An early night is not an option in this fireworks-crazy country. I went to bed with a book at 9.30 on Friday night and had happily dozed off half an hour later, only to be rudely shaken out of my blissful slumber by the explosions, which I really should have been prepared for with St Julian’s to the back of my bedroom.

So, instead of landing in dreamland, there I was, at just before eleven at night, at my computer letting off steam in a dazed stupor. It would not be so bad if we had not had another weekend of bombardment’s last week (Stella Maris) and before that other feasts in Sliema, Gzira and beyond and it’s not over yet.

It also would not be so bad if I did not have to repeat this mantra every summer. Every year I promise myself I shall go away for the duration of the blitz, but I really love my nest and succumb to its comforts every time.

Probably, there will be some among you who might be thinking that I should thank my lucky stars that I don’t live in Libya or Syria, or even Manhattan right now. I can assure those people that I do.

I thank God every day during my early morning swim. I am grateful for a clean and jellyfish-free sea and many other things I am lucky to enjoy throughout the rest of the day. Nevertheless, there is a fly in the ointment and that is excessive noise pollution, which is just not being handled correctly by our government or the EU.

Unfortunately, EU directives do not include the worst noise polluters in this country and all our politicians seem to be deaf. There is no doubt that fireworks cause the worst noise pollution on our islands in the summer.

Yet the directives our government has to abide by are noise maps and action plans for urban areas, road traffic, railways and major airports. I still cannot work out how under “urban areas” noise generated by construction work and outdoor entertainment and of course fireworks is not included. Those are the worst problems here.

Therefore, I wonder how the EU directive on a national noise map is relevant to our particular problems. Since we do not have any railways and only one airport, Mepa has only to assess and provide an action plan on road traffic, which it has said it would deliver by the end of this year.

Granted that is no easy task, made more difficult by the introduction of new buses totally unsuitable for our narrow roads. Not that the buses themselves are causing the noise. It is the frustrated drivers stuck in bottlenecks that release their tension by resting on their car horns.

Writing about car horns reminds me of something I should mention. I don’t know whom I should be thanking for this. The gasman does not use his horn to herald his arrival anymore (at least in my area).

The cacophony created by empty cylinders being flung on the truck does that. But, it is an improvement, if slight, in noise pollution. You only get the noise when he reaches your door now. However, the bread delivery vans are still at it and are still honking away all the way down the road.

Considering they arrive at more or less the same time every day, why do they need to disturb the peace? Nevertheless, the car disco is arguably the worst road noise polluter.

Yet, I believe that the authorities do insist that discos in nightclubs are soundproofed, but then they allow discos at night in places like Hastings Gardens and explosions to disturb the peace at night all over the place.

Meanwhile, the EU has now turned its attention to sea craft, in particular motorboats and jet skis. Much as I agree that the noise from them can be a nuisance, at least they don’t keep us awake at night.

I find it quite ridiculous that the EU is concerned about that noise pollution but not about a much worse offender. It is proposing that in future powerboats shall have to be designed to be more silent and pollute less.

The probable reason that the EU directive does not include noise generated by construction work, outdoor entertainment and fireworks is because it is confident that national governments have that problem in hand. But of course, we don’t.

If the EU is concerned about the emissions of nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons from recreational sea craft, should they not be worried about the very large amount of chemicals released into the atmosphere by fireworks?