A person with a theodolite has been seen taking measurements on the beach opposite the Europa Hotel, in Sliema. When asked in a perfectly friendly manner what he was doing, he replied he had been commissioned by a company in Attard to draw up a feasibility study for salt pans on the beach. He said he had not been in Malta for more than a couple of months, so he may have believed the story he had been fed. It is not known whence he came, so it is also possible he did not understand what he was being told.

My suspicion is, of course, that he was surveying this little bay so some part may stealthily be hideously granted as a concession. This is a beach that is totally free and open to the public and is very popular among both the young and the old at most times of the year, except the other Sunday when the big storm struck. It must be kept as such.

Umbrella wars and deckchair fights must not be allowed to spoil this little piece of rock, which is enjoyed by people from all over the island and also by tourists.

We have a dear friend, now in her late 90s, who recalls swimming in, what I think is called Ferro Bay, when she was a child. One hopes it will still be a place for everyone in another 90 years.