• The amount of sludge and debris collected from the streets after the recent storms is indeed gargantuan. Whereas it is true that some of it was dragged away by the torrents, the fact remains that drains and street gutters were, as usual, not cleared in mid-August “just in case” what might have happened, actually did.

Monies

• Now that it has been confirmed that monies were not apportioned appropriately within the Malta Football Association, the public would like to know what will happen. Will the people responsible for this be held accountable? Will there be legal action and/or fines to be paid? Will any football club sue for loss of income that could have been pigeon-holed for a worthy project?

Markets

• Several stalls in closed markets have air-conditioning systems. This, alas, sometimes results in items on the delicatessen counter having a faint tang of cigarette smoke, for some reason. Not many people realise that some kind of ventilation is necessary when such systems operate, as is evident by the fact that even the air smells stale sometimes.

Middle

• The central strip along Notabile Road all the way from Birkirkara upward needs sprucing up. Soil pours into the road whenever it rains and the vegetation is in a sad condition. The recent rains have made the situation even worse.

Mein

• Fr Hilary Tagliaferro has gone on record saying that race or colour ought not to be a factor when young footballers are selected for football nursery teams. Alas, this statement embodies a sentiment that is prevalent in many areas, affecting children whose physiognomy is not Caucasian, or they have one Maltese parent or are adopted.

Medley

• One notes that whenever children’s rights are mentioned, someone is bound to trot out the old chestnut about “illegal immigrants” as if only two types of children exist locally: natural-born ones living with their two Maltese parents and the aforementioned ones. Even a local book on children’s rights perpetuates this myth.

Motion

• The good news is that Malta will once again celebrate Car Free Day. The bad news is that the occasion, on September 16, will only be observed by a handful of local councils. What are the reasons or excuses of the others? One eagerly awaits the televised clips of the consequences of closing Saint Anne Street, in Floriana. This exercise has always proven counter-productive.

Magnificent

• Well done to all those who have been involved in the activity, Science in the City, to be held in Valletta on September 28 as part of the pan-European Researchers’ Night. This ought to be the first of many, even without a European echo. One envisages geography, history, technology and other “nights”. Surely there are enough professional and enthusiastic people to make them happen.

Mothering

• The adopt-a-granny scheme launched by the Żejtun local council has had resounding success. Indeed, there are plans for it to be extended to include the elderly who reside alone in their house after the relevant groundwork is finalised. One hopes that many other councils will commit themselves to similar projects.

Management

• How often are health and safety checks carried out on building sites? One worker was recently seen handing a large, unwieldy, metal plate to a colleague standing on the scaffolding plank immediately below him while talking into a mobile telephone held in the other hand. Neither was wearing a harnesses or hard hats.

Miffed

• The representative of the Occupational Health and Safety Authority who appeared on a TV chat show last week must have annoyed quite a few viewers. For most of the time he only appeared to be coming up with excuses why the OHSA could not do this or the other when enforcing health and safety rules. No wonder people have little confidence in such entities.

Misdemeanour

• It is amazing how not one warden was in sight to ease the traffic flow during the heavy rains in the general area of the Fleur de Lys roundabout, on September 3. Yet, on the days following, lo and behold, there they were again, stopping quite a number of vehicles.

Marked

• Following several complaints, many members of Parliament appear to have stopped the practice of sending birthday cards to constituents. Those who still do, however, take the opportunity to send the wishes in a calling card with their photograph as well as a list of places and times and telephone numbers where one may contact them. This is nothing but cheap publicity.

Manifest

• Much has been made about how important it is to microchip dogs that are kept as pets. Nothing has been said, however, about the situation with regard to a number of animals that ought never to have been imported, let alone sold and kept confined.

Mingling

• It has become fashionable for youngsters’ parties to include a shisha in the middle of a large table so that a “community smoke” is an integral part of the proceedings. There is the assumption that this pastime is healthy because the water is assumed to filter out the toxins in the tobacco. It is not.

Moving

• Within a distance of under 200 metres, motorists have to deal with a roundabout, a bus stop, a pelican crossing and waiting vehicles at a petrol station close to the Bank of Valletta headquarters in Santa Venera. One can only imagine the congestion that ensues during the morning rush hour for those heading towards Valletta. Can Transport Malta look into it?