A good friend asked in conversation how were our neighbours George and Christine doing these days.

He remarked that I hadn't mentioned them in the column for some time. Well yes they are fine, or so they seem. George is as weird as ever, while his wife Chris is as stoic as ever. During the Covid pandemic George, bless him, took some of the most stringent precautions ever seen in order to avoid contracting the virus. Inevitably they didn't work and, despite his extreme and almost comic efforts, the poor bugger eventually contracted - and survived Covid. His eccentricities provided me with a fair bit of copy during those "interesting" times, but of late he has kept a pretty low profile, until just recently.

The other Sunday morning I spotted George washing his car as I returned from buying the Sunday newspapers. He spotted me first, stopped swabbing his car's bonnet and said: "I don't buy newspapers any more, too much bad news in them." I concurred before he added: "And I can't stand this cold, wet weather." Then, just as I was contemplating an abject apology for not being able to control the ambient temperature or the frequent precipitation he came up with: "Of course it's all this bloody government's fault."

I was wondering just how my neighbour could dump our winter weather onto the ruling administration when he qualified his remark: "Not that they can do much about the weather, but I do deplore their deliberate inaction, when it comes to news." Naturally I asked what he meant by this. He looked at me as though I had just suggested that he do away with his wife and family and replied: "Good god man, where have you been hiding these past 12 years? I mean why, tell me... why are the likes of Schembri, Mizzi, Muscat et cetera still walking the streets and not banged up in the Corradino Hilton?"

I admit that since I couldn't answer this one I merely shook my head, I hope sympathetically. He was up and running now. He took a deep breath and stated emphatically: "And what is the Opposition... sorry I mean... excuse for an Opposition, doing about it? I'll tell you... sod all. I'm just waiting for the day when Roberta takes over." Assuming he was referring to Ms Metsola, I eschewed the temptation to suggest that, since she has a pretty cushy, very well paid and highly prestigious - little number back in Brussels, why would she ever contemplate exchanging that for the rough and tumble of our indelibly tainted local parish pump politics.

But George really had the bit between his teeth now, and in the next five or so minutes he managed to slag-off very member of our current government... plus a few hangers on. I was getting fed up with George's rant so to change the subject and get it onto something I more closely associated with George... hypochondria, I asked him what precautions he was taking in view of the current Asian flu epidemic sweeping across Europe.

George immediately changed tack and took the bait. Pulling himself up to his full five and a half feet tall he explained: "Very nasty business - and as a family I have banned myself, my wife and kids from going anywhere near Mosta." Oh and why's that? George's eyes narrowed as he spat out the words: "Because I hear that Mosta is full of Asians... that's why."

Fair enough. So George does have a sense of humour after all... or?