Last week I asked myself "why would I want to dine at a restaurant that uses the words 'lonely table just for one' in its advertisement?"

I have nothing personal against Engelbert Humperdinck, but to use the lyrics of The Way It Used to Be to entice me into a restaurant - something which I don't like doing much anyway - is rather pushing it.

For all that, in the local media there are several things that beat even my imagination at its wildest.

Take, for instance, the microphone that kept bobbing along the street, at chest level, with two characters earlier this week. The director probably thought it would be in the part that is usually masked before broadcast - well, it was not.

Then there is the ongoing argument about whether Malta ought to be at the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC).

Most people conveniently forget that once upon a time, there was the Festival Tal-Kanzunetta Maltija, which had been organised for decades as the showcase of Maltese song. The logical conclusion of this was that when in 1991 Malta started to take part in the ESC, its winner automatically had the right to represent Malta, using the English interpretation of the song.

Then someone had the crass idea to organise another, albeit as yet not a rival festival, specifically to select a singer to go to the ESC. This, according to those who had the power to decide such things, made the Festival tal-Kanzunetta Maltija redundant, and in 2003 it was stopped, ostensibly so that the money could go towards pushing a child singer for the Junior ESC, with the well-worn excuse, used unto this day, that budget constraints made it impossible to cover everything.

So now we have the PN organising Festival Kanzunetta Independenza transmitted on a political station, and Norman Hamilton organising a festival broadcast on another political station. Of course, there is the Għanja Tal-Poplu, which is a private affair, and hugely popular - despite the shoestring budget, which amply shows that some reasons are merely excuses.

My hope is for the rebirth of a truly national festival, broadcast live on the national station, that would allow bands and genres of music outside those that are heard across the local airwaves as a general rule. And if the contestants think they would look better in jeans than in a voluminous gown, so be it. It's the singer and the song, not the clothing, that matter, unless it's a dance routine on a TV show (see below).

There are already rumours circulating that something is in the offing; but to divulge all I know at this point would only add to speculation.

• It seems I have quite a knack for setting the cat in among the pigeons. The comments I passed last week about the payments due, or not, to main, secondary, and extra actors in series broadcast on local television elicited dozens of mails from them - but curiously, none from producers or directors.

In all fairness, I felt I had to send the latter a set of queries, in which I presented certain allegations and asked whether they could verify or negate them.

These included questions about whether it was true that actors - even established ones - were being asked to submit themselves to screen tests or auditions, against a fee of anything up to €15; whether it is true that actors are expected to provide their own costumes/make-up/jewellery, and so forth.

I received a veritable cornucopia of replies - but not even a 'none of your business', with which I would have been satisfied, from some companies. This, alone, speaks volumes. Ignoring people is downright rude, and not professional. Neither is, for that matter, telling someone who has been a household name since before you were born, that "you treat the same everybody" (actual quote). It could also be the usual dire lack of research, besides hubris, of course.

One person tried to justify the fact that they charge for auditions because "everything" (meaning what, exactly?) costs money; there is a recession, and there will be less no-shows if they have paid to be there. As for the last defence, since they are there already, it becomes a question of paying to remain there, as it were.

It seems to be par for the course that when a drama company organises courses, the 'students' are preferred over 'outsiders' when it comes to casting. Sometimes, eye candy is preferred to talent (and since good looks do not guarantee aptitude, some shoots over-run allotted time).

Unfortunately, there is no equivalent of Equity here - and seeing that there are some parvenus who would gladly be blacklegs as long as they get to 'act' (and I use the term judiciously), even if they do not get paid for their time, I wonder if there ever will be.

• A reader complained about the attire of some dancers on Ħadd Għalik. I passed the comments to Angie Laus, who had this to say:

"We always take complaints very seriously. The group concerned is made up of five young girls, all of whom are over 16 years old. They are relatively new to television, and that is probably why this faux pas happened. The said costumes were, in fact, worn for their very first appearance and I, as a producer, immediately spoke to their manager about them. Since then they have selected more appropriate ones.

Ħadd Għalik strives to give promotion to new faces. For the past year from the Ħadd Għalik team we had Kurt who sang in the Eurosong, Lyndsey who had two number one songs on local radio stations, and three young ladies, namely, Lyndsey, Deborah C and Adie, who were invited to perform on a Sicilian television programme. I am sure the She2s will perfect their act.

television@timesofmalta.com