On the Dot...

A hefty sum of money - Lm6 million spread over five years - is earmarked towards the strategic plan for the implementation of the new minimum curriculum across the board. No doubt, somewhere in small print, is the rider that nothing can be done until reading skills are thoroughly honed into becoming second nature for our schoolchildren. As it is, even teachers of English in secondary schools often have to revert to the vernacular to illustrate their lessons, simply because the grasp of vocabulary of a class is well below what may reasonably be expected of that age-group.

Answering Service

Ever since the number for local enquiries was changed from 191 to 1182, the operators manning the service have had a wonderful change of heart. Rarely is one required to hold on for more than two minutes and the operators do their best to find the required number(s), often having nothing but a tentative address, or a surname, to go by.

Off the Chest

Not many people bother to go for a dental check-up unless they have a niggling pain that will just not go away. In the same way, but on a more serious note, not many people bother to go for a mammogram until it may be too late. In this category sometimes fall all those who have had a close relative die of breast cancer and so fall automatically in the at-risk group. Surely random testing of the country's female population will lessen the number of annual deaths from this insidious condition.

Dead Awful

The mortuary attached to St Luke's Hospital has probably not seen even a minor refurbishment since it was built. Relatives paying their last respects to their loved ones are met by a dreary atmosphere, with cadavers other than the one they are meant to visit either in full view or behind partly-drawn cubicle curtains. Cannot the deceased be allowed the final dignity of having grieving kith and kin with them in a private room?

Wired for Sound

Many moons ago, there was talk about removing all overhead wires and cables festooned over and across the streets of Valletta. This project had indeed commenced but it does seem to be taking a long time to do away with the sight of extra-long liquorice trimmings adorning the historical façades.

Sick Leave

Every time there is industrial action in and around hospitals, health centres, clinics, and related services, patients, albeit inadvertently, become pawns in a desperately silly power game. Ironically, this is one sector of the workforce where no strikebreakers are employed.

Hospital-ity

The greater part of the old naval hospital at Bighi is all but crumbling to pieces. Soon, it will be so much beyond repair that not even money forthcoming from the European Union to safeguard this unique historical edifice will be enough to restore even one iota of its former splendour. Why has the place been allowed to deteriorate so far, seeing that one part of it is in use anyway?

Spidery Scrawl

Some of the websites indicated in state school internet connections are nowadays always unavailable, perhaps because it proved to be too much of a challenge to update them regularly since this was done on a voluntary basis. This is a real pity, because when they started off, the sites were indicative of the enthusiasm of those who set them up.

Unruly

The boys from a particular state school who every morning meet in Ganu and Potters Streets, in Birkirkara to wait for their school bus regularly misbehave, dirty the pavements and damage private property. They respond aggressively to anyone who tries to ask them to move on or behave.

Noisy bread

A breadseller making his rounds every morning in San Gwann has been trying residents' patience and lenience for a very long time. He keeps blowing his very loud horn for such a long time even though he rings the bell of all those who buy bread from him.

On the Beat

Last Thursday, at about 1.05 p.m., three traffic policemen, off their bikes, were waiting near the MFSA set of traffic lights. The lights are on red and a motorist drives through at high speed in full view of the three traffic policemen. No action taken! Not one minute later, another motorist drives past, happily chatting on his mobile phone. Still no action. Possibly, the only duty of the three police officers at the time was to wait for the President of Estonia. All other contraventions can wait!

Dirty Rabat

What's with Rabat these days? Two public toilets, one in College Street, the other in St Rita Street, stink to high heaven. Anyone going in to use them is likely to retch up. In Vjal il-Haddiem, on the olive tree lined pavement, there is more rubbish than can be described, all along its considerable length. Has any sweeper ever called in that area? And the mess all along the wide pavement in Mtarfa by-pass road has to be seen to be believed - it is two miles or so of weeds, overgrown trees, rubbish, and discarded carton.