Carnival, coming as it did this year, after a spell of extra cold days, had the predictable effect on the younger members of the females of our species, although the males also had their own way of reacting.
Starting on Friday but then more on Saturday and Sunday, not to say Monday too, one could see girls and teeny-boppers flaunting their leggy graces all over the country, under the guise of a Carnival costume that seemed to require extra short skirts or hot pants.
To this one must add the hordes of cavorting youngsters hanging on to the Carnival floats. Even though they normally keep dancing all the time, it must still be extremely cold up there especially in the windswept streets of Valletta and as from this year when the floats make their way to Floriana.
So this was the sub-text that has always existed in the word Karnival (Carne-vale) in which Carne did not just stand for meat but also for the body. Come Lent those precociously uncovered legs would be covered up once again.
Action and reaction are equal and opposite, we used to be told. The colder the preceding days were, the more young people seemed to anticipate the balmy days of Spring and Summer.
This, of course, is not restricted to Malta. The Daily Mail, that bastion of conservatism, had run a double page spread some months ago showing how girls and women in even colder Britain preferred short skirts and high heels even when the streets were covered with snow and ice. Of course, a high intake of alcohol or shooters would normally make up for any cold they felt.
On the other hand, every time we have a cold spell, one cannot but remain astonished how with few exceptions, such as explained above, most people in Malta seem to overdo the winter clothing.
The weirdest sight last week must have been a woman driver of an Arriva bus (on route number 31) wearing in her cabin (which must have been well-protected and air-conditioned) a huge white fur hat that would not have disgraced a lady in Russia.
That one wears a comfortable protective jacket is understood and accepted and a scarf is also important for it protects the throat against colds and infections. But some people overdo things: One could see people wearing multiple headgear such as a scarf and a hat. Some continued to wear these even indoors.
The warning by the health authorities for people to wear warm clothing in the cold spells was thus very appropriate.
On the other hand, some people go the other way. In this category one must include some hardy tourists who seem determined to spend their holidays in Malta in holiday gear – some even with short sleeves, sandals and bare legs.
It is true that they come from countries where the cold is far worse than anything felt in Malta but still our cold weather, our cold winds and most of all the cold dampness of our buildings should counsel people to wear more adequate clothing.