Probably not everybody will understand how this could be. But in France, by law, large supermarkets have been obliged to withdraw the very substantial reductions they were offering on the price of various items, like cleaning and laundry products as well as food. Before the measure came into force, buyers rushed in a huge wave to take advantage of the offers before they vanished.
Meanwhile though, the outcry against this law was muted. It was intended to protect small businesses running retail shops which stood no chance of competing on price with the supermarkets. It seemed like there was widespread agreement that the closure of all such shops would not be a welcome development.
That is what is happening with the market dominance being achieved by the supermarkets. Though small shops necessarily have to charge higher prices for the items they sell, their presence close to where consumers live is valuable for the community as a whole. They cannot all be allowed to die out. This seems to have been the general verdict. To what extent and how would such a conclusion apply to these islands?
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THE CITY
For those who like me, know how Valletta, the city, used to be in other times, the changes it has undergone are mind boggling. Many have been for the better. The cost-benefit of other changes is debateable. There’s nothing wrong with keeping in mind some of the latter.
Valletta has become too commercialised, thereby losing part of its character. Obviously it needed to modernise, but cities which are most tourist oriented need to maintain the aura of being places where people also reside permanently, and not just tourists...
The shops all seem to resemble each other, being for the most part clothes, food and drink outlets; those that used to be authentically “Maltese” have closed down and await someone to morph them into businesses that are indistinguishable from the rest...
There’s nothing wrong with crowds gathering in a city but it’s not such a good idea if as a result, noise becomes the order of the day... even if in the distant past, according to Lord Byron, Valletta was a hodge podge of smells, bells and yells...
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SQUARES
I did not understand well why the works that were carried out recently at Paola square had to be redone. The tiles that paved the square were removed and tarmac was laid instead. That is what also happened some years back to works done along the square fronting St Mary Church in B’kara. They were inaugurated with great pomp by then Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi. For years every six months, repairs needed to be done to the square as with the traffic that passed through it, the paved tiles regularly got loose. Finally, they were replaced by a a layer of tarmac.
The lesson should have been learnt. Either we do not know how to pave open spaces with tiles or we need to put a limit on the traffic that can pass through them. If we’re facing the first problem, we should learn how to lay tiles correctly or just give up on the idea. If it’s the second problem that is the real issue, then we should ensure that the measures which limit the traffic that can travel through squares and open places are respected.
Having open spaces first paved with tiles that as one should know, will then need to be replaced, simply amounts to a careless waste of resources, which will then be paid for by taxpayers.