Today’s letters to The Courier.
Sir, – I offer my sincere sympathies to Geoff Bray of Letham (Letters, February 28) in respect of the failings of Scottish Water.
As a resident of Blair Atholl who, along with others, had suffered long periods of frozen pipes because more than 95% of the pipes in a brand new system were not buried to the regulation depth and had to be replaced at great cost, I can fully understand his anger and frustration.
We also had a short period of filthy water just recently, but this pales into insignificance compared to the tribulations of the folk of Tomintoul.
In the end the situation there was so bad that Scottish Water were fined. The situation in Letham comes straight from the stable of Scottish Water incompetence.
My credulity was stretched to breaking point on hearing that senior Scottish Water officials still received six-figure bonuses in spite of these serious professional failings.
It then went beyond breaking point once I knew that John Swinney, Finance Secretary and local MSP, had signed these bonuses off.
We are surely due some sort of explanation?
Ron Greer.Armoury House,Blair Atholl.
Time to get back to the basics
Sir, – Every man and his dog seems to be coming up with alternatives for a referendum question. Perhaps it’s time to get back to basics.
Given the continual stream of ineptitude, profligacy, duplicity, gimmickry and sheer irrelevance we have seen from Holyrood since 1999, surely there are enough right-thinking people longing for the chance to vote for or against total abolition of the entire devolution farce, which has cost us so much and inflicted nothing but harm on Scotland.
Let’s have a simple yes/no on abolition and let’s have it before English voters decide that we no longer have that choice.
Jim Parker.9 Banchory Green,Collydean, Glenrothes.
Don’t hold your breath
Sir, – While agreeing wholeheartedly with Donald MacLeod, “Can we expect the arrest of EU skippers?” (February 29), I fear he shouldn’t hold his breath waiting for the government to “rock the boat” of the all-consuming EU.
Our sense of fair play tells us the government should protect our fishermen and punish the foreign fishermen who mock us, but we know they won’t because they kowtow to their superiors in Brussels.
This is shown in so many other situations.
We have to let known terrorist leaders stay in this country and cause more unrest because the EU tells us we must.
We can’t make our prisons an unpleasant experience because prisoners (who have, no doubt, caused much unpleasantness to their victims) have rights in the EU.
The list of reasonable actions we can’t take because of the wise utterings of lords and masters we didn’t vote for is getting longer and longer and our elected government is not willing to say “enough is enough”.
If I thought Alex Salmond would have such courage in the future it might encourage me to support independence, but…
Ken Greenaway.Torr of Kedlock,Cupar.
Capercaillie is threatened by extinction
Sir, – The iconic capercaillie is indeed threatened by extinction (Courier, February 24), and predators such as pine martens and foxes will seal its fate.
For the RSPB to suggest that the Scottish Gamekeepers Association position on predation is based on “sheer prejudice” is absurd.
If pine martens were released into Hyde Park or Slimbridge then utter carnage would result in public outrage.
Ask any farmer what happens to nesting peewits and oystercatchers and he will tell you that if the crows don’t get the eggs then foxes and buzzards will kill the adults and chicks.
On our rivers, ghillies will tell you that our fragile kingfisher population are killed off not by hard winters, but by sparrowhawks.
I do hope that our politicians and SNH recognise the predator prejudices of the RSPB that endanger so much of our wildlife.
Michael C. Smith.Threapmuir Farm,Cleish, Kinross.
This is my pride
Sir, – John Campbell (Letters, February 28) questions whether I and other correspondents expressing anti-independence views are actually Scottish.
Yes is the answer in my case.
He seems to imply that pride in Scotland equates with romantic feelings of nationalism. I disagree.
My pride lies in recognising what is best for Scotland’s future, which is to continue to enjoy the benefits of being part of the United Kingdom.
Arthur Davis.Kinnairs Steading,Pitlochry.
Wheelie saga
Sir, – Re “Do we really need another wheelie bin?” (February 29), people in Tayport were given green bins last year.
The big grey bin was designated the paper bin (every four weeks), and the smaller blue bin became our general waste bin, (fortnightly).
I think most of us would agree it has worked. The problem of storing all the bins might be another matter.
Frances Turnbull.24 Craig Road,Tayport.
Get involved: to have your say on these or any other topics, email your letter to letters@thecourier.co.uk or send to Letters Editor, The Courier, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee DD4 8SL. Letters should be accompanied by an address and a daytime telephone number.