We are all accustomed to such wayward titles of popular books and films as The city that never sleeps", with the author obviously trying to project the image of a thriving, not-so-innocent city run by and for a hyper-active population. The cliché often works but, as we move swiftly towards 2018, I hope we will be happy to refer to our own capital, Valletta, in less unrelenting fashion than that. In fact, I would rather think of Valletta as the city that actually needs her sleep.
Not that Valletta is not a bustling city, an exciting, historical place to be in, or that her population is not as interesting and as colourful as that in your next exciting city anywhere in the western world. In her present state of being, however, she deserves a special kind of attention, with soothing lullabies if needs be. Donated to us by the Knights, no doubt as an intended heritage, she still continues to cast a special spell on anyone who visits her.
Like every ageing maiden, Valletta has seen time and events attacking her beautiful features. We may think that World War II - and those low-flying, screaming Stukas - caused the most damage to her overall attractive profile, but past and present peace-time generations certainly cannot be easily excused from having had their fingers in baking the calamitous pie thrown, in strong, slap-stick style, at her made-up face.
So it comes as no surprise that we often try to camouflage all that by interpreting the old and new developments in a way that not only appeases our conscience but also seeks to provide some sense of continuity and actual-day justification, as did Victor Calleja who, writing in this month's edition of Air Malta's rather sterile Il-Bizzilla magazine, declared Valletta's new entrance as being "now gloriously open". He adds: "Unlike the city of old, Valletta is now ready to accept anyone, all nationalities, all religions. Before it was exclusive, now it is inclusive." Waffle, waffle.
Still, I really see no harm in this. Slick city sketches need to be this liberal in thought and in the narrative, just as when the same writer insisted "Today Valletta is newly resplendent with an entrance that is a striking leap into the 21st century." I hope the leap doesn't include hurtling down into the ditch below.
Of course, Renzo Piano, the man who shrewdly sold the whole idea - including the permanent construction-site-like, roofless-theatre - to a kow-towing former Prime Minister, could have hardly hoped for a more benign definition of what he's done to Valletta's immediate interior.
That said, we now have what we have of Valletta: raped, patched up and saddened, or happily restored and revamped, but certainly more than enough to enchant the visitor and vibrant enough to bridge the generations of people, local and foreign, who are flocking back to it, night and day.
I have been struck by the positive attitude that has been shown all along by the V18 Foundation chairman Jason Micallef. His was an unfairly much-maligned appointment after the last general election, but Jason has flowered into a veritable V18 dynamo, injecting energy into the on-going process of making Valletta's 2018 role as a Cultural City of Europe one to remember.
A few days ago he wisely counselled that we should all now steer clear of the national debate that has engulfed the whole Valletta entrance project since its very inception, to concentrate our efforts on adding Piano's new buildings "as part of the iconic edifices that make Valletta what it is today".
Indeed, let's give Valletta a respite from controversy. She needs her beauty sleep.
Time for a re-think
One could not help sympathising with the ex-Drydocks worker, currently serving a prison sentence after being convicted of a robbery charge, who has appealed for a re-think of the criminal record system. Ex-prison inmates face a dark future of exclusion, especially when it comes to jobs, and it would indeed be worth revisiting the system by way of changing it from the permanent guillotine that it is today, its blade systematically beheading whole families who need support, rather than society's vengeance.
It is good to see the Home Affairs Minister and other authorities concerned showing a genuine interest in what this poor man, and so many others like him, had to say. The ex-prison inmate in general is caught in an ugly conundrum wherein he is seeking to start a new life but is being brusquely denied the opportunity because of his criminal record. The man's brave intervention during a recent certificate-giving ceremony inside the Kordin prison complex was backed by, well, positive certificates he had after all been awarded during his time at the Drydocks. Certificates are mere pieces of paper, jobs are a social necessity.
Perhaps the time has indeed come for a re-think of the criminal record system. Ex-inmates should be offered the chance to seek employment on a level playing-field with other citizens if, and only if, they have truly been willing to reform and to move ahead, rather than just aching to go back to the life that originally got them into a prison cell.
The system should not offer a free-for-all vehicle, but some sort of points system based on performance and attitude inside the prison complex would no doubt go a long way towards giving the right men and women another chance. Should there be a reoccurrence, then the system would rightly be expected to shift back into the old, stigmatic mode.
It's a funny old world
While the world continues to wobble from both natural disasters and man-made crises, the picture that emerges still is of a planet that has no sense of direction and is eagerly going round in circles, trying to catch its own tail. When we had two super powers vying for the support and loyalty of the rest, things somehow felt safer. Now, with one super power flexing its muscles all the time and other wannabes imitating it, hope is not exactly what the present situation inspires.
In the US, a sniper bullet which can change course mid-air to hit a moving target, human or with humans inside it, has been shown off by the American military. Video of the Exacto bullet (as it is called) in action has been described as the "most successful" demonstration of the bullet to date. Hooray for that, I guess.
In Russia, in the meantime, battle armour manufacturers have outfitted their latest vehicles, including the newly-introduced T-14 Armata battle tank, with cutting-edge electronic systems allowing for the gathering and analysis of battlefield data from multiple sources in the blink of an eye. Another great hooray.
And in China, the upgraded D variant of China's J-11 fighter jet has made its maiden flight with a new radar and a new air-refueling system. It is reported to have better active phased array radar, more use of composite materials in its wings and tail and be capable of firing more advanced air-to-air missiles. An even greater hooray.
Giving peace a chance was never meant to be like this, was it, John?
How many more heads?
After ex-Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono, how many more heads need to roll before the Nationalist Opposition can finally make peace with itself? Like warfare and re-armament, political parties also need to go through the inevitable cycle of change and re-invention. It has happened to parties everywhere in the world and it will continue to to happen.
It needs political courage, however, to agree to a sequence of rolling heads rather than one mere act of symbolism, to convince outsiders that the necessary change in attitude and mentality is actually occurring.
Twenty-five years of power, interrupted only by Alfred Sant's twenty-four-month stint at Castille, no doubt exacted their toll of scandals and corrupt practices. So far we probably have only glimpsed the tip of the iceberg.