On the dot

Time windows on mobile phones have been removed and the consumer appreciates it. But how about removing it also from the message bundles? The smallest bundle, for one of the companies at least, is of 300 messages and some mobile phone users accumulate unsent messages only to lose them for not using them all within a certain time frame.

Lights

Requests have been repeatedly made over almost three years for traffic lights in Ġuże Duca Street, Qormi (going up to Żebbuġ), close to FTI and FXB offices. This place is an accident trap, with two persons narrowly missing being run over by a concrete mixer. The local council has been contacted several times in this regard. The stock reply is that this falls under the jurisdiction of the central government.

Extraneous

The telephone booth in Marina Street Pieta, a few metres away from the pelican lights, and just opposite Sky apartments, does not allow bus drivers going towards Valletta to see passengers, if these are sheltering from the sun or rain. It is unclear whether the ADT or Go is responsible for this state of affairs; perhaps the mayor of Pieta could solve the problem. It is relatively easy, anyway, to find out if the booth is used any more, failing which it might be removed.

Milked

Why is it that each time something happens that causes people to complain about the quality of milk, and the erratic system of dating whenever long weekends occur, we are glibly informed that "nothing is the matter"? All the publicised negative bacteriological tests results in the world will not change the texture and taste of soured milk. When something like this happens across Malta, it is surely not the chill-chain of one area that is at fault. Has anyone bothered to check the tetrapacks, or the machinery in which the milk was processed?

Refunds

As a corollary, when milk is off, people are not likely to keep it inside the house in order to ask for a refund from their grocer on the first working day, because of the smell. The contents are usually flushed down drains or amalgamated with garden soil. Therefore, the public feels insulted upon being told that packets will be exchanged for fresh ones.

Plantations

The trees alongside the Sliema promenade seem to be blossoming. However, the ones in St Julians seem to be wilting by the hour. It's all a question of maintenance. The Sliema council seems to be doing a good job nurturing the plants, whereas the St Julians evidently could not care less. The easiest way to improve the situation would be for the persons who take care of the Sliema trees to be commissioned to go further along the promenade and take care of those, too.

Innuendo

Pembroke local council has removed the welcome sign from the entrance to the town. Ironically, the motto of the town is "Għal Kull Bżonn". The two green areas on either side of the entrance welcoming you to Pembroke, next to the traffic lights on St Andrews Road, are no more. The side near the stables has been surfaced but is already a shambles, what with the derelict cars, trailers, oil-dripping vans, cars for sale and so forth dumped there. The other side has been levelled so it seems that it is set for a similar fate. The residents have ample parking space in a large underground garage complex, so shame on who gave the blessing to ruin the entrance to Pembroke.

Protectionism

It would seem that sometimes, the Data Protection Act is there to protect the guilty rather than defend the innocent. People who receive repetitive missed calls from anonymous callers on mobile phones would obviously appreciate knowing who is invading their privacy. Yet this Act precludes their knowing, unless they are ready to file an official report with the police. This is unfair, to say the least, and encourages people with bad intentions to attempt it on the assumption that a victim will not want to go through all that hassle.

Posted

There was a time when there were two daily postal deliveries. The second one was dropped when it was discovered that most mail was delivered in the mornings anyway. During the hot season, postmen are being given the option of doing deliveries earlier to avoid the sun. This should indeed be their choice throughout the year, for as long as the mail is delivered, it does not matter what time this happens. Indeed, some people would actually prefer morning deliveries.

Queuing

It is obvious that banks would welcome the fact that customers make more use of ATM machines, so that queues do not form inside the foyers. However, there are times, especially on or around paydays, when this is not feasible. At these times, it is imperative that all cashiers' desks are manned - this makes for more efficiency, less hard feelings, and less time spent by customers over all, inside the bank.

Music

Meanwhile, one notes that BOV Valletta tends to lean towards financial information stations and HSBC towards informative channels, when providing viewing for clients. Yet the full effect of either is spoilt because of the insidious piped music that overrides the whispering volume of the large-screen monitors.

Transported

A number of public route buses have minimal or no ventilation, causing passengers during the summer months to sweat profusely and even faint. Then there is the added problem of how some route buses at the City Gate terminus only turn up a couple of minutes before they are due to depart. This means people queuing in the sun for anything up to 20 minutes.