• Up to some time ago, if one happened to be in Marsaxlokk, Tas-Silġ or Delimara and decided to drive to Marsascala, one had the possibility to do so through Triq Strejnu, which provides an excellent connection to St Thomas Bay and Marsascala, and vice-versa. There is a big sign showing the way either to Żejtun or to Marsascala. This sign is still there. However, at its side, there is now another traffic sign banning entry into Triq Strejnu except for residents (they are rather very few) or to render a service. Why should anyone wanting to drive from Marsaxlokk to Marsascala, or the other way round, be made to do so through Żejtun?

Success

• Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino said that the cleaning and maintenance of wells was the subject of a new course to be offered by the government’s employment agency. This is part of the campaign to safeguard the supply of water and not to let any go to waste. Meanwhile, in places such as Ġnejna, where the rocks and sand tend to be clayey, one can see gallons of water flow down to the sea, from where that same water is then expensively retrieved through reverse osmosis.

Subsidence

• Meanwhile, one notes that the retaining wall, going down to the left of the sandy bay at Ġnejna, is slanting outward. If it collapses, it will probably allow a lot of soil to be lost and destroy additional sections of the wall on either side of it.

Sagging

• Even more planks of wood have been added to support the façade of the derelict building near the Birkirkara ex-bus terminus public garden. More stones have fallen from the building, too. Is it possible that, although the place may belong to private parties, neither the local council nor any government department has the power to intervene when the danger is so clearly evident?

Settling

• There is a law, which is not always followed, that trucks carrying building debris are supposed to cover their loads. However, no such law appears to apply to similarly large vehicles carrying offcuts from trees. Branches and twigs are often seen falling off.

Stage

• In the road leading to ta’ Qali, between fare stages Qali 1 and Qali 2, are a number of loose manhole covers. This road is used by thousands of vehicles, including school buses and public transport, each day. Surely the constant vibrations are not doing the road surface any good.

Security

• Some time ago, a bank included a form that doubled as a sort of lottery ticket in correspondence to clients. In this form were a number of questions that had nothing to do with the type of accounts the persons contacted had. Why is it that the said bank did not reply to the question about why those questions were being asked, given that the person making the question did not fill in the form as requested, thereby rendering it incomplete?

Sustenance

• It would be interesting to find out whether all the fruits and vegetables being given to primary school children in the Eat Healthy campaign are being appreciated in the same manner. Moreover, it would be a good idea if these portions are given in biodegradable plastic. As it is, tonnes of plastic are being generated and some of it is not being recycled when the containers are thrown away because what is inside them is not eaten.

Selling

• The closer the general election is, the more trees are pulped in order that prospective candidates send us pamphlets – and sometimes even newspapers and magazines – to highlight how much they have worked for the common good. Alas, this trend is sometimes emulated by governmental departments and ministries to prove how good to us the incumbents are. Some voters, however, are not so easily impressed.

Solutions

• It is a pity that some television personalities, as well as representatives of certain ministries or banking organisations, are chosen to appear on TV because of their looks and rather because of how professional they are or their competence in the vernacular and the English language. A case in point is the reader of the financial news on TVM, who did not even realise that “divide end” (she meant dividend) had no bearing on what she was saying.

Snooping

• The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) is requesting women to participate in a “ground-breaking survey”. The introductory letter sent to potential respondents says that they have been “selected at random” and that they will only be re-contacted should they chose to contact the company conducting the poll through e-mail or a landline telephone. It is a great coincidence, therefore, to see that the only two women in one particular household were contacted!

Soiling

• It is already bad enough that owners of horses take them for exercise in residential areas as early as 5.30 a.m. What is worse, however, is that these persons never clean up after their animals. The balmy weather means that people are already keeping windows and doors open and, therefore, flies and mosquitoes attracted by the horse dirt are finding their way inside houses. This is grossly unfair.