Definition of a festa

The beer bottles, the fast food packaging, the fireworks and the smell of hamburgers is what dominates the Maltese festa.

If anyone is looking for a religious experience then this is not place.

The Maltese festa is an exuberant display of consumerism and erotica if you ask me, and one should not be too proud of being part of all this.

I can fully understand that religion needs to have a colourful side to it, but I ask you, what do four days of ground fireworks, teenagers undressed to kill, techno parties, jumping and screaming, drunk and high youth, unbelievable cleavages, noisy firebombs and loud, no, very loud music have to do with Maria Bambina?

Maria Bambina, by the way, is the Madonna figurine that we are supposed to express our devotion to, on 8 September.

Now, I am in no way advocating that we ban festas, but for heaven’s sake, do we need to take advantage of the religious calendar to throw a party?

The noise and garbage created is unbelievable.

Nowadays, festas do not only take place on the eve, but start four to five days prior to the feast day.

All the regulations governing fireworks, dumping of trash and outdoor music are flouted in dozens of villages and towns that host these feasts.

Green bashing

Marisa Micallef Leyson has it in her system to hit out at the Greens. Now, I am no longer a registered green but I empathise with much of what they say and I cannot agree with the woman when she says that everyone else is green.

The truth is that the Government and opposition are simply not green enough and the politicisation of green issues is quite reasonable and understandable.

In the sixties, when both Marisa and myself were grown up toddlers, there were big divides between the Nationalist Party and Labour Party. In those days I would probably have been referred to as a hamallu and she as tal-pepe.

The Nationalists then were rather detached from social considerations and underclass issues, the Labour Party, on the other hand, concerned and very focused.

In time, both parties converged on these themes It is no longer correct to describe one party a representative of the workers.

The green party has a role, more so here than elsewhere. They catalyse, debate, and accelerate awareness when it comes to political understanding of a problem.

Without them, the world would be politically cheaper.

Marisa should aim her guns at other folk, or, better still, take a break and start writing children’s stories or perhaps a column for News of the World or a book with the title subject:

‘My fun days in England and how I missed Mintoff’.

F*** O**

Last week, I took the Press Club to task for allowing non or ex-journalists to pass judgement over its ethics, rules and regulations. I went further, I said I was impressed by the fact that some ex-journalists from the past were pontificating over ethics.

The Press Club’s dogs’ body, a certain Carmel Bonello who is not a journalist himself but works with a reputable marketing company, could not stand the comments and rushed off to his computer to send me this wonderful email. Very ethical, by the way.

“F*** O**

Following your last diatribe, I realised that you deserve to be told like the Greeks told the Italians when they went to occupy their islands:

F*** O** and leave us alone.

U fejn tarana tkellimnix. M'ghandniex bzonn zibel bhalek.

After a deep breath… anyone for the Press Club?