Six weeks after Sir Elton John's majestic set on the Granaries, it seems that Floriana council is still deeply offended about something related to the concert, and I wonder what.

First it was councillor Edward Torpiano to write in protest against my article (The Sunday Times, July 13), then Mr Kenneth Brincat (August 17) told us that he was directed by the council to reply to the same article, even though "the council has no intention of dragging the issue on indefinitely".

Mr Brincat accused me of "perpetuating a local amateurish mentality". Now, if I am a writer of (or promoting an) amateurish mentality who doesn't consider the public need in the face of an Elton John show, Mr Brincat represents a body whose repeated attacks on organisers and sectors of the media who, like me, have appreciated the show, mean it is only interested in bickering for a teaspoonful of pride.

In fact, rather than capitalising on the choice of the Granaries as a venue with a historical backdrop Elton John was so keen on, the Floriana council's executive secretary is depicting the event as a massive scar on the locality, a monster risen out of the nearby Grand Harbour to provoke mass traffic jams and eat up all permits.

That the council took trouble "to mitigate the inconveniences of hundreds or thousands of people" is surely an honourable thing to do, and I think that they must have taken it rather at heart. But aggressive bouts of PR, such as that of August 17, rather denote a passion for red tape.

What, I ask, does Mr Brincat do when on the way, say, to a wedding, he is caught in a traffic jam caused by the closure of the Regional Road to allow the firing of petards? Strictly speaking, there are three options: to protest in a civil manner with the relevant authorities, to call the organisers amateurs, or the most popular, to lower the seat a little, stretch your legs, turn up the radio volume even higher and chew the cud.

Will any local council ask for a cancellation of its village feast because it causes traffic jams? I think not. So what's the difference between Elton John and the patron saint's celebration if both are bound to cause traffic hassles?

I assure readers that the 'implication' which Mr Brincat is making up in connection with my words did not even cross my mind. My feature about the Elton John show was motivated by its grandeur and minute organisation, not about the wish to criticise any authority or council. That is not my job.

Hopefully, we will all be able to put a stone over this issue and stop it here.

Roll on, U2 (but perhaps not at the Granaries).