On the Dot

• A saunter around open-air flea markets will quickly indicate some hawkers do not give VAT receipts. Yet, bush telegraph informs them of when policemen are making spot checks and their machines begin clacking away again. One would have thought different policemen would work different beats at different times for this abuse to be curtailed.

Policed

• Every Saturday Spinola police station is awash with police officers. Yet, a stone’s throw away, total chaos exists. Double or treble parking in Spinola square; parking on double yellow lines on the road leading from Spinola square to The Gardens; parking on the newly constructed pavement on this new road and driving through the no entry sign are par for the course. One has to ask who is responsible for law and order.

Pillared

• The Plieri in Racecourse Street, Rabat, is in a worse state than ever. The Rabat local council was informed of this two months ago and no action was taken about this issue. Perhaps someone is waiting for the structure to collapse in order to be able to boast how much money was spent in its rehabilitation, as usually happens. The fact that there is a “Danger” sign attached to the pillar is neither here nor there.

Bottled

• The good news is that bottles for infant feed are to be made safer under an EU ban on the use of Bisphenol A (BPA) in their manufacture. However, the ban will only come into force in mid-2011, perhaps in a tacit move to help outlets get rid of their present stock. Meanwhile, bottle-fed babies will continue absorbing chemicals that could impair their development. Which company will bell the cat and offer glass or non-BPA replacements for even used bottles at a nominal price as a show of goodwill?

Randomised

• Much has been said about whether the police would be abusing their executive powers if they were to flag down random motorists and ask them to submit to a breathalyser tests. Some people even compared them to how people are selected for backscatter scanner rays. However, the fact remains many motorists do not realise they have a weapon in their hands and the way some people drive makes it obvious their mind is not on the road. One life snuffed out meaninglessly is one too many.

Painted

• Why are the white lines of zebra crossings allowed to fade into oblivion before being given a new coat of paint? It is pathetic to see road workers stopping the flow of traffic just so they can take new measurements. Surely the regulations about their dimensions do not change from one time to another because they look pretty much the same to the pedestrians who use them regularly.

Signed

• It is encouraging to see that Archbishop Paul Cremona’s pastoral letters are a testament to his belief the Church should employ the media to pass on her message. It is also heartening to see a tiny corner of the monitor being dedicated to an MSL version of the spoken letter. Given that not all those who have hearing impairments understand sign language, however, it would be even better were there to be letters scrolling along the bottom as well.

Bumpers

• Sleeping policemen that are too high defeat their own purpose. In order to avoid the bump, sometimes motorists move so closely towards the pavement the side wheels scrape it, such that the car negotiates the obstacle at an angle. It is not the first time a side-mirror nudges passers-by who would not have noticed the car slowly coming up behind them.

Refunded

• It would have been hilarious had it not been pathetic. In a disgraceful attempt to shift the blame for errors in bills and to decimate queues in its waiting area, ARMS Limited had imposed an illegal €12 on clients who would have failed to pay their bills within the stipulated time-frame. Unfortunately, although they were never supposed to have paid any such fine, the public is not actually being given a cheque for the amount but credit against the next bill. This is unfair.

Pictured

• Gozo’s Azure Window was last week selected as National Geographic’s travel photo of the week. The angle of the photo shows the narrow part of the rock that gives the structure its shape is getting thinner and narrower because of weathering. This damage, moreover, is being exacerbated by people who use it as a pathway. Unless something is done to protect this unique formation, it will soon go the way of others the world over and become yet another pillar in the sea like the countless ones that already exist the world over.

Accidents

• All too many accidents that happen are freak ones that could have been avoided with a little forethought. Notices prohibiting particular behaviours are posted for a reason. And, yet, the forethought of the persons who put them up is stamped out by people who think “it will never happen” to them. All walking should be done on pavements and all jogging is to be done in the direction of approaching traffic.

Warded

• On November 25, the lower section of St Anthony Street, in Tigné, Sliema, was closed to oncoming traffic because of construction works. This street is regularly used by motorists to reach Tigné Seafront as it is the sole one leading to the front, besides the infamous Bisazza Street. In this case, motorists had to make a detour through Ċensu Xerri Street to return to Tigné Street and then take the bottle-necked Bisazza Street. Meanwhile, the warden on duty was acting supervisor of works, leaving motorists to their own devices rather than directing traffic as her job description says she ought to do.