Dear Sir, hic!

Silly name, silly man. Have you ever such a foolish name as Ethelwald Emilius Vella? Or rather Dr Ethelwald Emilius Vella, MD, L/RAMC, the retired colonel from Manikata. Yes, that one.
A letter sent to the Times conveys his unfettered ardor for alcohol in all its forms. Among them, incidentally, is Irish poteen, which according to my dictionary is illegally distilled whisky. Beyond advocating breaking the law, it isn't clear to me what purpose it is that Brigadier Ethelwald, which is also the name of a minor character in Lord of the Rings, has in writing this curious letter. Though I have my suspicions, of course.
One of the curses of broadband is the ease with which one can stumble home after a few, switch on the computer, do some research on Albanian dialects, say, and then send some stupid and/or possibly offensive e-mail to one's grandmother. I doubt Colonel Emilius "Desert Rat" Strasser is in receipt of such modern technology, but I imagine the scenario was pretty much the same. After a dram of "old Saxon mead", several tankards of "liqueurs distilled by monks", all washed down by a pail of ever trusty poteen, he must have staggered over to his bureau, clasped his quill and dashed off his love letter to booze. But what doesn't make sense is why he would say that...

Taken wisely and in moderation alcohol is good for you...

...when he was clearly soused when he wrote this. Of course, it is unfair to pick on poor old Lieutenant Engleford when he can't have been anyway as drunk or high than Alan Pulis when he penned his belief that Malta's future as an oil power is just waiting around the corner. Forget it; Malta's more likely to be hit by avian flu than Dutch disease. And anyway, why is he bringing this us when it's nowhere near election time? The miserable old git can't even let Malta enjoy something it doesn't even have without trying to give it a guilt trip:

But then, apart from specific environmental impacts, how would Malta's eventual striking of oil configure with the need to encourage a shift towards the use of clean renewable energy? Rightly so, in his article Mr Muscat refers to the fair distribution of wealth derived from oil production activities. However, it must be ensured that any economic gains derived from oil production are also channelled towards the eventual implementation of clean energy alternatives.

Bah! Switch the light the out before you leave the room will you.