The joys of a concrete jungle

As I am again going through the joys of a sleepless night due to the pain in my leg for which I have just spent several days at St James Capua Hospital in Sliema, I thought I'd share these few experiences.

Lying on a hospital bed, not being able to do much since for several days I couldn't even move, I had a real treat during the last two days of my stay there since a towering crane kept me company from 7 a.m. till 5 p.m.

I must say it was a real joy to have this 'gentle giant' keep me company by playing really great music all day long, so of course I really must say 'thank you' to the developer, Angelo Xuereb, for making sure I did not die of boredom.

During my stay there visitors asked me whether I had seen what had been going on at the back of the hospital, so I was really looking forward to this.

I had no idea that during the five years since I last was at St James that a 'new attraction' had been built. There had been quite a large, open space between the hospital and the Victoria Hotel, so at least the long suffering residents of Stella Maris Street still had a breath of fresh air in this highly congested area and the residents of Capua Palace, which is now an old people's home, were ensured peace and quiet.

Now the hospital, The Victoria and The Palace hotels seem to be holding hands tightly.

I have spent the last two sleepless nights at home thinking about this new 'development' in Sliema and I have now come to the conclusion that Mr Xuereb, who is deputy leader of the new party, Azzjoni Nazzjonali, is now going to start organising tours for his party followers to show them exactly what he meant when he wrote in The Times recently about his concern that "Malta was becoming overdeveloped".

Besides this extra special treat to these keen AN supporters there is another treat that perhaps has escaped Mr Xuereb's notice. Patients at St James Capua Hospital and anyone staying both at The Victoria and The Palace will now be able to enjoy some good exercise by swinging, Tarzan-like, from one side to the other and enjoying not beautiful trees, shrubs, flowers and perhaps even a waterfall but a brand new concrete jungle with the full blessing of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, who are making sure that what was once a really beautiful town is completely eradicated and all for the enjoyment of us Sliema residents.