For the past couple of weeks, different beaches around Malta have been experiencing a long list of controversies, from the confiscation of truckloads of deckchairs and umbrellas to the putting up of entire sections of tents on the beach (because we can’t have nice things). And while some people have already eyed their next target, others are still trying to find workarounds for the deckchair issue. 

Over the last weekend, though, it seemed like things were finally taken to a hilarious new extreme, with a photo that might have very well won the internet on Sunday.

A post on popular Facebook forum The Salott showed two men at the beach, sitting at a red plastic table, under an umbrella, with one major difference… they were half-submerged in the sea. “Having problems finding a place at the beach with all the deckchairs and umbrellas?” the post asked. “This is the solution, and you get to stay fresh because you’re always in the water!”

The post quickly got hundreds of reactions, and dozens of people commented on what an amazing idea is was, especially during this extended heatwave. “The sea is no one’s just like the beach is no one’s,” one user commented, with another person saying it was “an optimistic way to look at it, definitely better than moaning.”

Sure, the whole thing definitely has a redneck style to it (as one person pointed out), but can you really blame that with temperatures that feel like 43°C for a whole week or two?

We couldn’t help but think, however, whether this was a sign of things to come. Is this the ghost of summer future?

Featured Photo by Federico Fioretti

Tag a friend you’d happily chill on a plastic chair in the middle of the sea with.

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David Grech Urpani

Lovin Malta's Head of Content, Dave has been in journalism for the better half of the last decade. Prefers Instagram, but has been known to doomscroll on TikTok. Loves chicken, women's clothes and Kanye West (most of the time).