On the agenda today: Perth City Hall, the American reaction to the Gulf oil spill, Britain in Europe, and religion.
Perth shows vision by demolishing city hall Sir,-May I commend your excellent editorial (June 11) regarding the fate of Perth City Hall.
It is indeed correct that some will feel an element of sadness and nostalgia following its demise and, yes, I agree it did serve a purpose and was an excellent venue for the era it was built for but it has been replaced by a concert hall which is the envy of the whole country.
Assuming full demolition is approved, there is now an opportunity to provide a city square which will be the envy of other cities not only in the UK but across Europe as well one which will embody a cafe culture and have as its focal point the magnificent St John’s Kirk.
It is such a pity that we were “conned” by a developer whose incompetent research has cost the citizens of Perth money in maintenance and upkeep during the last four years for a building which, in my opinion, was well past its sell by date.
However, I think the council have been wise to seek consultation from the people and businesses of Perth and I am delighted that the correct conclusion has been fairly decided and that common sense has prevailed.
We can now put this all behind us and hopefully planning procedures will proceed at pace and we are able to look forward to a vibrant city centre square befitting of the 21st century.
Ian McPherson.182 Glasgow Road,Perth.
Concert hall requires organ
Sir,-I read with considerable interest the story of Perth City Hall (June 11).
I was never a great fan of the building and would welcome the open vista to St John’s which appears to be the outcome most likely.
I am equally glad that the not-very-good organ in the city hall has found an excellent home in Australia.
The new concert hall in Perth is a very fine building but the architects made no space or provision for an organ.
I admit I am totally biased but a huge volume of the works of Strauss, Wagner and, of course, Saint-Saens require an organ. The Dream of Gerontius would be a nightmare without an organ.
It does appear strange that the wonderful Caird Hall, approximately 20 miles away, can do full justice to all works requiring an organ, an organ that is much used during the year, where the citizens of Perth are going to be forever denied such a blessing. Pity.
Robert Lightband.40 Clepington Court,Dundee.
Blame deflected by xenophobia
Sir,-Just returned from a month-long, 6000-miles car tour of the USA, I am wearied by the manic coverage in the American media of the Gulf oil spill.
Panicked by the constant stream of hysterical drivel from the usual suspects, the usually cool Obama has resorted to the vulgar “street speak” of his native Chicago.
While the xenophobic ranting against BP has been given full play, the drilling company actually responsible for the disaster has slipped away into the shadows.
Transoceanic started as an Alabama drilling outfit known as The Offshore Company but bought up the opposition, changed its name and became the world’s biggest operator.
Now “based” in land-locked Switzerland for tax reasons, its drilling rigs, which have a troubled history though its American connections, have been conveniently forgotten.
(Dr) John Cameron.10 Howard Place,St Andrews.
Britain is cash cow to Europe
Sir,-The new Prime Minister wishes the people of the UK to indicate where savings should be made in expenditure. Let us tell him that the first cut should be in the amount we pay each day to the European Union, which is about £50 million yes, £50 million a day.
This is so that they can enforce their laws on the British people, ruin our manufacturing industries as well as our fishing and farming and try to control our commercial and financial activities to our detriment.
How many hospitals and schools could be built and staffed with this amount of money? Will we all join together to stop this indecent waste of our resources by telling the government directly, and through our MPs, that we should get out and have our own government do what it was elected to do?
R. Alder.81 Harbour Place,Dunfermline.
Superficial certainties
Sir,-Once again I observe what has become an almost constant flow, through your letter columns, of humanist and atheist contempt for Christianity.
Today I am told that atheism is not a religion. That is news to me. I have always thought that any belief in the intangible, however that intangible might be defined, could reasonably be labelled as a religion.
I cannot see how the assertion that there is no God is in any way different from the assertion that there is such a deity. After a professional lifetime of examination of evidence and the drawing of conclusions from probabilities, I find myself to be one of those feeble-minded, non-intellectuals, deluded enough to be a Christian.
Though possessed of such a defective power of reasoning, I often pick up my faith, turn it about, examine it for difficulties, spend time dealing with doubts and difficulties and reconciling what I believe with the often apparently contradictory circumstances which I encounter.
That’s when I wish that I had the powerful faith and conviction of those evangelists of that other religion, atheism, who can dismiss the evidence of their ambience with a certainty which comes from their own unshakeable faith. But, of course, my own weak understanding, based as it is on fairy story and legend never could rise to the demands of such a faith.
James Thomson.14 Vardon Drive,Glenrothes.