up

The local council must be too busy to bother cleaning up the locality. Spinola is another example of the damage wrought by pollution on an area. People won't take heed... including, it seems, the authorities. The residents are complaining but to what end?

Bone of Contention

The number of stray dogs roaming about freely in Mellieha increases in direct proportion to the heat. Obviously, these do not all belong to owners who move there for the summer holidays; some have that underdog expression which indicates they have been abandoned. Something must be done about culling them before they turn vicious through hunger.

Force Field

Well done to the constable on duty last Monday morning in front of Auberge de Castille, in Valletta who made a tourist put his shirt on "because this was the done thing in the capital city". Ironically, several similarly-unclad people later passed by the duty warden on the way to the Upper Barrakka but she did not say anything to them; she was too busy booking cars that a few people with nothing better to do were pointing out to her as being parked on yellow lines since she had last done her rounds.

Yellow Peril

It is really a good idea; but only for the selfish people who then go on to profit by it, not to the rest of the tax-paying public. Extending the yellow lines in front of garages to include the area in front of one's house seems to be the latest fad. A case in point is the entrance to Eman Mansions at No. 4, Norfolk Street, Sliema, which, despite the fact that there is a garage on either side, has now been thus marked.

Odds Uneven

On the back of the new Super 5 tickets issued by Maltco Lotteries Limited, the odds of getting three or four numbers correct are not only misleading; they are totally out. Instead of, respectively, being stated as 1:1148 and 1:22386, they are erroneously given as 1:128 and 1:4598. The figures shown on the back of lotto tickets are correct.

Time Again

On the same day that these columns included an item about a man approaching a young lady at the Malta International Airport, the news bulletins included an item about how people were apprehended in connection with a prostitution ring involving women from abroad. Police Commissioner Police John Rizzo was quoted as saying that prostitution is one of his bugbears. So what is the vice squad doing against what could well be loitering in the obvious areas?

Un-holy Mass

The noisy manner in which an usher addressed foreign visitors to St John's Co-Cathedral, in Valletta yesterday was certainly not what one would expect in a place of worship. As things turned out, in the first few minutes of the noon Mass, the congregation was more aware of the usher's presence than the celebrant who, at times, speaks so softly he is hardly audible!