Fly in the ointment

I was among those who felt jubilation at the election results. We can breathe freely for another five years; what is more, we can now truly count ourselves European. However, at the risk of sounding priggish, I feel I must make my opinion known.

The celebrations were wonderful - up to a point. I was dismayed at the carpet of empty beer bottles and cans littering the brand new road in Balluta and the newly-planted verges. People were having a good time, true, but did this necessarily have to turn a crowd into a rabble?

Our happiness had to be expressed, but why deliberately chuck rubbish on the road for others to clean up? I saw people throw bottles onto the road quite nonchalantly and was disgusted. I feel like a teacher on a playground getting schoolchildren to pick up their lunch wrappers but I do think that all those who had a good time yesterday should today wake up and do some community service by picking up the litter they themselves threw away, if only out of respect for our newly-elected prime minister and his cabinet, who have made an effort to improve our environment.

We are now about to join the European Union, let us do so in a civilised manner.