On the Dot…
February 17th, 2008 Posted in Pet SupplyThe driver on the number 71 Valletta - Birkirkara route, on January 14 at 10.30a.m. was indeed courteous with his passengers. He even called back a passenger to give her the extra euro cents because she had over-calculated the fare.
Green Alert
Health and safety measures are nothing less than a joke when it comes to driving conditions in Malta. Apart form having to negotiate potholed streets and well-overdue repairs, drivers have to cope with the blind right of way issue extant at roundabouts and centre strips, where overgrown vegetation blocks the view and makes it well-nigh impossible to see approaching vehicles that are lower than the greenery. In this case, beauty is danger.
Wrong Priority
Some schools hold regular checks for forbidden cellular telephones, confiscating them until the end of the week. Yet, the consumption of junk foods, bought from places other than canteens and tuck shops that are now forbidden to sell them, goes on unrestrained. This is a weird way of setting priorities.
Patients’ Menus
In the same way, it is risible to see people who would have been to hospital for health check-ups head straight to the cafeteria for some fat or sugar laden concoction to assuage their anxiety. One wonders, besides, whether the restrictions about food apply to what is taken to patients by visitors, because it is not available on in-patients’ menus.
Shaky Foundations
The Mepa chairman has let it be known he does not wish to stay beyond his term of office. Mepa’s audit officer is not at all happy that his investigating officer was not re-appointed and now the deputy chairman has had to step down. Did somebody say all is calm on the St Francis Ravelin front? Next applicant…
Eat Cake
The people can continue to eat cake until the powers that be decide whether to publish the findings of the inquiries into the fatal police shooting in Qormi and the near air miss over ebbu. There will come a time - soon - when the crowd shall stand up and, as one, shout out loud: Off with their heads!
Road Harrows
Marginally more than the centre third of Canon Road, in Santa Venera, has been resurfaced so soon after the last going-over. The side streets, however, have yet again been passed by, although the mayor has just written to residents telling them they are the responsibility of the central government. Residents would really love to invite some dignitaries to their homes, just for the pleasure of having their streets resurfaced.
Big Print
The inscription on the monument of Pope Pius V situated by the entrance of St John’s Co-Cathedral museum in Republic Street, Valletta, needs to be seen to. This column has long been complaining that letters have been dropping off, to the extent that the dedication is now all but illegible. It is attention to apparently trivial matters like this that make the island look so tacky.
Silent Ride
The introduction of silent taxis in Valletta was an unmitigated success - although it ought to be made clear whether or not passengers may use cellular phones when they are in such proximity to the driver and bound to distract him. This idea should be emulated in Mdina, at least during the mornings, even if for a trial period.
Riding High
And going a step further, the introduction of a solar-powered bus by the Adelaide City Council in South Australia, bears looking into. The vehicle, named the Tindo (a Kaurna Aboriginal word for sun), relies on the facts that a bus has lots of surface area for panels and, while requiring a lot of torque as its so heavy, doesn’t need to go very fast. As an introductory gimmick, all rides on it are now free.
Streets Behind
The Msida local council appears not to care about the several complaints by residents in the general area of Upper Antonio Bosio Street, corner with Sawmill Street. It is very popular with people who walk their dogs, yet these never bother to clean up after their pets. There are also a lot of nasty smells in the air.
Timely Stitches
We have had several days of rainfall and, as normally happens in the circumstances, many potholes have appeared in our roads, while others have grown deeper and wider. Unfortunate drivers have suffered punctures and even severe damage to cars because they could not discern the potholes. One now hopes the local councils will quickly see to the areas that have suffered the most in the past days and carry out the necessary repair works.
onthedot@timesofmalta.com
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Tags: dogs, holes, joke, lear, loc, love, Pet, pets, restriction, st francis
