On the Dot...

How long will it be before Filfla is cleared of all ordnance and debris left dumped upon it from when it was used for target practice? It may be true that the danger reinforces its 'out of bounds' status; but the tarnished image does not marry well with the fact that the place is a protected bird sanctuary.

Round Trips

The Education Division was regularly featured in news bulletins on the local media, vis-à-vis the refurbishments being done in various schools all over the island. One notes, however, that workers, more often than not, are not wearing adequate safety gear, either when using power tools, or when high up on scaffolding, plastering or whitewashing walls. They ought to be the first to 'educate' by example.

Drive Ways

The Blood Bank is regularly calling people in its drive to obtain blood for donations, since stocks are running low. Similarly, schools often call parents to check on offspring's dates of birth and public registry numbers. Life was so much easier when all these details were printed on the back of one's identity card. Aren't these details, too, a part of a person's identity, more so than a glob of numerals, letters, and symbols?

Swing High

A lot of space is left unused during the weekends, in places such as state schools, which could be made separate from the main building by the mere construction of a gate or the present ones made secure. Utilising it could mean the erection of playground equipment, which could then also be used during school recreation time. Liaison between local councils and schools administrations could perhaps see this come to fruition.

Bus stop shelter

They did an attractive job when they made the bus stop shelter on the Rabat road in front of De Paule Avenue. It is a pity that the workers apparently forgot to completely demolish the previous weather shelter for commuters. Users today can gaze on the derelict remains, and stone slabs left lying there, and wonder why they are there.

Gilding the Lily

The fountain-cum-terraced pool to the right as one enters the grounds of St Theresa's basilica in Birkirkara provides a charming focal point to the area, especially now that the water lilies are in flower. If the water were kept cleaner -a difficult task since the heat of the sun promotes the formation of algae - it would be much nicer to behold, all around.

Class Act

It was intimated to children at Primary School B in Paola that they would be streamed according to the results they received. However, to date they are still in the classes they were placed in at the start of the scholastic year.

Still unmade

People living in Conte R. Barbaro Street in Attard wonder when their street will be surfaced. Some have been living there for eight years now.

College Years

Post-Secondary students who wish to have another go at their Sec examinations in order to obtain better grades, who would have attended private Sixth Forms, are in for a surprise. They discover that if their particular school does not take repeaters, they will have to spend two whole years at the Junior College, rather than simply one in order to attempt their examinations with the least delay possible, obviously without receiving any grant.

Child's Play

Kindergarten assistants, currently working with children who have special needs, underwent many personal sacrifices in order to follow a course which, they had been promised, would lead to a diploma, as well as affecting their standing in the public service vis-à-vis seniority. Now they have been told that they have to negotiate one more hurdle; a move that entails further study. Someone, somewhere, is having a field day moving the goalposts.

Country Style

Staff and volunteers at Ir-Razzett tal-Hbiberija do a wonderful job with their programmes for visitors from different schools all over the island. Wouldn't it be a wonderful idea if each school were to sponsor one particular animal for a period of time; surely it doesn't cost the earth to feed a hamster for a year! No doubt the pupils would love to see themselves named in gratitude in the newsletter, or in a plaque beside their "virtual" pet.

Wheelie Bad

Recent media reports state that there are at least 38 traffic accidents daily, many of which are too slight to merit attention. Logic, however, tells us that accidents tend to happen mostly between moving vehicles. So the question begs itself; would fewer accidents happen were wardens and traffic policemen to pay more heed to drivers blatantly breaking the law, rather than to which vehicle has overstepped a yellow line by one millimetre?

Roadworthy seacraft

People who buy fancy, expensive seacraft should have a garage for them - they should certainly not be allowed to park them on the public road between one summer and another, as many are doing all over the country. The authorities should crack down on them. If people can afford that kind of craft, they can afford to buy a garage or hire one for them.

Traffic danger

A blatant traffic hazard that has been causing accidents has been allowed to develop unhindered by Rabat council, in spite of several complaints. The danger has been created by a large seacraft and a huge truck parked permanently on either side of Pierre Muscat Street, corner with Riebu Well Street, Rabat. Motorists are having to come out of a blind corner, sometimes into oncoming traffic. It is not the only instance where Rabat council has proved utterly ineffectual.