On the dot

Is it possible that no one of the remaining staff, visitors or the few outpatients, who still attend clinics at Saint Luke's hospital feel the need for a few quiet moments of prayer? For whereas the erstwhile outpatients department is being refurbished very nicely, the padlock on the chapel door tells a sad story.

Signage

Some months ago, this column commented about the need for a new set of signs for the Marsa bus stage, just across from the Blata-l-Bajda Museum chapel. To date, the notice board remains in a deplorable state, with numbers and destinations missing. The fact that the same people use this junction and, therefore, know which bus to catch, is not an excuse. The carelessness is annoying.

Squared

St Anne's Square, Sliema, has finally been returned to the people of Sliema and its visitors. Now, when will Sir Luigi Preziosi Square and Sir Luigi Preziosi Street, Floriana also be given back to the residents and visitors who have the right for quiet, safety and parking spaces? The authorities must surely know that big trucks and containers park there all week long, day and night. The square has now become a distribution centre for merchandise coming from Italy and a space for blaspheming.

Paved

Embellishment works on St George's Square, Valletta, are in full swing. The city citizens and its many daily visitors must now be wondering what will happen to the rehabilitation of the capital city's pavements. This is a priority also because of health and safety reasons.

Plans

What are exactly the future plans for the ex-St Andrew's Holiday Complex close to High Ridge and Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq, a place of scenic beauty, which is in shambles and a rendezvous for vice? Would a member of Parliament kindly table a parliamentary question to the relative ministry?

Abracadabra

Countless requests had been made by St Julians residents for the removal of a particular skip. Lo and behold, Sacred Heart Avenue woke up to a skip-free sight on the day of the European Parliament elections. On the morrow, however, the skip magically re-materialised exactly where it had previously been parked. Who says efficiency is lacking in this country?!

Dosh

Bank of Valletta's €35 million, 5.35 per cent subordinated bonds were fully subscribed within hours of being offered last Monday. The total demand exceeded €120 million. The bank exercised the over-allotment option of €15 million in full. Is it a clear indication that the people have enough money in their pockets to invest although it is being said that the world is in a delicate financial crisis?

Ambulatory

Another dream has come true, this time for animal owners and those who feed strays. As of June 1, the Animal Welfare Department and Noah's Ark will be running an emergency ambulance service for injured stray dogs and cats on a 24/7 basis. Veterinary attention and aftercare, in accordance with this agreement, will also be provided. The procedure to be followed when an injured stray animal requires assistance is to call either the police on 21224001 or the Animal Welfare Department on 25905302.

Noisy

Whatever happened to the agreement with contractors working in Sliema that building works were to begin at 8 a.m. or not before 7 a.m.? Wanting to get in as much work done as possible before the heat strikes is understandable; what is not, is the inconvenience incurred by the public, especially the ill, elderly, shift-workers, or parents of small children.

Dirty

The person(s) who clean up the never-ending supply of horse droppings at the Lower Barrakka, Valletta, area are to be thanked. However, it is rather unsettling to note that they throw it will-nilly into the skips on the side of the bastions. This means that if there is enough rubbish to keep the lid of the skips ajar, the next person who presses the pedal to discard a garbage bag will be assaulted by a horde of bluebottle flies, angry at being disturbed.

Screened

The debate on whether or not there ought to be monitors inside churches hinges only upon a few salient points. If they help congregations follow Mass from blind corners inside the church itself and the hard of hearing read the lessons as they are read, they are worthwhile. If they allow people to remain outside the church or intersperse the script with slides or other graphics, they are worse than useless.

Pointed

During the Small Nations Games in Cyprus, Team Malta bagged three gold medals, five silvers and 13 bronzes. Why is it that, for some disciplines, a lot of fuss is made but many mediums gloss over the results of several others? One would have thought that a medal is a medal, in whichever sport it is garnered.

Cruelty

How often are conditions at pet shops monitored? All too often, one notices the acrid smell of urine as soon as one enters a shop. Owners try to fob off people who comment about it by saying that the animals are "always" soiling their cages. How is it, then, that some pet shops always smell fresh and clean?

Chain-Mail

The old psychiatric unit at Saint Luke's Hospital, by the side of where the Blood Bank used to be, had its windows protected by a grille that gave it the air of a prison. This prevented access from the inside to the outside, and vice versa. For some reason, this was still in place, although the rooms were no longer used for their original purpose, perhaps to protect the expensive equipment inside. One wonders whether partitions are still needed and, if so, when these are going to be given a lick of paint.