On most weekdays I catch the bus to my Valletta studio and bus it back to over built Sliema.

The advantage of catching the bus is that you get to enjoy the view; however, that all depends on which side of the bus one is sitting.

I really fail to understand how a coastline as potentially beautiful as Msida, Pieta and Sa Maison can be left to become so unattractive. Most of the buildings are in a sorry state of neglect with rotting wooden shutters and balconies giving the feeling of rot and decay. How many places in the world offer stunning views of historic fortifications built by the Knights of St John and the Mediterranean all in one go, plus a lungomare that goes on, almost uninterrupted from Valletta to St Julian’s?

Why is it that we Maltese don’t really connect to our capital city? Sometimes people cringe when I mention that I now have a studio there. There are hundreds of explanations and justifications why Valletta is not perceived as a good idea. Personally, I think it deserves better.

The superb work done at the Cruise Passenger Terminal helps clarify the enormous potential of the city.

The other day I was in Mtahleb and to my dismay I noticed a discarded mattress thrown underneath a tree. Do we really have to do this to ourselves?

In the end there certainly isn’t going to be much left to paint, with all this indiscriminate building and urban sprawl – let alone leaving something worthwhile to our children and our children’s children. Is the future going to be an endless chain of cranes, pollution, anonymous apartment blocks and a lackadaisical approach to our heritage and environment?

In the meantime, our quality of life is fast deteriorating. Things that really matter like our countryside, our heritage and our beautiful island are being replaced by rampant materialism and indifference.

A choice between two evils.

Madeleine Gera

SLIEMA