• Certain areas in Sliema are fast becoming similar to a bring-in site, where residents take out rubbish at all hours and people come from other areas to dump their garbage. A case in point is the general area in front of Hotel Roma, at the bottom of Għar il-Lembi Street. This is an abominable shame.

Reverberations

• What passes for music is sometimes so loud that it may even be heard through closed aluminium doors and windows. Not everybody has, or wants to have, air conditioning or fans in every room. Sometimes, the choice is between circulating fresh air and continuous pounding, and a faint throbbing and a stifling atmosphere. Have any tests been made about how vibrations damage buildings?

Removal

• Many moons ago, citizens were told that all overhanging wires and cables would be removed from the city such that, when one looked up, the sky would be visible without any of them criss-crossing. To date, this promise has yet t be actuated.

Ruin

• The First Lady was again seen wearing stiletto heels at the September 8 commemorative Mass at St John’s Cathedral, Valletta. Does the unsuitable footwear of VIPs cause less damage to the marble inlaid floor than those of lesser mortals?

Reality

• In the laws of Malta, it is stated that persons who blaspheme in public are to be booked. This law is so rarely enforced that when it is the incident makes the news. At a pinch, one would say that this is a higher potential source of income for the Exchequer than cars parked just outside white lines and on yellow lines combined.

Recollections

• Ħadd in-Nies and the annual motorcycle and bicycle pilgrimage are two occasions for which Żabbar is famous. Surely two traditional festivals like these deserve higher coverage in the press? Perhaps it would be a good idea to include them in tourist brochures as a taste of cultural tourism for foreigners besides the usual festa excursions.

Risks

• When a cinema administration decides to screen a blockbuster, the chances are that people will flock to it. Older films and the less popular ones, however, do have their own audiences: families with children who want a relatively cheap treat in peace and quiet, the older generation and groups of youth who enjoy being together, with the entertainment offered being secondary. It would be a good idea, therefore, for cinema complexes to screen some of the latter type of films as loss-leaders. Then, perhaps, they could stop ripping off the public with ridiculously high prices for tickets and snacks.

Routers

• One is all for entrepreneurship and good service to the public as this encourages healthy competition. However, there is an element of selfishness in the newly setup taxi service (Yellow London Taxis) operating from Tal-Qroqq area in Msida. Drivers park their vehicles, when not in service, in the street for the whole day and night. The taxis are mostly double parked, blocking the road and taking up precious parking space. Surely a taxi company ought to have its own garages?

Roasted

• Nothing has so far been done about the “traditional” karrozzin horses on a nation-wide basis. Owners get to dismount from their seats and sit in the shade when the contraption has not been contracted. The animals, however, still have to stand in the sun, despite promises.

Renovations

• Works are being undertaken with a view to restoring Our Lady of Victories church in Valletta to its former glory. This is as it should be, seeing that the edifice was the first one to grace the capital. However, would it not be better for the project to begin when works on the entrance to Valletta are finished since the vibrations obtaining are more than likely to have an effect on the foundations of buildings nearby?

Reprint

• It is high time that a new telephone directory be published. However, one could see that, in a bid to save paper and space, the most recent one has such a tiny font that most people require a magnifying glass to read. Why not divide the tome into two volumes – Malta in one and Gozo and the green and white pages in another? This would enable a larger print to be used and make the lists easier to handle. Inclusion of the postcodes would be a good thing, too.

Restless

• Last Tuesday, there were at least 25 people waiting on the fare stage near St Joseph Home, in High Street, Santa Venera, at about 9.10 a.m. This despite the fact that commuters are supposed to be served by all three buses coming from the direction of Rabat and the express route coming all the way from Ċirkewwa.

Rubble

• The local council responsible for the areas from Ta’ Xbiex seafront all the way to the Ferries has clearly reneged on its duties. This area looks abandoned despite numerous complaints to the council. Residents want a thorough job done effectively and efficiently. Seacraft berth in this area, which should be a showcase for Malta. Moreover, the Yacht Club, hosting yearly the popular Middle Sea Race, is based in Ta’ Xbiex.

Rough

• Building sites and places undergoing works are supposed to be cordoned off for several reasons, mainly safety, not to be too much of an eyesore, to avoid ending up illegal dumping sites and also to limit access to them by unauthorised parties. None of this seems to be important where it comes to the Jerma Hotel, in Marsascala. Why has it not yet been demolished or at least walled in?