On the Dot...

There used to be a joke about how the Firth of Forth Bridge needed repainting again at one end when the workers got to the other side. The same thing is happening with the recently introduced "Gum Blaster" at work in Republic Street, Valletta. Unfortunately, whoever is responsible for detailing the work chooses times, such as 9.30 a.m., when many people are using the street; and somehow, the supply of gum stuck to the ground that needs to be removed never seems to diminish. Roll on Green Wardens!

Block Votes

Sliema will be a wonderful place, once it is built. Meanwhile, one cannot help thinking that the local council is helpless to prevent cranes and trucks blocking off whole areas where construction works are in progress. Negotiating the side-streets has become a nightmare, especially to those who are not familiar with different routes. Traffic jams, inconvenience, confusion and short tempers are the order of the day.

Stone Cold

Well over three years ago, a massive slab slid off a truck by the traffic island across the road from the offices of The Malta Independent. To date, it is still there and the St Julians local council must be pretty short-sighted not to have seen (to) it and remedied this dangerous situation.

Saving Face

Every time some NGO or other abseils up and down bastions, with a view to removing weeds, the event makes the news. One would have thought that this would be done as a matter of course, on the lines of trees being pruned and so-called weeds, that are actually the home of many wonderful insects, being razed. Why shout about something that has been allowed to happen again and again, several times, to the detriment of the stonework?

Hats Off

Much ado had been made about the introduction of crash helmets for motorbike riders; feeble jokes about air conditioned ones for summer had been thought funny. One wonders whether it is the heat that makes many workers on building sites forgo headgear, gloves and safety shoes.

Ring Pulls

People make a lot of fuss about how youths are seen horsing around with beer cans during festa time, laying the blame upon outlets that sell the alcohol to them. Unfortunately, intoxicated teenagers, both Maltese and foreign, are par for the course in certain areas. This happens long after grocers and other retail outlets are closed, so one can safely assume that the drinks are being obtained from entertainments outlets.

Shop Talk

All the talk about the re-building, or not, of what used to be the Royal Theatre waxes and wanes according to certain political and other agendas. Meanwhile, the entrance to the World Heritage City that is Valletta, despite restoration works, is still cluttered with itinerant artistes and more. The obvious, though temporary, solution would be to square off the former area to accommodate the latter entrepreneurs, although this would, admittedly, automatically decimate their custom, or to move them along to the upper part of Merchants Street.

Pay Checks

It would be interesting to find out the difference between what the state is owed by the public, for instance in water and electricity payments, and income tax dues, and what is owed by the state to the people, as in refunds. It is too much to hope that, where the same households are concerned, one would be balanced against the other, with only the difference to be given, or taken.

Smoke Signals

As soon as shadows of Gozo or Malta are glimpsed from the ferries, many travellers hot-foot it to the stairways to get into their vehicles as soon as possible. Some of them even go as far as switching on the engines of their cars before the persons in the queue in front of them are anywhere near. This is not only patently ridiculous but also a threat to health and safety.

Small Change

Building material and other refuse has been steadily accumulating on and blocking the pavement on the corner between Rue D'Argens and Mgr Dandria Street in Msida, by the post box. Building activity on the site appears to have come to a standstill. This is yet another example of an accident waiting to happen.

Courting the Law

Another building, in Anglu Gatt Street, corner with Eucharistic Congress Road in Mosta, has been left standing empty, yet unfenced, for over two years now. Although the local council, in reply to queries, insists that the police authorities have been informed about the matter, the fact remains that the owner(s) of this building appear to be above the law.

Dog Gone

The rules about disposing of one's dog's mess appear to be backfiring. Some people have been actually seen taking a small trowel out of a plastic bag, lifting up the excrement with it - and then dumping it into the nearest patch of soil, be it a public garden or a plant trough. This would be funny if it were not disgusting.