On the Dot...

The notice hanging to the pole on the right says that barbecues are not allowed there - at Gherbulin, in Mellieha. The same pole was used by the organisers of a BBQ right there! The pole and the notice have now been "laid to rest", though when this happened is not clear.

Heavy Reading

The first school term has only just begun, but it looks as if it is going to be the same old story. Children can be seen straining to carry heavy satchels filled with large books that no one could possibly get through in one scholastic year. School lockers must be too small for such books to fit; and teachers insist that each child has his own copy in a lesson. When the timetable calls for three such books daily, it is a recipe for disaster.

Alley Way

The tiny corridor between the Wignacourt Aqueduct, in the Canon Road area, is being repaired and paved, which is all to the good. However, the job is taking a very long time - so much so that the material placed in front of what used to be the Swan laundry has now all but been washed away in the rain.

Unfinished Work

Some time ago, this column had occasion to point out the shabby state of the Xewkija industrial estate. It would seem it is not the only area that needs a thorough going over. The Luqa industrial estate is in dire need of attention too as are to a greater or lesser extent several others.

Guided Tours

It has become a habit with certain guides to behave as if they own the particular place they are describing to their group of tourists, and that whatever they say is meant only for their predilection. Why else would they allow their group to block pavements, without asking them to move up such that people would not have to take to the road to pass? Why else would they give dirty looks to anyone who "looks" Maltese and stops to listen to their explanations?

Smoke Freedom

How often are spot checks made on the filters of chimneys of places that are known to be among the worst pollutants? In summer, the soot particles remain suspended in the air, and are breathed in, with fallout hopefully being swept away; in winter, they adhere to the moister in the air, and eventually precipitate into the water table.

Low Down

The slope at the end of Archbishop Street, at the Grand Harbour side, is in a terrible state. The steps on either side have many broken treads - and anyway, it is better to avoid them in the first place, in order to escape being bombarded by pigeon droppings. Yet when one decides to climb the middle section, one discovers that this surface, too, is pitted and broken. Just because cars do not use it, there is no reason to leave it in this state.