I refer to Giovanni Bonello’s article ‘Let’s hide the majestic bastions’. How strange that in all the comparisons to fortified cities there is no mention of Rhodes, my residence for nine years, surely a city with a stronger link historically to Malta than the rest the article focuses on.

However, the truth is that this couldn’t be included, of course, because it is abundant with trees and greenery which adorn both outside and inside the city walls. These do not, as the article implies, detract from the impressive walls but complement it.

Malta has been under siege for hundreds of years but its latest siege is driven by hungry developers who see trees as they see the rest of Malta, ripe for picking. It is shame those who should know better fortify their arguments with such articles.