On the dot...

¤ The quay at Santa Marija Bay, in Comino, opposite the hotel bungalows is in a poor shape and urgently needs repair. The surface is no longer smooth and at places people disembarking from seacraft have to step onto stones jutting out of the ground which pose a health hazard.

Rooms for Improvement

¤ The public conveniences at Main Gate Street and Independence Square, in Victoria, are in a very bad state. How long is it since they have been giving cleaned? Not even applying bleach would suffice now; what they need is being closed to the public while the building, and the toilets, are given a through wash with a high-pressure hose.

Job-Less

¤ The patching up of numerous potholes in Racecourse Street and Old Zebbug Road was apparently done by the Public Works Division within the Ministry for Public Works. But doesn't the area fall within the Rabat local council's boundary? Perhaps the Rabat council may wish to note also that various non-urban areas are in dire need of such patching!

Staying Tuned

¤ How much more is the taxpayer forking out for the rise in mobile telephony tariffs? One does not allude, of course, to those incurred by those using their own apparatus but by the sum total of the levies on costs of mobile telephony incurred by those entitled to it by virtue of their rank in the public service.

Two-wheel Drive

¤ Cyclists still find it dangerous to commute using the Marsa one way system as there are no signs indicating they can use the bus lane and riding on the pavement is equally illegal. As such, they are forced to use the main thoroughfare together with other traffic where some motorists are often dangerously unforgiving.

Closed Circuit

¤ Maltacom is organising a pre-retirement course for employees. In the spirit of fraternity, it would have been nice had public servants and other workers nearing pensionable age been allowed to listen in. Some people, alas, find themselves at a lose end when not given adequate counselling about how to fill up huge, new chunks of free time.

Hair Raising

¤ The Water Services Corporation recently held a one-day hairdressing marathon in aid of the tsunami relief effort. In this brilliant show of solidarity, 20 hairdressing establishments participated and events were rounded up with a carwash. This was a more interesting, and enjoyable, albeit not as productive work-wise, turn of events than a simple dress-down day would have been. Well done to all those involved.

Car-Nation

¤ The park and ride scheme, hopefully to be up and running in the first half of 2006, is intended to give Valletta a new lease of life by ensuring that fewer cars congest there. Another associated idea would be for local councils to have round-route buses that would pick up passengers from the peripheral areas of towns and villages, thus encouraging people to use public transport all the way to Valletta.

Action Station

¤ The Vittoriosa local council has issued an interactive CD which it has given to households for their information and enjoyment. This is an excellent initiative; one hopes that other local councils will follow suit soon.

Key Boards

¤ Class Server 2.0 is one of the components of the Microsoft Package recently offered to students. This enables students and teachers to communicate after school hours in order to complement lessons. This will put at a disadvantage all those who do not own a PC; it's already bad enough that they are the butt of classmates' jokes and have to rely on others when teachers insist that homework must be done on word processors for clarity.

Temple Time

¤ The Bank of Valletta Young Savers Club recently organised a tour of the Tarxien Temples. Unfortunately, the only children entitled to attend were winners of a competition set by the section. One hopes that a similar activity will be organised for all the members of the Club, soon, and that other organisations, or branches, will arrange similar activities.

Dirt Cheap

¤ Untreated sewage was recently spied at Ras il-Hobz, off Ghajnsielem. Was any effort made to contain it and garner it for proper disposal or was it allowed to dissipate gradually, thereby harming the flora and fauna of the area? What provisions have been made such that this will not happen again?

Hot Air, Thin Ice

¤ The GRTU says that if gas cylinders are sold from outlets such as petrol stations, the system would not be viable - presumably for those who usually do deliveries. Enemalta, on the other hand, insists it is these antiquated work practices and trade union rigidity that is partly to blame for the shortage encountered. What is certainly true is that the truck owners themselves decide when, and how often, they will ply their beat and whether, indeed, to deliver to all of it because Enemalta has no jurisdiction over them.

Stamp Duty

¤ Sometimes, it seems that stamp sets are issued with a view to profits, rather than enhancing one's collection with miniature works of art. The administration of Maltapost plc would do well to ponder upon whether more, yet, cheaper sets, will actually increase revenue because the law of small-profits-quick-returns might tempt more people to purchase more sets than they otherwise would.

Walking Tall

¤ The strong turn-up for the first Ramblers' Association meeting indicated clearly that if activities of the type envisaged were actually organised people would flock to them. Here is finally one association that will find out whether the several "Keep Out" and similar signs dotting the countryside are acceptable at law and how many rusted tanks in rubble walls need removing. That having been done, one hopes that the natural offspring, a Junior Ramblers Club, will also come into existence.

Hard Labour

¤ On at least two occasions last week, gangs supposedly doing work on a pavement in Balluta and extensive roadworks not too far away in St George's Road were nowhere to be seen - during "working" hours of course. Forget productivity, but inconvenience to residents/motorists should at least be given top consideration.