People tend to congregate at Valletta on Sunday and more so on a fine day, especially if it happens to be carnival. So why is it that the Tritons Fountain was not dredged, and working? People tend to throw rubbish wherever they see that more is already there.

Dressing Down

In some schools as well as in social and religious groups, bans were made on the type of costumes children could sport during carnival, especially if these involved warfare or allusions to monsters and demons. Most people know there are nine orders of angels - but nowadays we are expected to believe that the same applies to evil spirits and monsters as people were heard complaining that certain costumes were only "mild versions of the real thing".

Promises Land

At this time of the legislature, that is, close to a general election, this fair land of ours is made promises left, right and centre. Will the justice and the communications ministers pledge that, if re-elected and re-instated, they will publish the findings of the inquiries into the fatal police shooting at Qormi and the near air miss over Żebbuġ?

Paper Mates

It would be interesting to find out how much time is wasted on form filling and other types of red tape by policemen and people in the medical and teaching professions. No doubt, clerks could be seconded to do this while the officers can devote more time to their real jobs.

Walled In

The retaining wall of the Mosta Rotunda parvis desperately needs a going-over. Once that is done, steps could be taken to have traffic approach the church again such that the façade could be enjoyed in all its glory and not by having to crane one's neck while inside a vehicle.

Stand By

Two Saturdays ago, a traffic jam all along the Sliema front held up traffic in a nightmare to what could have been an enjoyable morning. At one point, people noticed that there were two wardens, at the end of Sliema Strand (across the road from Square Deal), ostensibly there to ensure that traffic flowed smoothly. However, one was astride his motorbike and the other was standing up, talking to him. Both of them were assiduously avoiding the issue.

Harbouring Resentment

The residents of the general area of the Blue Harbour Development in Triq l-Imradd, Ta' Xbiex, have to put up with the noise of onsite stonecutting from seven every morning, including Sundays. No preventative measures appear to have been taken to restrict the amount of dust in the air, either.

Child Proof

Kevin Brenan, British Minister for the Family, reiterates that his nation is producing a generation of battery-farmed youngsters who are never allowed to play outside, thus facing ill-health issues including obesity and a lack of social skills. The same thing may be said of local children, who, in addition to school time, often have the added pressure of private lessons and extra-curricular subjects crammed into their lives in the mistaken belief that this will make them "better" than their peers.

Own Language

Chief Marie Smith Jones, the last full-blooded Eyak and last native speaker of the Eyak language, has died and with her has died her language. According to the United Nations, more than half of the 7,000 languages spoken in the world are in danger of disappearing, although they are an essential part of people's identity. The year 2008 has been proclaimed as The International Year Of Languages. So let's cherish and nurture ours.

Valletta Calling

Is it not time to review and rehaul the Valletta CVA system? The amount of vehicles travelling into the city for an errand that they know will last under half an hour has undoubtedly increased and, with it, the amount of toxicity in the air. This can be attested to by the residents who find that they have to clean more black dust off their furniture, more often.

Butt Yes

And while on the subject of airborne pollution, it is worth pointing out that the practice of allowing people to smoke right in front of entrances to hospitals and restaurants must be stopped. The minute sliding doors open, smoke is drawn inside, defeating the idea of saving people from having to inhale second-hand smoke in public places, especially hospitals and eateries.

Solid Action

Last November it was stated that €133,809.57 (Lm57,429) were being spent as advertising for the Grand Harbour regeneration projects. Would it not have been better to spend less, and work faster, so that people could see what was happening rather than seeing projected images and literature?

onthedot@timesofmalta.com