Virtually everyone and his sister is up in arms about the proposed (proposed? decided more like) siting of the Valletta Flea Market to Ordnance Street, cheek by jowl with the Piano Building.

When one writes "cheek by jowl" one of course means buttock to buttock, probably clad in frilly bits of scanty ladies' nether-wear, and when one writes "everyone" is up in arms, one doesn't mean the valiant defenders of the environment or the architectural well-being of the capital who were so shrill when the Nasty Nats were in power.

The FAA, for instance, didn't think it was necessary to take to the streets to the strains of "Give Peace a Chance", perhaps because they've taken on board josephmuscat.con's mantra in full.

You know the one I mean, the one that goes "You have to be positive, this is a new dawn of politics, you certainly haven't learnt your lesson", though in the FAA's case, I don't really think they needed to be told.

Another of the bleaters who has now turned down the volume of his bleating no end is that Zammit Tabona fellow. He is no fan of the Flea Market, that's quite clear, and wants it banished from Merchants' Street forthwith.

I suppose he's lucky it wasn't sited in front of the Co-Cathedral, as it had been in Mintoff's time, but putting it there wouldn't have been spiteful enough in 2013. No, this time around we're going to have it snuggling up against the Piano Project, presumably to be able to give instruction to our children on the true distinction between the sublime and the gorblimey, and this apparently is OK for Zammit Tabona, who seems to have this peculiar notion that the market being in Ordnance Street is fine, because only people who want to go there will do so.

Oh, and don't think that Sunday is going to mean any respite for your eyes: the Sunday Market people want equality of treatment.