• Some time ago, a lot of fuss was made about how L-Istazzjon public gardens in Birkirkara had been given a new lease of life, what with the big screen and the young children’s playgroup. Alas, the environs are now a dismal, dirty, scary site that does not even encourage people to use it as a shortcut, let alone to pass the time of day there. Even the train carriage has been vandalised.

Retail

• Tourism and visits by local groups are two staple income-earners for establishments that organise tours around their factories. However, it is disconcerting to see that the price of delicacies is revved up simply because the products are placed in fancy containers. The chances are that, if merchandise without extraneous packaging is offered as well, sales would go up because more people would purchase more things.

Recurrent

• The road signs on St Andrews Road require reinstallation as soon as possible. At present, they are non-existent, such that traffic often stalls as drivers look for directions to where they need to go. As a consequence, the entire traffic system snarls up. Similar action is urgently called for in other areas of the island. Even road sings introduced by Arriva have been neglected.

Resume

• It is not fair that supermarket chains target online persons who are not even their customers. It is already bad enough that letter-boxes are stuffed with flyers. Promotional e-mails are being sent from addresses that are “do-not-reply”. It is clear that someone is making good money selling blocks of addresses grouped by area, number of persons in a residence or even alphabetically.

Routed

• In order to save on the number of vehicles that must work a certain route, Arriva is using bendy buses. This system does not work well when the route is long and the suspension system of the bus is not working well.

Rodeo

• Every so often, someone remembers the karozzini horses that are made to ply the streets bearing a load of tourists or stand in the scorching heat while the cabbies, sitting or standing in the shade, solicit fares. In winter, the fact that they have to plod their way in the cold and rain is sometimes mentioned. And, yet, season after season, nothing is done to remove, once and for all, this blatant form of animal cruelty.

Redirected

• Traffic heading towards Valletta in the morning rush hour is often stuck at the War Memorial bottleneck caused by vehicles turning left towards The Mall. This happens because the middle lane is blocked by motorists wanting to turn left rather than keep going straight. Traffic policemen or wardens should be deployed at the other end of St Anne Street to ensure that those going towards The Mall take the inner lane.

Reparation

• How much does it actually cost to lower a flag and get it washed? It is amazing that certain entities allow flags to get so grubby. It is no excuse that certain areas and streets are more polluted than others. If they cannot keep the national flag clean, they are disrespecting it by letting it wave when it is dirty.

Rip-off

• Bills for wireless systems are being sent to people who are not subscribed to the specific company: the total balance due amount and the term “scheduled automatic payment date” are intended to panic the recipient into replying to the e-mail in protest. Furthermore, the person is told: “Keep in mind that payments and/or adjustments made to your account after your bill was generated will be deducted from your automatic payment amount”. An awareness campaign about these scams is absolutely necessary.

Reduction

• Another scam e-mail involves a difficulty with one’s account ostensibly encountered by an online payment system. It is indicated that some of the features of the account have been disabled because of possible fraud or misuse of the owner’s credit. The actual problem is not specified and this means that the owner will have to contact the senders to discover what it is, this confirming that his address and other information are authentic.

Rumbles

• It would be interesting to find out why certain wardens, rightly, never fail to stop drivers or passengers who are not wearing a seat-belt but then allow the passage of motorists who have only one hand on the steering wheel because the other one is holding either a mobile telephone or a cigarette. Is this not conducive to dangerous driving?

Regret

• Why is it that when it comes to using public transport, it is only persons who have impaired mobility who will be proffered subsidised rates? Is it not true that people who have certain other disabilities, even non-visible ones, are precluded from obtaining a driving licence? Do such genuine cases not merit attention, and concessions, too, when it comes to the use of public transport?

Raring

• Many establishments do their patrons and passers-by a favour during football season by erecting huge screens where matches may be watched. Unfortunately, not all the residents of a particular area relish this act of kindness, especially when the matches are accompanied by raucous support from fans and dozens of beverage and beer bottles and food wrappers are left in the street overnight, the better to attract vermin such as rats and mosquitoes.

Rude

• A security officer in uniform on duty at the Lidl outlet in Luqa on June 25, in the afternoon, could be heard swearing loudly. Swearing, even to oneself, belittles the person. Doing so loudly also reflects badly on one’s employer. Such behaviour cannot and should not be tolerated.