Drum practice and open-air discos

We live in a funny (or should I say ironic) world. It was reported (October 22) that the Magistrates’ Court declared that a talented young drummer (17-year-old) was guilty of disturbing the peace of his neighbours because he practised his drumming in the afternoons and was fined €50. His father was also fined the same amount.

This because the court expert had determined that noise levels at over 40 decibels were deemed to be excessive, even after “jablo” was installed to reduce the sound somewhat.

Yet, when it comes to open-air discos these are allowed to operate (by licence) up to 4 a.m., even if the regulations appear to disallow this without proper and efficient soundproofing.

In a similar instance, the Magistrates’ Court declared that because the relevant discos are licensed (at the time by the Commissioner of Police, now by the Malta Tourism Authority), this is legitimate even if experts have declared that noise levels are far beyond 40 decibels and have even exceeded 80 decibels.

I love my afternoon siesta when I find the time to take a nap but would gladly give it up for a good night’s sleep, especially on weekends.

Someone once said that “the law is an ass”. At times I tend to agree.