While the scorer of an own goal can rightfully claim that it was never his intention to make his team lose, it still goes down as a valid goal on the score card.

While winning a match in this manner is not the most convincing or satisfying of victories, the record books register it as a win nonetheless.

This post appeared in The Times dated 11th May 2010.

While workers’ holidays have been reduced in recent years on the pretext of making Malta more competitive in the international markets and more attractive to foreign investors, our elected members of parliament have decided to grant themselves additional vacation leave stretching from February 10^th to March 01^st;  this, of course, without a concomitant reduction in salary.

While regretting this forced leave of absence from parliamentary duties, Foreign affairs Minister Tonio Borg, on behalf of all the MPs, explained that this was actually a case of force majeure, as a casual election was to be held to fill the seat vacated by John Dalli. It appears that the sorrow generated by his departure and the tangible void of his vacant seat will lead to a gloomy environment in parliament, thus breaching the Health and Safety Regulations that cover places of work.  A psychiatrist was reported as saying:  “Unhappiness in one’s workplace can lead to chronic depression, which can easily be avoided by the therapeutic benefits of being out in the open.” In view of this advice, our MPs might prefer to relax on the benches of a refurbished St George’s Square just outside the palace doors – I now cannot but admire the foresight of this administration when it undertook the upgrading of the square.