Some time ago this column featured an item about the Swieqi local council website, saying it was way out of date and needed to be spruced up in order to become worth visiting. So far, nothing appears to have changed despite the fact that the council at the time had issued the stock comment that "action was being taken". Just for the record, the last entry reads "posted on Tuesday, March 20, 2007 at 12:22".

Downtime

The aforementioned website moreover is not the only one that needs updating. The website that claims to be the "first" (not local council) website about Sta Venera on the net features a photograph naming as mayor the person who was elected three local council elections ago. The least the webmaster could do is to tell online visitors that he was no longer interested in keeping the site updated.

Medications

Despite a lot of hot air and promises sincerely meant to bring the health service forward, nurses on emergency duty are still not permitted to give potentially life-saving medication to patients. This despite the fact that in certain circumstances, every second counts and correct medication may mean the difference between a person's full recovery and being left to cope with the effects of a stroke for the rest of one's days.

Bullying

Bullying is alive and well. This happens because of several reasons. But surely some of them involve the long waits that children have to bear, before or after school hours, because vans drop them off early and pick them up late. Access to certain schools is forbidden. It is little wonder that those so inclined will seek out weaker peers in order to help pass the time.

Accidents

Yet another accident related to the construction industry has happened. One wonders whether health and safety inspectors are still too overworked to oversee jobs where there are not too many workers. Sometimes, alas, it is these very circumstances that lead to chances being taken.

Speed

According to the Malta Transport Authority, the new speed cameras soon to be installed on eight major roads, imposing a speed limit of just 60 kph, are set to ensure road safety for all, be they drivers, passengers in a car or pedestrians. The authority has conveniently forgotten to include comparative statistics about how many accidents are caused by over-speeding and how many involve cars the drivers of which lose control because of road conditions or because they happen to be smoking or using a mobile phone at the time.

Valentines

One wonders whether some teachers have actually benefited from the psychology lessons in their courses. It is not the first time that they address children in a way that is hurtful. Moreover, sarcasm does not always pass right over the children's heads; the brighter ones, as well as those to whom the remarks are addressed, often understand full well what a teacher is not saying. Perhaps the time has come to stop insisting that children prepare cards and gifts for certain occasions, unless they are willing to do so "because that is what the rest of the class is doing today".

Backing

The amount of funds needed to make Fort St Elmo as good as new has been estimated at €100 million. This sum, however, includes several peripherals that are not strictly a part of the fort. Certain sections of the press have already begun casting doubts upon these plans before they have even been set out on paper. However, perhaps it would be better for the fort issue to be taken in hand and finalised, first, before the rest of the project is begun. For instance, is there really a need for another hotel in Valletta?

Patchwork

The way road patching is carried out, one could easily think that workers are given a certain amount of tarmac, by volume, and told they may only use that. So these workers could well have a choice between filling in some potholes properly or, else, filling a greater number, but not as thoroughly. Of course, this is only conjecture.

Charity

Two charity workers were heard mentioning their supervisor in an uncomplimentary manner as they were heading out of Valletta, one day last week. The person involved had apparently wronged them by asking them to fulfil their day's quota of hours by returning to headquarters, rather than allowing them to go home. They could have had a point because by the time they got there it would be nearly time to leave for home. Yet, the bad language they used made a correspondent think twice about contributing to that particular charity again.

Posted

The queue outside the Ħamrun post office sometimes gets entangled with that of the people waiting for the number 75 bus, to the annoyance of both. It is a good thing, therefore, that the staff at this particular branch is so cheery and helpful, making the bad experience negligible and sending people away with a smile on their faces.

Beat

It was encouraging to see two policemen on the beat in Guardamangia and Ħamrun, on Tuesday, in the late morning and early afternoon. It is less encouraging, however, to see people in uniform - be they policemen or armed forces personnel - smoking while on duty and, worse, walk into lotto shops and make purchases.