I do not know what kind of evil spirit possessed my Irish "friend" Jimmy Tyrrell to single me out for an unprovoked attack simply because I have voiced my club's position on the long dragging Gozo airstrip proposal.
Probably, it is because in the past we had a heated exchange about the matter on The Times online service, where I had stood my ground and shredded his pitiful and puerile arguments to pieces.
Yes, it must be some form of retribution! Well, I do not really mind that but I have to clarify some matters now that he has dragged me into the fray once again.
First of all, my "friend" from Ulster has to realise that I represent a non-commercial, non-profit making sport club and nothing else. I assure him that contrary to his perception none of our members, or chums as he prefers to call them, are the hungry speculators he has nightmares about!
None of our members will gain financially or otherwise should the government decide to go ahead with the airstrip project. I hope that is now clear enough.
Secondly, I would like to inform him that as a club we do not need a private little airport at all because our little aircraft have absolutely no problem to operate from the existing runway strip at the Gozo Heliport - got it now? We have been operating over Gozo for many years and since last September the authorities have given us permission to land at the "heliport". There has not been one single complaint from residents living around the heliport! Any by the way, the crossing to Sicily takes us only 45 minutes and there we can really have some fun, believe me.
I never said that the entire future of Gozo lies in the further destruction of land in order to build an airstrip. There will always be a future for Gozo with or without the airstrip.
We just think it would be a better future if Gozo developed an air link.
And it is here that Mr Tyrell gets it all wrong! We are not just encouraging the authorities to build an airstrip to link Gozo with Malta, but we are pushing it further - link Gozo to other towns and cities lying within a 400km radius from Gozo.
We firmly believe that Gozo needs a direct aerial gateway to facilitate the movement not only of tourists (he thinks only of tourists), but of Gozitans themselves, their products, export opportunities, and their import needs.
What is wrong in widening the market opportunities for Gozitans by means of a simple runway strip not exceeding 800 metres? Nothing else is needed because all other infrastructure that is required is already in place.
What is the reason behind this scaremongering campaign? Is it really believed that a properly laid runway strip of 800 metres will be an ugly scar?
Shall we compare the visual impact of a low lying runway strip with the monstrosity of high rise apartments that have ruined, for example, Xlendi bay forever?
By giving the go-ahead to the airstrip project, the government would not be in any way backtracking on its pledge to the eco-Gozo concept.
On the other hand, I believe the development of the airstrip will complement this concept.
The eco-Gozo concept is not something intended to freeze the island of Gozo into some form of time machine but it is intended to keep a feasible balance between a tangible improvement in the Gozitan way of life and economic prosperity and preserving the natural and culture beauty of the island.
In conclusion, I have to admit that the mere construction of an airstrip on Gozo will not solve all its economic and financial problems but it will surely be of great assistance to the fragile Gozitan economy and its population.
The construction of a small airstrip would go a good way to peel off a substantial part of the outer layer of double insularity that Gozo suffers from.