Summer mode

Journalists don’t have seasons, of course. But there are barren patches during the year, particularly the hot summer months, when they can somehow scrape out a proper holiday, more often than not interrupted by some major happening they simply cannot igno

Most of the time, however, even on this blob of land, there is enough happening for journalists to be kept reasonably busy. This summer, especially, has been raining manna from heaven as the PN internal crisis took a different, more malicious, twist almost every day, growing into a soap opera, the likes of which we have never witnessed in modern Maltese political history.

Those of us who have removed themselves from the day-to-day business of news-gathering can afford to take a step or two back by way of taking a breather and inviting readers to share in the bliss of the evergreen style of paragraph-writing. I remember doing the same thing when, way back in 1976, I was entrusted with my first weekly column by Frederick Muscat, the late and

lamented Editor of the old Malta News. I remember calling it ‘The 76 Column’ – which, I admit, was hardly inspirational.

Send in the clowns

As Boris Johnson predictably took over at No.10 in the UK, I am certain he did not find a not-sosubtle message on the Prime Minister’s desk saying “Send in the Clowns”, even if, in the perception of many around the world, he is exactly that. And even if one is confounded by the fact that while Jeremy Corbyn was re-elected Leader of the Labour Party in 2016 with 313,209 votes, Boris Johnson became Prime Minister with just 92,153, a changeover at the highest level of the country’s leadership always deserves a sense of civility.

Joseph Muscat in 2013, long before he could be judged over his Premiership, was not accorded this graciousness. It is a wellknown story that, on moving into Castille after a historic election victory, he found – intentionally displayed on the Prime Minister’s desk he was just about to inherit – a copy of a magazine with the title ‘Send in the clowns’. It was as subtle as my old newspaper column’s title. In truth, it was a culmination of the hatred and venom already shovelled at him during his five years in Opposition.

I am sure it was not the departing Lawrence Gonzi who left it there, but probably some underling with a sick sense of humour.

What it says on the packet

Media investigations across Europe and the UK have recently exposed a massive case of food fraud, most of which is based on supermarket meat label lies. They showed how shoppers are being ripped off as one in five products are not what it says on the packet. The scandal has caught the authorities with their pants down.

You automatically refer to the situation here as the megastore complex continues to affect people’s shopping habits. The first thing that strikes one is, forget Maltese (one of the EU’s official languages) and English, many of the products being put on sale at the major supermarket chains on the island have details in Italian only. Is this permitted under EU regulations? Immediately after that, the obvious question comes up: do the products, particularly meat products, really contain what it says on the packet?

Banned from the streets?

Most of us are in favour of more bicycles, more motor-cycles and more non-bulky other means of personal transport to help minimise the persistent growth in the number of new cars on the streets. It is also good to see the road-widening projects including space for both pedestrians and cyclists, but how much attention is being given to the dangers to both in the narrow, winding streets of our towns and villages?

Special reports, again in Europe and the UK (yes, I seem to have concluded my Brexit) recently revealed the dangers being posed to e-scooters and those who ride them. There have been calls for a total ban, especially where they are illegal on the streets. Where do we stand? Practically every day of the week, I see young men and women, their music headset on, swooshing down the Sliema streets, often navigating the pavements dangerously between cars, passers-by and fresh mounds of dog deposits.

A friend of one poor UK YouTuber who was killed riding an electric scooter has come out asking: if they are illegal, why sell them? It’s a valid question here too.

Differing views

We all have differing views on the issue of sex crime and its coverage in the media, particularly sexual abuse of minors whose lives are often left in tatters. There seems to be no end to the debate on whether the names of the alleged perpetrators should be revealed or not.

Cliff Richard, still beloved among many female Maltese music lovers of a certain age, recently came out calling for anonymity until one is found guilty. He knew what he was talking about, having been subjected to a concentrated Media barrage following a Police raid on his house, televised live by the BBC, only to have the case against him eventually dismissed by the courts.

But would that be fair on sex crime victims? That is the question many were soon asking in reply to his emotional appeal. There really is no Solomon solution to this social dilemma.

Tribalistic

Many may be tempted to attribute it to the generation gap, whereas I pin good or bad taste to it. This fixation with curated noses and ears, navels and lips – that seems to have taken over young men and women all over the Western world – really fazes me. Add to this fad the total surrender to ‘embellishment’ of all parts of the body with elaborate tattoos that take humanity back to the jungle. I blame David Beckham.

There was a time when our mums used to warn us against men with tattoos on their arms, more often than not sailors who presumably needed to kill free time on board. Today, the whole thing has become part and parcel of the fashion business. Well, ok, who am I to be negative about it and why shouldn’t I, at my unmentionable age, just go away and hide in some corner to read a book?

Tribalistic adornment in the electronic age. Robotic witch-doctor next?