On the Dot...

The general area within and around what is usually known as Albert Town, in Marsa, is a disgrace. It looks like an abandoned shantytown, with the outlying areas and some of the buildings being in a bad state of disrepair. Moreover, since the population has burgeoned, it would seem that nothing has been done to cater for their needs.

Hot Platter

A restaurant at the Cittadella in Gozo, charges Lm4.30 for a platter consisting of three gbejniet (cheeselets), some chopped onions, sun-dried and chopped fresh tomatoes, a few olives and a loaf of Maltese bread. Is that overcharging?

Barred Facility

A visitor to the Corradino Correctional Facility was told by an inmate that prisoners find the phone number 1021 barred when trying to call friends and family. They thus have to buy Maltacom cards, which prove to be more expensive. Is there a particular reason for this?

Flower Wreaths

The consortium that takes care of the plants, flowers and trees in central strips and roundabouts is doing a great job; of late they seem to be maintained even better than they were before. Now perhaps it is time for them to turn their attention to the patches of soil that are supposed to enhance the St Luke's Hospital grounds.

Camera Shy

What looks like a speed camera has been posted in the junction between Canon Road, and Triq il-Palazz l-Ahmar, Santa Venera, no doubt in order to nab drivers speeding uphill. There would have been more income for the state if it had been positioned a few metres further up, that is at the zebra crossing; vehicles regularly fail to stop for pedestrians.

Lights Out

A recent report states that Malta and Cyprus are the only two European Union member states that rely solely on fossil fuels for the generation of energy. Little wonder, then, that Malta had the second highest yearly increase in electricity prices in the EU, though the overall cost remains among the cheapest. One assumes that things would have been different if wind and solar energy were used.

Children's Corner

One notes with pleasure that the European Commission has adopted its communication Towards A European Union Strategy On The Rights Of The Child and highlighted a series of measures to be taken this year and the next with the aim of strengthening children's rights. Moreover, by the end of the current year, there will be two six-digit telephone numbers within the Union for a child help line and a hotline.

Boxed Out

One was pleased to note press reports about the 10 job seekers from the Cottonera area who recently returned from three weeks training at the British Broadcasting Corporation. With their having received a crash course in several departments, it would be interesting to find out exactly how many of them have a chance to put what they learned into practice, by being offered at least a summer job in the audio-visual media.

Boat Show

No fewer than 500 boats of all types imaginable will convene in order to bring to fruition another good idea - The Bridge - the proceeds of which will go towards charity. The 5,000-metre channel between Malta and Gozo will be "bridged" by the seacraft on August 5, and the funds obtained through sponsorship will go towards the Dar tal-Providenza and the Fondazzjoni Arka.

Wheelie Bad

Some people seek to combine saving money with a penchant for exercise; they are combining a replacement of a daily stroll and a visit to the shops by using bicycles. This tends to be slightly dangerous, for purchases are not always balanced properly, with the result that the cycles wobble. Moreover, vehicular traffic is not always tolerant of this type of traveller. Life would have been much easier - and swifter - with bicycle lanes.

Write Thing

Well done to colleague Stanley Borg, the national winner for Malta in the European Union's For Diversity, Against Discrimination Journalist Award 2005. What we all need is to take a closer look at issues like the one he tackled - dementia - and focus upon how people with different needs may have a better quality of life if each one of us but lifts a little finger to help.

Joyful Songs

Frans Baldacchino, popularly known as Il-Budaj, is no more. While opinions about where the monument he deserves ping-pong back and forth, one hopes that one entity, at least, will set the ball rolling. How about a set of stamps being issued as an accolade to commemorate great Maltese people who have died fairly recently? This would surely include the national Frans.

Oh Buoys

Seacraft owners tend, as a general rule, to respect the fact that there exist swimmers' areas where people must be allowed to have fun in relative peace, quiet, and safety. However, there is a downside to all this. In some bays, pleasure cruisers use berths that are part and parcel of the bay. When engines are cut, some of them tend to splutter and spit out tiny droplets of fuel that pollute the sea and make the air stink.