Blue headlights, tinted windscreens and windows, spoilers and bull-bars and tiny flashing lights directed at the ground: all these have, at one time or another, been added to vehicles to make them stand out from the rest. It would be helpful to know which ones are permissible at law. And it would be interesting to find out how many drivers have been booked for driving vehicles that contained any one of them that is illegal.

Pole

Someone decided to dig into the pavement, at the upper end of St Joseph High Street in Sta Venera to insert a very long flagpole. The extracted rubble was piled against the wall and the hole covered with loose wooden boards. This is very shoddy and it is obvious that the pole is in no position to withstand strong winds.

Pylon

At the Valletta bus terminus, to the left as one goes in, just in front of the first kiosk, is a very dangerous electricity pylon. It has obviously been patched up several times and, each time, it becomes a little more dangerous. Since it is bang in the middle of the passageway where people wait for their friends, it is not the first time that someone is seen leaning against it.

Buses

If the rumour that Malta is in for an influx of bendy buses is true, it will be interesting to note how they will negotiate certain streets in old towns and villages and how they will fare on roads the surface if which is pitted with fissures and hollows. Moreover, Malta will then be the only country to boast a fleet made up simultaneously of bone-shakers and low-floor and bendy buses.

Briefed

It is routine for the police overseas, whether in the US, the UK or Italy, to give press conferences soon after some major accident or serious crime. Not so in Malta; the latest example being the casino heist at Vittoriosa Waterfront. The Malta Police Force may have some brilliant investigators but, alas, not too many, if any, familiar with PR and media relations.

Restrictions

Something really ought to be done about the chaotic traffic situation in the general area bound between Nicholson's supermarket, the US Ambassador's residence and Santa Luċija confectionary at Attard. Traffic comes from several side-streets simultaneously and not everyone obliged to would want to give way. One hopes it will not be a major pile-up which leads to better traffic control.

Rubbish

Is it the bulky refuse people who must make the collection when the amount of black bags obtaining is more than half a dozen? At Blata l-Bajda, right below the windows of the Office of the Prime Minister's Management Efficiency Unit, seven black bin bags full of rubbish have not been collected since Christmas. Phone calls and e-mails sent to the relative departments remain unacknowledged.

Billings

Now that patients at Mater Dei Hospital are to receive pseudo-bills for treatment or stays, one wonders who will be doing the paperwork. It is hoped the nurses will not have to waste their time compiling statistics such that clerks will then be able to compute the totals. This could be especially tough in wards where the shift complement is less than normal owing to sickness.

Inoculations

Is it one's imagination or is it really that the urgency with which the H1N1 inoculation is being touted has led to other issues losing their ostensible importance. Some time ago, the jab aimed at pubescent girls was being vociferously advocated from some corners; these days, we are hearing nary a whisper about it.

Surfaced

After nearly a month trying to avoid driving into the pot holes in Old College Street, between Sliema and St Julians, a number of people decided to lodge a complaint about it. The St Julians local council claims it is the Sliema council's responsibility. Inevitably, the Sliema council informs residents that it lies in the jurisdiction of the St Julians council. In the meantime, hundreds of vehicles that drive along this stretch of road have to risk damage to the tyres or, even worse, crash when trying to avoid them.

Reclamation

The good news is that Mepa inspectors have demolished the illegally-built rooms in the rural area in the limits of Rabat, known as Ta l-Iżball. The bad news is that there appear to be other illegal structures that could well soon acquire tenure by reason of prescription, if this exists. Some of these have existed for much longer than the ones that have just been knocked down. And, obviously, it would take evictions, not bulldozing, to chase out the squatters who have taken over wartime rock-hewn shelters.

Freedoms

It is a good thing that certain government departments and entities as well as private businesses offer a freephone number. It is true that a recorded voice instantly instructs one as to which keys to press in order to connect with the relevant sections, however, the time spent waiting on the line before a human picks up the phone and deals with the problem sometimes approaches 40 minutes. At least, the caller is only upset about the time wasted and not about how much the call costs.

Passengers

First we get to know that when people overstay their visa permits they are not escorted to the airport to take the first trip home. They are allowed to stay here, albeit in custody, making their illegal status even more so. Then we are informed that if Malta rescues boatloads of immigrants at sea, we will have to host them. The first instance does not make sense and the second one makes even less, to the point of discouraging humane behaviour.