On the Dot

• “Give us this day our daily bread”, an Englishman was heard saying as he photographed the Mdina cathedral with two vehicles, including a bread van, parked in front of it. The van was parked there during the night too. What does the local council think?

Money

• Some time ago, a bank sent a couple of forms to investors as a part of an information-gathering exercise. Appended was a special offer indicating that one could win an appliance if one filled in the forms. However, the questions had nothing to do with the clients’ investments. Is this kind of marketing fair?

Monitoring

• Why is it that on the national radio station infomercials about the forthcoming national census are being broadcast solely in English? This is somewhat weird, considering that the listenership of this particular station tends to be Maltese.

Memorials

• After the neo-Gothic architecture at the Maria Addolorata Cemetery was allowed to fall to rack and ruin, plans are in hand to pass on the site to private enterprise. One hopes that whichever the commercial entity may be, due care is given to the style of the structural design besides the expansion of the burial sites.

Modernising

• On the morning of October 31, a bus on route 32 was involved in an accident with a private car in the general area of the parking lots of Mater Dei Hospital. The driver of the 202 bus was not duly informed and, as a result, he had to manoeuvre tightly (earning himself a round of applause from passengers) and take a different route. So much for the modern technology of which Arriva boasts.

Mothering

• Press reports indicate that, last year, 895 were born to single mothers, of whom 70 were foreign. However, no statistics were provided as to how many of these women were in stable relationships, how many of the babies had siblings and how many of the foreigners were in Malta without residence permits.

Muffling

• A number of Arriva drivers turn off the air-conditioning on buses because of the slight drop in temperature outside. With no open windows and closed doors, as well as the smell of sweat and scent and rain-wet clothes and shoes, the atmosphere soon turns stuffy, not to mention unpleasant and actually unhygienic. Ventilation is important to preserve well-being and prevent illnesses.

Majority

• It is now official that “the majority of our MPs do not use the new public transport system”. It would have been interesting to know who the “minority” MPs are and whether the routes they actually use are the direct or circular ones. This would perhaps give an indication of what is being done by the representatives of the people to indicate that they are at one with their constituents in at least one issue.

Marked

• Health and safety lecturers usually include information about correct posture and repetitive strain injury. Seeing that so much fuss has been kicked up about whether or not cashiers and salesmen are to be allowed the luxury of sitting down on the job, would it not be better to provide them with seating of which they may avail themselves when it is not necessary for them to stand?

Mechanics

• Time and again we are being informed that there may not be enough Arriva route buses to serve the public in the way it was intended to be before the service started. One wonders whether it is possible for some of the old low-floor buses to be sprayed in the colours of the new fleets and used to alleviate this problem in the most logical, inexpensive way possible.

Means

• One death, one serious injury and countless minor accidents have been happening because people fall into shafts meant for lifts or ventilation. It is clear that whenever this happens safety measures would not have been at their peak. Are the contractors or the owners of the buildings where these incidents happen liable for any fines?

Methods

• Despite all the complaints by parents, children are still being collected for their school trips more than an hour before school hours officially begin. Moreover, some of them still have to lag heavy satchels because teachers absolutely refuse to allow children to share their books on the assumption that this would put paid to discipline in class.

Medication

• Patients often turn up at clinics assuming that unless the pharmacist, or doctor, gives them medication they are incompetent. This is followed by visits to other pharmacies and other doctors until those are found who will give medications for even the slightest malady. Surely another educational campaign like the one against free use of antibiotics is in order.

Meandering

• Valletta is a city under a city and some of the tunnels and wartime shelters extend further under Floriana and, perhaps, even beyond. It would be time-saving were the public able to use some of these routes as a shortcut. If used as a tourist attraction, the payment of a nominal fee would help raise funds for the constant upkeep of the underground system itself.

Markers

• It is all very well for young people to represent Malta abroad and make a success of it. The downside of this, however, is that their achievements may go to their heads. Their parents and their managers should absolutely forbid them to be photographed in compromising positions. Another point to watch out for is that these youngsters give out, or else it is given out on their behalf, fake data that makes them falsely eligible for membership of certain social sites.