A few months ago the St Paul’s Bay local council notified Xemxija boathouse owners that any sun shades and terrace enclosures were to be removed with immediate effect. This fencing was erected after the notification and it looks like it is there to stay, and to prove this the owners of the boathouse in question used iron fencing bolted to the rocks. Does anyone wanting to walk through have to show a pass now?
Hefty BOV charge
Bank of Valletta account holders need to be wary about receiving payments from third parties. If the third party gets your account number wrong – even by one digit – BOV will still transfer you the money if it is obviously intended for you, but it will bill you, the receiver, €20 for the pleasure. To make matters worse, it will do so without first informing you, and it refuses to return the €20 when you point out that it was not your error and you were not informed. How much money does BOV make through this harsh “administrative” charge annually?
Lunar landscape
Driving out of Ta’ Qali towards the road leading to Rabat has become one obstacle course. Drivers have to manoeuvre around massive potholes that are close to 20 ccentimetres deep and that only become bigger and deeper every time it rains.
... and obstacle course
To add insult to injury, only a few metres up the road, a steel grating over a water culvert has either been swept away or given in. The authorities are aware of it, so much so that they tried to alert drivers by putting up plastic barriers, which do not seem too much of a precaution.
Feeding strays
Could San Ġwann council stop people illegally taking out rubbish bags after collection time? Stray cats and dogs are having a field day.
Rubbish tip
Paceville has just been named as the crime capital of Malta. However it seems like another tag can be added, that of rubbish capital. Skips in the area are not enough and rubbish is left beside them despite stickers on the skips.
Residential eyesore
Parked overnight in the highly residential area of Dingli Circus, in Sliema, is a vegetable vendor’s truck. Boxes left on the truck’s roof can easily be blown away in strong winds. Aren’t large vehicles supposed to be garaged overnight?
Flat rate
A new rent-a-cart service has just been introduced at Malta International Airport. A notice on the machine that releases trolleys informs passengers that payment “in GBP sterling bank notes” is also accepted. And then it adds: “Rate: £1 = €1”. On Thursday, the Central Bank quoted the rate at €1 = £0.84.
Double jeopardy
Part of Ġlormu Cassar Avenue, leading from the War Memorial to Castille, in Valletta, is reserved for coaches where passengers can board or get off. When the area is full up and other coaches arrive they block the lane heading towards Floriana, creating a bottleneck. The powers-that-be should look into the matter.
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