The state of a new hospital

My contribution this week marks the first anniversary of this column. It is also my first one for 2008. I hope the New Year started on a positive note for you and that none of your resolutions have been broken so far. Our New Year's Eve was a quiet one spent at home surrounded by family and friends awaiting the usual exciting countdown to midnight on local television - which, unfortunately, lacked any form of enthusiasm at all and was practically non existent. The extent of our entertainment was limited to that blessed ATM.

Edgar Gambin, who, it appears, is the communication coordinator at the Ministry of Health, the Elderly and Community Care, took me to task in last Saturday's edition of The Times. He needed half a page to reply to one paragraph that appeared in my column of December 6 last year.

Why does any criticism about our new state-of-the-art general hospital seem to ruffle so many feathers? I will not waste any of my readers' time by replying to Mr Gambin's apologies on behalf of his employers - after all he has to earn his pay. All I will say is that I stand by what I wrote on December 6 - and if Mr Gambin cares to read the letters that keep pouring in to the editors in various local newspapers he must know that readers are still complaining about "teething troubles" occurring at Mater Dei Hospital. And who can blame them? These are people who need to use the hospital's facilities and feel let down and, above all, they have every right to voice their feelings as they, me, you and every Maltese and Gozitan person are the people out of whose taxes the €582,000,000 plus (Lm250 million) Mater Dei Hospital was built and furnished. The hospital is the property of all the inhabitants of Malta and Gozo. One last thing, I am not, as Mr Gambin wrongly stated, a Labour Party spokesman or apologist. I just write in my capacity as an ordinary citizen living in a democratic country where freedom of speech is the order of the day.

It has just been announced that our existing identity cards, even if expired, will remain valid up to the end of 2008 even though, for the life of me, I cannot understand how lackadaisical our authorities are not to have had them renewed over the last three years. Just a word of advice to would-be travellers who use their ID cards to enter foreign countries: You will not be allowed to enter your point of destination with them and will be immediately put on the next plane back to Malta. If you intend to use them at passport controls abroad make sure to go down to Evans Laboratory in Valletta and have them replaced. Do not ignore this piece just because we have joined Schengen. First of all, so far, this agreement only counts if we travel by sea; it will start applying to travel by air next March and spot checks will still be applied, so your ID cards will have to be valid.

Media entrepreneur, Lou Bondì decided to dedicate an edition of his TV show last Monday to questioning Alfred Sant's health and whether he will be fit enough to lead the Labour Party in the upcoming general election; more so if elected Prime Minister. I wonder whether Mr Bondì had posed the same question when, a few years ago, Eddie Fenech Adami was Prime Minister and he had to be urgently operated upon twice - once locally for a triple heart bypass and then for an intestinal major operation held in great secrecy at the Mayo Clinic in America. And why didn't he broadcast a special programme on whether Dr Fenech Adami would be able to continue as Prime Minister? As Jason Micallef asked him: Do I detect a situation of two weights and two measures? Anyway, Dr Sant's press conference four hours before "Bondiplus" rather reduced his programme to an anti-climax. In my opinion a great coup de grace by the leader of the opposition and of the Labour Party. Well done.

Something now about a subject that is very close to my heart - the Malta Song for Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest. There are 17 new compositions that will be competing in the semi-finals at Ta' Qali on January 24. Out of these, eight will qualify for the final night on January 26. So far, so good. Now we come to what is bothering and worrying me. Five singers have qualified for the semi-finals with two songs each. Surely one or two, if not four, of these are likely to make it to the final night. Now, about the voting - 20 per cent jury and 80 per cent televoting. I have no problem with the jury vote but the singer/s with two songs on the big night will be at a disadvantage with the televoting jury as their vote will most probably be split between the two songs and there is a big risk that not the best song or singer will make it to the Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals being held in Belgrade next May. Perhaps the time has come for the Malta Song Committee to amend their rules for the future: if this happens again then the singer/composer/author should have to choose only one song and have a different singer interpret the discarded song. This is only a suggestion from a past chairman of this committee who has the best interests of the local singers at heart.

As usual, when I need to unwind, it's off to Gozo for me in search of peace and quiet. This time we had lunch at the Rexy Restaurant - you can't miss it - it's the first eating place you come across on the left hand side of the road on the slope leading to Gozo's capital before arriving at Għajnsielem. This family-run eaterie boasts of a very varied menu. I settled for an excellent aljotta (fish soup) and some of the best mouth watering calamari I have ever tasted. This dish was accompanied by potatoes, vegetables and salad together with some tasty and still warm Gozo bread. Incidentally the oil and balsamic vinegar to go with the salad was also Gozitan produced. All this was washed down with a bottle of local wine and the price was really very reasonable. As a take away, I purchased some frozen home-made ravioli prepared by the Rexy chef himself and stuffed with ġbejniet (Gozo cheese). I highly recommend that you try them.