I couldn’t agree more with your correspondent Claire Bonello on what she wrote on the Festa season in MaltaToday Midweek (29 August). But I would like to say something else, which I hope will also interest your readers. 
It is not the first time that similar articles like hers were reported in other sections of the press and quite a lot of times too – including letters by myself – on the same subject, and yet, neither the Church nor the civil authorities seem to take any action to remedy the situation in this state of affairs. I cannot understand how the authorities, especially the Church, are so insensitive to the feelings of other people, most of all the old, sick, bedridden, disabled, children etc. who have to endure the bangs of the petards from early in the morning till late at night just for the sake of the feast and enjoyment of others. Let’s put a stop to all this once and for all. Is there no charity for these type of people?
Next Sunday the feast of St Gregory the Great will be celebrated in Sliema. This was preceded by the feasts of St Julian and that of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Balluta, just two Sundays ago, in which petards were fired from a barge in the middle of Balluta Bay. This time, two large barges are already placed in front of the Independence Gardens, very close to the shore. Last Monday in fact, they had already started firing petards from these barges and no doubt, they will be used again during the weekend for the feast of St Gregory. It is a pity that although the Church authorities have issued instructions and regulations in connection with feasts some time ago, for which the Parish Priest of the town or village is held responsible, both for the indoor and outdoor festivities, yet, they have not yet issued any regulations about the fireworks, the firing of petards and all other type of explosives, whether loud, medium, colourful or otherwise, during the feasts.
While you read in the newspapers and watch the television, Missions, Institutions, id-Dar tal-Providenza and others making appeals for money to be donated and you also hear about the real hunger in some parts of the world, so why the Church allows the waste of thousands of Maltese liri to go up in smoke as part of the celebration of a feast or feasts which are celebrated from year to year?
Just one case in point: it is understood that during the feast of Stella Maris in Sliema some days ago, a person was heard saying on television when interviewed during the feast, that the sum of Lm8,000 was collected and spent on fireworks which were fired from a barge. If this is not waste of money, what is then? Does this make sense to throw away this large some of money rather than donating it to a church institution which is in real need of money? Is this not contradictory to collect the money and just throw it away up in smoke?
Finally, I invite you to send your photographer to Tower Road in Sliema in front of the entrance of the Independence Gardens to take a photo or photos of the two barges  from which the petards and other explosives  will be fired during this weekend during the feast of St Gregory, which besides their ugliness, are also dangerous because they are very close to the shore if an accident happens like it did recently when five people died in a fireworks factory.
This time, God forbid, it will be a store full of explosives instead of a factory, just at  sea,  which will without any shadow of doubt cause havoc in the surrounding area of Sliema and St Julians and probably elsewhere if this happens, for which either the civil or the Church authorities or both, will be responsible. I am sure that your photographer will make a very nice picture of these barges flying a large yellow flag in their midst, one touching the other, and probably earn him/her a prize in a photo competition!

John G. Micallef
Sliema

I fully sympathise with Claire Bonello’s frustration about the uncontrolled festa savagery that is turning Maltese summers into a veritable hell (Wednesday 05 September 2007). 
I’m not at all surprised by the anecdote contained in her article, about a visit by the bright and fresh MLP deputy leader Michael Falzon to Pamela Hansen’s household, and his remark that they would next year fire even more bombs. Michael Falzon is the same person who five years ago or thereabouts wrote to The Sunday Times to express an eternally charitable and cordial invitation to those who detest his fireworks. If they don’t like it, they can leave the country, he said.
How charming. That single thought speaks volumes about his attitude to civic behaviour in a civilised society. I despair when I think that this man has a good prospect of succeeding Alfred Sant at the leadership of the MLP and, eventually, the country.
 
Tonio Privitelli

I would like to refer to Saviour Balzan’s article of 8 August 2007 which dealt with fireworks.
The noise pollution you mentioned is a Maltese tradition that has been existing for the past 200 years. Mr Balzan chose to live next to the Lija fireworks factory. That factory was built before his house and all of those next to it, before they were even being planned to be built.
I am from Gharghur and my boyfriend dedicates his life to fireworks and keeping this tradition alive. I am damn proud of him and all of those who are like him.
Remember: fireworks are such a tradition that the only thing that tourists come for in summer is to see the beauty of Maltese fireworks.
I would like to thank all those involved in keeping the tradition of this beautiful island alive. Thank you all for dedicating your life to the beauty of lights in the sky.

Melissa Buttigieg
Gharghur

The paving project in Merchant’s Street Valletta is another clear example of incompetence by the present administration. All the tourists that come to Malta visit Valletta, so ‘obviously’ (!) the best time to do the paving works is throughout the summer, in the peak of the tourism season. Dust, noise and heavy machinery have characterised the area surrounding Merchants Street for months now. The most recent news is that the works have come to a temporary halt, and that not even the paving material has arrived in Malta.
On the other hand, during the 96-98 Labour administration, the paving works in Republic Street Valletta were done in a very short time, with workers carrying out the works round the clock, even in the early hours of the morning. The Nationalists are too tired to think on these lines, and are not interested to minimise the inconvenience that similar works cause for shop owner, tourists and locals.

Daniel Micallef
Dingli

While being interviewed by another section of the media, PN secretary Joe Saliba was asked “whether the PN is trailing at the polls”. After “a pregnant pause”, as the interviewer described it, Joe Saliba’s reaction was: “All I can tell you is that the PN is ahead by a slim majority of one per cent”.
I ask readers to recall that this is the same person who, at the very last moments when applications by candidates for the local council elections of 2006 were due to be closed, withdrew a number of PN candidates in order that elections at Mars and Zejtun (both MLP strongholds) would not take place since the number of candidates contesting would not exceed the number of councillors to be elected!
In this deceitful way, Mr Saliba thought that the impending PN defeat in those local elections, will be minimised as much as possible! How can anybody then believe Joe Saliba when he says that the PN “is ahead by a slim majority of one per cent”? And when all public opinion surveys carried by the independent newspapers and even ‘Xarabank’, have shown Labour to be ahead by quite a substantial margin since 2004?
The time that the PN’s spin-machine succeeds in fooling most of the people most of the time, is over. And Mr Saliba should start thinking of some new spin to explain the PN’s defeat in the next few months, say, November?

Eddy Privitera
Mosta

It is spin time! It’s incredible how the Nationalist Party tries to manipulate what’s going on around us. The latest episode is how in-Nazzjon journalist Michael Caruana spinned the interview he had with Melvin Mangion from NECC. Even the same NECC condemned the way the interview was edited and published. 
Caruana subjected Mangion’s credibility to heavy questioning, when he reported the latter’s answers in a partisan way, with NECC claiming that Mr Caruana politicised Mr Mangion’s technical replies. It’s incredible how Caruana had the cheek to give an intentional misinterpretation of Mangion’s replies, considering Mangion was representing NECC, which is funded by the taxpayer and should be left out of partisan politics.
It’s the story we hear about everyday; manipulation and fabrication of stories in an attempt to demonise the Malta Labour Party in the public eye. This shows the lack of ideas down at tal-Pietà. If the Nationalist party has got a little credibility left, it should assume its responsibility for the misinterpretations presented by its employee, and publicly excuse itself with the general public. 
While the Nationalists are busy trying to fabricate and spin non-existing facts, Labour is proposing a series of measures which will get this country running again after the next general election, measures which were initially rubbished by the Nationalists, and taken on board a couple of days after in the pre-budget document presented by the government. 
The Nationalists have always tried to portray Dr Sant and the Labour Party as being negative, and as having nothing to offer to this country. With time people are realising that the truth is the other way round. The Nationalists are now tired after 20 years in power. The initial pomposity by which Dr Gonzi was presented to the Maltese people as a new fresh leader has transformed itself, unveiling the weak side of Dr Gonzi who is unable to control his Cabinet let alone the country. The recent revelation of various scandals is enough to convince us that the Nationalists time, is over!

Josef Cachia
Hamrun