On the Dot

• The horses in the general area of the Evans Laboratory, at the lower end of Merchants Street, Valletta, have a place to rest away from the sun. Yet, ironically, some of the owners prefer to keep them further towards the War Museum, perhaps to catch the tourist traffic from there. Some of the stalls stand empty a lot of the time.

Substances

• We are reliably informed that the heroin available in Malta is probably the most pure in Europe. This may be due to the fact that we are on what is known as the Africa route. Whatever, there is need to slap the harshest fines imaginable upon anyone caught dealing in this substance.

Splash

• Despite the weather, swimmers are still sometimes seen in popular bays like Għadira, Buġibba and St Julians. One wonders whether tests are taken of the waters to indicate the levels of pollution and whether these are high enough to preclude swimming in certain bays or beaches.

Sustenance

• Despite pleadings from relevant local councils, people are still seen going around towns and villages clutching bags of bread with which to feed pigeons. It would be a good idea were contraceptive feed also given to these vermin so that they would gradually die out and stop posing health risks apart from dirtying plazas and cars.

Savour

• Was the recent brawl in which two foreigners were injured racially motivated? Was it fuelled by alcohol? In any case, it is clear that the ho-ha about how security has increased in certain areas where there are a lot of entertainment venues is much cry and little wool.

Suspicion

• So far, the idea is still that the data protection shields all those who seek to invade the privacy of others by making phone calls to third parties where their own numbers is withheld. The victims of this malicious practice will only be able to discover who they are following the institution of a court case. This is unfair.

Scepticism

• Are customer care induction courses offered to employees of certain banks and businesses? Probably not, judging by the fact that some of the staff regularly address clients as ħi, despite the fact that the first time it is done the client’s body language clearly indicates this is not appreciated. Professionalism is not indicated by faux friendliness.

Smidgen

• After a young child was recently mauled by a family pet, Dogs Trust campaigns manager Sarah De Cesare issued a timely warning. She said that however friendly, loving and faithful a pet, it should never be left alone with children. This goes directly against what is said, again and again, by certain television personalities, who insist that pets are always protective of any children in their house.

Soupçon

• When collection Tuesdays were instituted, glass bottles and jars that were not otherwise returnable could be placed in the green or grey bags. Eventually, this practice was discontinued bec-ause the glass was broken into shards that were both dangerous and amalgamated with other rubbish. Could not the practice be instituted where any glass or ceramic objects be placed in a separate bag, alongside the large bag containing paper, plastic and metal?

Service

• HSBC Bank has recently announced that it will be introducing an early retirement scheme for employees. The cli-ents who regularly use the bank services, as opposed to ATMs, may not be too delighted at this. Sometimes, only one cashier is there to serve a queue of people before the one in the next booth raises the blind to begin serving customers. Will these intervals be even longer if there are fewer employees available?

Study

• The Valletta local council recently produced a booklet about the capital city, which was donated to all the children with a Valletta address. Given that every council looks for ways to raise funds, it would be a good thing for them to provide it to the public at a nominal fee. The demand is there, already, for sure.

Supposition

• Certain dog owners assume that instead of cleaning up after their animals on the street, it is far easier to take their pets to roam the beaches because these are relatively deserted on most mornings. This means that people who go for picnics in the afternoons and evenings have their pleasure spoiled by the selfishness of the morning visitors who do not bother to remove what their dogs leave behind.

Social

• About 30 years ago, the Catholic Institute, in Floriana used to have Saturday evening Cinefora sessions in which people were invited to watch a film and then comment about it. Attendance was often very poor and this might have been one of the reasons that the programme was discontinued. One wonders whether any NGO or Catholic groups would be ready to tackle the necessary paperwork and red tape to reinstate these sessions.

Serious

• The idea for public transport vehicles to be given priority over private vehicles, especially in rush hours, is laudable. However it would be interesting to find out exactly how many vehicles have been fined for using the bus lanes, or even bicycle paths, in these last few months.

Squandering

• Why is it that daily all the lights at the public library in Floriana are switched on well before opening hours? Moreover, in summer, many of the windows are often left open despite the fact that the air-conditioning system would be on. One would expect the staff of a place where there is so much written knowledge to be literate about energy expenditure.