• ARMS Ltd is moving forward in more ways than one. They are now sending bills for residences and summer residences for amounts that are a shock to wallets. But they have, more importantly, realised that an office in an area that people may access more easily is a priority if they want to have some semblance of good public relations.

Parking

• There have been a lot of complaints about how Valletta residents do not use their own blue-lined parking bays and, instead, park their vehicles in the ones available for general use. This dilemma has a very simple, obvious solution. A sticker indicating Valletta residence could be issued to each vehicle registered under a Valletta address. This would also indicate whether or not non-citizens are using the parking bays.

Shopping

• It would make perfect sense were people allowed to use cardboard boxes, instead of green or grey recycling plastic bags, for items such as plastic and paper. These boxes are usually crushed flat by shops for reasons of space, whereas they could be used by customers to take shopping home. This would eliminate the use of many hundreds of plastic bags, recyclable or not.

Phoning

• The company that publishes Yellow Pages has kindly offered to make good any requests for directories that were not delivered. This is a tacit admission they are aware it happened. Meanwhile, one hopes the plans for a new telephone directory include a decision to include the postcode because many people use telephone numbers to find out addresses.

Papering

• Too many companies are relying on mail shots and catalogues to get their message across to potential customers. There are people, however, who do not shop from these companies as a matter of principle. Besides, those who deliver these leaflets persist in doing so even when it is obvious houses are vacant and this is indicated by the amount of other advertising material that would not have been collected. It would be a great thing if one could opt out of such deliveries.

Ominous

• A fraudulent Danish investment system has left many Maltese people out of pocket. It would be interesting to find out whether these will ever get their money back. If they are, one will only wonder why those who trusted a particular fly-by-night private tuition enterprise did not get reimbursed and why shareholders of The Kursaal Company Ltd still have only a worthless share certificate in their coffers.

Missing

• There ought to be some kind of emergency number for commuters to use when a bus would still not have turned up 20 minutes or more after its usual time of arrival. If, for example, the driver of the 8.10 a.m. (Dingli –Mater Dei – University) decides to take a break and, then, to make up for lost time, cuts through the main Rabat road instead of through Attard, Psaila Street, St Luke’s and Mater Dei, people are left stranded along the route he ought to have taken. The dispatcher at the University would only note the bus arrived there according to schedule. Walking along Regional Road or waiting for one hour for the next bus are options that are not viable alternatives for everyone.

Routing

• Because of the road works in Bisazza Street, Sliema, buses have been re-routed along the Tigné side of the town. One of the streets being utilised is probably the steepest hill in Sliema. One shudders to think what would happen should the brakes of a vehicle fail. Is it possible no alternative route could have been found?

Signage

• A sign facing Triq il-Kukkanja in Sta Venera warns drivers of oncoming vehicles works are underway and that they ought to proceed with caution. The sign is placed incorrectly because it is the hundreds of cars that drive down Cannon Road daily that ought to be warned of the work, which, for the record, has yet to begin.

Garbage

• Out of sight, out of mind is a proverb many think applied to rubbish, of whatever kind. Looking down in the general area between the right-hand side of the Malta Stock Exchange buildings in Castille and Ġlormu Cassar Avenue, one sees a huge amount of rubbish that has accumulated over the years. This is probably being saved for the day until a massive clear-up operation makes the headlines and we are told exactly how many tonnes of rubbish were removed from such a relatively small area.

Paving

• This column evidently works. Soon after the item about the crazy paving in Zachary Street, Valletta appeared, workers were seen fixing the loose bits and adjusting the colour of the grouting to make it fit in better with the total appearance of the street surface. However, it is a pain to see that, sometimes, action is only taken when the need for it is pointed out.

Travel

Despite Malta’s boasts of being at the vanguard of internet technology, it would seem that full use is not being made of the facilities this makes possible. Every day, news bulletins inform us that personalities have been jetting off to the four corners of the world, attending conferences, assemblies and whatnot. It appears to be unthinkable that a flight could be replaced by a teleconference, perhaps because personal contact and physical presence are still considered important in certain circumstances.

Recruitment

• It is good to see that the numerus clausus for the courses leading to a degree and diploma in nursing and midwifery has finally been removed, five years after it had been supposedly introduced. Twelve-hour shifts are not conducive to the well-being of either medical staff or the patients in their care when any ward or clinic is short-staffed.