Summer talking

At last there has been a somewhat strong reaction to the decision by the Mellieha council to ban the holding of barbecues at Ghadira Bay. Zminijietna, the 'voice of the left' in Malta, as they describe themselves, has come out against the decision. The wonder is that many more voices have not been heard from among those called by the magic of Ghadira Bay in the summer.

The beauty of the bay is unparalleled in Malta and only challenged by Ramla in Gozo. One can well understand the desire of Mellieha council, which has responsibility for the mass attraction, to keep it at the best possible level of cleanliness. One also has to admit that too many of those who organise barbecues there and elsewhere do not always pay enough attention to the need to keep the location clean and safe.

That said, the local council decision is too draconian. There are other ways to safeguard the beach, aside from banning the holding of barbecues altogether. The council shall be employing beach guards to see that their prohibition is upheld.

Couldn't such guards be employed to see that those who hold barbecues observe basic levels of cleanliness, with an adequate number of bins provided to help them do that? Such guards would have to keep a sharp eye at the end of barbecues to ensure that the revellers also put out any remaining embers properly, rather than merely covering them with a thin layer of sand, thus leaving an unpleasant trap for unwary users of the area.

More to the point, part of the beach could be delineated specifically for holding of barbecues on a first-come, first-served basis. Such an area could be more effectively supervised by beach guards than expecting them to keep tabs on the whole stretch of that magnificent beach.

Those who hold barbecues by the sea do so because they respond to the call of the Mediterranean, sure enough. But very often also because if they do not enjoy themselves in public places they have no space at home to do it. That is why the local restriction has a 'class' side-effect which raised the ire of Zminijietna.

Most certainly, class distinction was the last thing in the mind of the members of the Mellieha council. Rather, they want Ghadira beach to be as well-maintained as possible for the benefit of all, particularly the many thousands of middle- to lower-income earners Zminijietna wishes to protect.

But some deeper thinking could translate into a better execution of what remains sensible positive thinking.

• The idea of trying to brand Malta has been given up. The way it was proposed and implemented ensured the scheme would be a non-starter. That does not mean that an imaginative branding exercise is not required. Many people in the rest of the world know about Malta. Yet many more, especially among the younger generations, do not. The age profile of our tourist flow indicates that.

Even those who have heard of Malta might not associate it with an attractive tourist location, able to boast of jewels that make it stand out from the competition, like our ancient temples and more modern cathedrals and churches, and the remarkable bastions which are part of the heritage bequeathed to us by the Knights of St John.

There should be another careful attempt at branding Malta as a unique destination. Meanwhile, it would help if negative branding by the private sector was also reviewed.

Driving almost head-to-tail with a tourist coach the other day I could not help noticing a tiny parody of branding. Plastered on the back of the coach was a female beauty, who was very obviously not Maltese, lounging on a beach which just as obviously is not in Malta. The pale beauty is attributed to the underlying invitation to eat, drink, get accommodation, or whatever else in our midst.

I hope nothing similar is shown abroad to promote Malta. The exercise fails abysmally.

• The middle of summer and the searing heat it brought along sees the stephanotis in our garden finally beginning to wilt. But, what a tremendous valiant service it has given us. It has been blooming for almost three months, supplying not only a beautiful vision but also remarkable fragrance which wafts sensually into one's senses and makes hovering bumble bees drunk.

I have a feeling the plant understands our appreciation because it has remained blooming for so long that it must have taken an extra effort on its part. On ours, just a gulp of water now and then.

Why is the plant not in evidence in our public places? The project to embellish our roundabouts and other patches of Malta is working well. But why the obsession with oleanders, attractive and colourful though they are? There is so much more that can be done, including using olive and citrus trees, plus colourful plants like the stephanotis, not to mention the bougainvillea.

More colour and fragrance would add to the beauty of our islands and also serve as a counterweight to our bad habits as regards public cleanliness. Colour, fragrance and chilled summer wine. Small wonder Ulysses lingered here for so long.