A month or so ago, this newspaper’s editorial warned about the dangers of slowing down for our annual August holidays, in view of the current international economic climate.

We were not to be let down. While August is normally the sleepiest month of the year, with people taking shelter indoors or by the sea, this year saw quite a bit of activity.

Of course, certain things carried on as normal. Some factories shut down operations for a few weeks, there was a marked downturn in government and political activities, but still, things were kept ticking over.

First of all we had the issue of Mepa reform. It still continues and a lot of work is being done behind the scenes to ensure that all correspondence is being processed and evaluated.

The aim is to keep the momentum going so as to have it in full swing by the time everyone gears up to ‘normal’ speed in October time.

There was also a fair amount of activity in the tourism sector with the secretariat working hard to tour and speak to owners of various star-level hotels to ensure that, at least, we have a clear picture of what is happening in this most important of sectors to our economy.

The news is mixed, but the trend seems to be that three-star hotels are suffering, mostly due to the knock on effect of five- and four-star properties slashing their rates, in so pricing the three-star operators out of the market – most of which still block sell their rooms and rates to outside tour operators.

We also saw a big push on the part of the Health Inspectorate in relation to unrefrigerated goods standing outside shops. Casual and targeted inspections and patrols have been taking place and there has also been a good dialogue with the general public to identify offenders and book them.

Another issue which was hot this summer was inspections by the Animal Welfare Unit. Most were spot on with owners being relieved of animals which were being kept in pitiful condition. However, there still seems to be some grey areas with complaints coming in about indiscriminate action being taken against dog owners in particular. It will unfold, and this publishing house will attempt to look at individual cases in the near future.

Last but not least, divorce is on the menu. It started with the presentation of a report entitled: “For better. For worse. Remarriage after Legal Separation” by the Today Public Policy think tank. This was followed up yesterday by the presentation of a document drawn up by Progett Impenn called “For worse, not for better”. There was, of course, also input from other political parties and various organisations, but what seems clear is that no one really wants to grab the bull by the horns and begin the debate in a serious and objective manner.

The Prime Minister stated on record that “family is the cornerstone of Maltese society and everything must be done to preserve its importance”. This is true, and it is a good stance to take, but others might argue that to preserve the importance of families, then one needs divorce – especially in cases of abuse, adultery and excessive drinking, drug abuse or gambling. Others say that in such cases sticking together is the key. Both are right. The truth is that it is all subjective and that there will be many different opinions (as already expressed). But what is most important is debating it. Pussyfooting around is not going to do anyone any good. It will simply antagonise all parties. An interesting summer it was, and there’s more to go.