We should not have ANY kind of stall – irrespective of what they look like

Published: January 31, 2015 at 1:34pm

lou bondi

The problem is not what the stalls look like, but the fact that they’re going to be there at all. Their hideousness has merely served to galvanise people’s attention on a matter they didn’t quite bother about before.




69 Comments Comment

  1. Jozef says:

    Tkellem Clapton.

    • curious says:

      Is he going back to journalism? It seems that nappy changing, guitars, old music and bottle feeds are not hot topics any more.

    • F.X. says:

      Clapton ta l-anqas jitkellem mill-gitarra.

    • Ta'Sapienza says:

      Min kien il-lead guitarist tal-Judas Priest, Lou?

    • bob-a-job says:

      Ghalhekk jaf x’inhi G-string.

    • ilmawstalmiki says:

      Lou Bondi should take a formal stand on the matter. He is under contract to the prime minister as his consultant. He needs to do more than post a comment on Facebook.

    • Spock says:

      Aesthetics aside, is there any city, in the whole world, where that country’s parliament building is surrounded by an open-air market?

      Is this all a cynical reflection of the tacky deals our government is continuously making on our behalf? Our country’s reputation is being sold as cheaply as the items on sale at the market.

      If parliament were to remain where it is now, at the Palace, would anyone imagine a market in the square below it?

      So during a Nationalist administration we had a project to embellish the large square in front of it, now under Labour we have a project to denigrate the new parliament – and by this I don’t mean only the physical edifice itself, but what it actually stands for.

      In a way this is poetic justice, because it perfectly represents what Muscat and co actually think of democracy and parliament itself – the highest institution in the land – which is there to safeguard it.

      Talk about the epitome of cynicism, hamallagni, bad taste and the quintessential socialist mentality of “uglifying” anything remotely unutilitarian.

  2. curious says:

    The government is being held to ransom on more than one front. Bravu Joe Mizzi. You know how to count to five.

    “It continued to provide a service when Autobuses de Leon took over on January 8 on the understanding that the new operator had to receive second hand buses from the UK by today.
    These vehicles did not arrive and the UBS was requested to continue providing a service. However, the conditions were not agreed upon.”

    http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150131/local/updated-only-5-autobuses-de-leon-buses-to-replace-ubs-fleet-tomorrow.554157

    • Mila says:

      Eh hekk tfisser soft launch?

      Not showing tabling contract, not giving definite dates and deadlines so that every time you f*** up, no one gets to know about it.

      So that is what Mizzi actually meant when he said that he would not make the same mistakes as with Arriva, he covers his a** by keeping everyone in the dark about his hit and miss project.

      This is smoke and mirrors on steroids.

    • Gary says:

      And when the vehicles did arrive, they are Mercedes Citaro buses. The same model as the hated bendy-bus, albeit the smaller and rigid 12 metre type.

      The vehicle was bad for Arriva (to the point where millions of Euros of buses are dumped in a quarry and the company had to leave Malta), but good enough for ALESA.

      To myself, it demonstrates there was nothing fundamentally wrong with the type of bus (other than the bendy-bus being too large for some routes) and the woes of the bendy-bus were down to lack of care and vitriol.

  3. ChrisM says:

    Did a 6 year old with no talent design them ?

  4. Santina says:

    Agreed that the market shouldn’t be there and that the stalls are horrendous etc. etc.

    But why Lou bondi’s opinion? Nobody cares what he thinks.

    [Daphne – Lou Bondi is not ‘Lou Bondi’. He is the prime minister’s consultant, under contract. So yes, I care what he thinks and you should too.]

    • H.Galea (NRK) says:

      Daphne, I admire you, so do not get me wrong …. don’t forget the salt … a pinch here and there will ruin nobody’s kidneys.

    • qwerty says:

      He should his soul and silence for a contracted salary so no one should be surprised to see him aligning his comments with those of his boss – hence it’s not news worth reporting

    • Mobi says:

      And he’s also a lackey like his best buddy Peppi.

  5. Embarrassed says:

    Can someone mention a single parliament building in the developed world sitting next to a flea market? This move runs deep – it’s a debasement of the institution itself.

    • Denis says:

      That is Muscat’s idea: debase national institutions. That makes him look good with wife-beater-vest-wearing types and the tattoo brigade.

      He’s much the same himself.

  6. Henry James says:

    I suspect this is another of those timely distractions Muscat keeps coming up with… All of a sudden we managed to forget spring hunting!

    I wonder how many of those hawkers are hunters too.

  7. pocoyo says:

    We cannot, just cannot, have any more of this tacky, tasteless and incompetent government

    • Denis says:

      They want to destroy anything that is civilsed and organised. Destroy organisation: that way people have to seek them out for favours, which makes them feel important and in control.

  8. H.Galea(NRK) says:

    Issa li tkellmu l-esperti inhossni perswaz. Mohhi mistrieh.

    L-ewwel naraw liema nahha ser ixaqleb il-mizien, imbaghad we’ll join the bandwagon.

    L-esperti, jidhirli ghandhom ikunu huma li jesprimu ruhhom l-ewwel.

  9. Robert Pace Bonello says:

    Another reason to keep away from our ‘beautiful’ city.

  10. Gahan says:

    That’s my Daphne!

  11. Ian says:

    Issa stenbah l-iehor? We need his programme back quick, because it was the only thing worth watching on Maltese TV. Reporter and Times Talk are a fucking waste of everyone’s time.

    Honestly, this whole monti-stalls-thing is really getting on people’s nerves and might just be the last straw for some people.

  12. ilmawstalmiki says:

    @ChrisM
    Your comment is an insult to less talented children. Your criticism should be directed to the ministry in charge and the government.

  13. bob-a-job says:

    We cannot, just cannot have any kind of alien structure suffocating the NOW beautiful entrance to our capital city.

  14. ciccio says:

    So the Maltese public has spent around Eur 100 million to develop this unique Piano Project in Valletta, a unique capital city in the world (and also a Unesco World Heritage City), so that Joseph Muscat can ruin it with 75 kiosks worth Eur 5,000 at most.

    Joseph Muscat’s best is really his worst.

    I said this before. What does Malita Investments have to say to its shareholders about this JosephMuscatLabour pastazata around its flagship property?

  15. ciccio says:

    A city built by gentlemen for G-string hawkers and hookers.

    • Charlie H says:

      Their lingerie is not Bordelle, Carine Gilson, Jean Yu, or Guia La Bruna, but cheap China fakes. What do we really need the Monti for? Aren’t there enough shops in Valletta, Sliema and most villages selling good quality, if not highest quality, underwear, jeans, and other items?

      • claire says:

        I agree completely. I hate the system. Once a week certain areas of Malta are blocked with the market. Residents who do not own a garage should find a parking place the day before as in the morning there is the market taking place.

  16. ciccio says:

    Has anyone come up with an artist’s impression or photomontage of how this new Little Armier will look like around the new Parliament?

  17. Chris says:

    Ara, Joey gave Lou permission to speak.

  18. bob-a-job says:

    It doesn’t even stop there.

    ‘Chris Cardona said there was enough space for all 75 licence holders of the daily market, who currently set up their stalls in Merchants’ Street and around part of the Palace, however, with more than 200 permit holders for the Sunday market, the Ordinance Street market will spill-over ‘to another street’ which he did not specify.’

    The space requirement is practically threefold on Sundays. Where is it going to be sited?

    http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130528/local/government-to-help-hawkers-replace-their-stalls.471512

    • ciccio says:

      We majtezwel stop guessing which street the Lap Dancing Minister had in mind about the spill-over.

      If this matter now falls under Dr. Cardona’s Ministry, I think we are going to have a G-strings market on every street in Valletta.

    • ciccio says:

      “The space requirement is practically threefold on Sundays. Where is it going to be sited?”

      Don’t forget that there is the bridge, and then there is the bus terminus.

  19. edgar says:

    So Bondi finally came out of his shell, hoping that Muscat won’t terminate his contract.

  20. Antoine Vella says:

    All those who were shocked and scandalised that ‘GonziPN’ dared put Parliament House at the entrance of Valletta have now been served. This is Labour’s answer to Piano’s architecture.

    Since everyone has expressed dislike and disapproval of the stall’ design, it is easy for people like Lou Bondi and Kenneth Zammit Tabona to join the chorus. I am sure Astrid Vella also disapproves, as does the PM himself, after all.

    All of them are not standing up to be counted; they’re standing up to be with the majority.

  21. bob-a-job says:

    I have always contended that the larynx is exclusively controlled by the sacculus.

  22. Augustus says:

    Simon Busuttil should declare that the minute the PN is in government, he will remove that eyesore to somewhere more inconspicuous.

  23. Albert Bonnici says:

    Bondi first needs to find his balls, then stop licking Joseph Muscat’s arse, get in his bad books again, and then start protesting or consult with some sense. Nigh impossible methinks

  24. claire says:

    I hate flea markets. The worst ever is that they are allowed to sell foods.

  25. Gladio says:

    It is a repeat of the good old days under Labour when Valletta was degraded in its status by a PM from Cottonera. In contrast, Lawrence Gonzi and Austin Gatt were both raised and lived in Valletta, and they selected Renzo Piano to design and implement a project for Valletta’s entrance that enhanced its prestige.

  26. chico says:

    True Lou, and neither can we have you pocketing 54k for saying so and doing just a couple of other things a year.

  27. Tal-Malja says:

    Definitely not. With all the rubbish displayed, the last thing you’ll notice will be the stalls.

  28. Lizz says:

    Disinn tal-qamel first class for a flea market tal-prima kwalita’.

    Very appropriate indeed, given the circumstances.

    Whoever said form doesn’t follow function?

    Perit William Lewis should be given a gong for this deeply philosophical re-interpretation of the Maltese flea market stall.

  29. Madoff says:

    The location of the stalls at the entance of Valletta is nothing more than Muscat’s way of insulting such a prestigious monument and debasing Gonzi’s government triumph and success in solving this long-awaited redevelopment of the Royal Opera House and City Gate projects.

  30. Josef says:

    Muscat = Pjanu skurdat

  31. joe vella says:

    No need to say, but it is going to spoil everything

  32. verita says:

    The problem is not the stalls but the site for the stalls.

  33. roberto says:

    Amazing how many comments are on the subject of underwear. I am no Sigmund Freud but I find that interesting.

    As to the stalls, I have to agree with Daphne – it’s not the design that is the problem.

    If we make that the issue then we are being distracted from the main one. Who cares about the “design” of a market stall anyway? Life is too short to discuss that.

  34. J Farrugia says:

    I would have loved a comment from Mr Reginald Fava on the relocation of the market. He lambasted the previous administration over this project so much because Chemimart had a shop there at City Gate.

  35. gn says:

    Sorry daphne but have to say it. I imagine him saying:

    Tistghu tghiduli x’qed jigri hawnhekk?

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