Sir, – I took this image on Sunday April 17.
On our latest outing to walk up to Craigowl and over to Auchterhouse Hill we were pretty horrified to see so many dog-poo bags simply discarded and, in some cases, draped on trees.
This picture is of the sign at the entrance to the trails into the Sidlaws.
It is not the prettiest sight as, I am sure, readers will agree.
There was also another pile of used bags behind the wall at the entrance.
We wondered if you would like to draw dog-owners’ attention to the fact that they should take away their rubbish no matter what form it takes.
Jim and Patricia
McKelvie.
18 Ullapool Crescent, Dundee.
Political point scoring
Sir, – I hope you will encourage your reporter Graham Gibson to help his colleagues responsible for the headings on your front page (April 12) to stop flaunting their carelessness with our language by flouting correct word usage.
Flout is used correctly by Mr Gibson on page eight. Flaunt is used incorrectly on page one. The problem is well discussed in Burchfield’s third edition of Fowler.
On the letters page of the same day, Councillor Mac Roberts ignores the reality that the relative prices of oil and gas are not relevant to Nicola Sturgeon’s suggestion that distributing winter fuel payments earlier might benefit recipients not on the gas grid and dependent on oil by helping them stock up when the seasonal price is lowest.
Councillor Roberts puts trying to score a party political point before consideration of a possible way of benefiting older people and this helps to stick the uncaring label of the nasty party more firmly on his party, the Tories.
Gordon Dilworth.
20 Baledmund Road,
Pitlochry.
Unacceptable campaigning
Sir, – I am appalled and deeply concerned that this week Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP visited a nursery school and posed for selfies with children painting SNP logos on plates.
How on earth is this remotely acceptable? It is completely unacceptable on all counts.
If I was a parent I would be furious.
This is nothing short of indoctrination of children from a party that talks about children’s rights and choices yet is exploiting children for political gain. How on earth did the nursery in question permit this to happen?
Children should be allowed to be children and should be left out of politics, full stop.
Goodness knows what the public would say if this was a Conservative or a Labour candidate.
This is totally out of order and needs to be stopped immediately.
This nationalism is very dangerous and the public needs to wake up.
Gordon Kennedy.
117 Simpson Square,
Perth.
Mr Corbyn put me off Europe
Sir, – Many Scots, including myself, are grateful the Westminster Government has given us the opportunity to vote on leaving or continuing as members of the EU.
If Holyrood had been successful at its independence referendum, we would have been denied this opportunity.
Having spent many hours reading, listening and discussing the subject, I was finding it difficult to reach a decision. That was until chairman Corbyn threw his hat into the stay corner.
I have no wish to be a paid-up member of a socialist republic of European states.
RHL Mulheron.
28 Cowgate,
Tayport.
Broughty Ferry accident fear
Sir, – Your article, Dangerous cycle path warning (April 19) perpetuates the myth that this is a cycle path. The cycle path, part of the green circular route, runs through the lower part of Castle Green, Broughty Ferry. Unfortunately many cyclists are unaware of this and are intent on their right to cycle, at speed, through prams, dogs and pedestrians at will.
This was an unpleasant incident. I wonder when a more serious accident will occur?
Morag Cooney.
19 Beach Crescent
Broughty Ferry.
Politics is not ‘boaring’
Sir, – How dare your correspondent A.T. Geddie describe Willie Rennie’s porcine encounter as “two boaring”.
One of the pigs was a sow.
Jane Ann Liston.
5 Whitehill Terrace,
Largo Road,
St Andrews.
An ill-advised intervention
Sir, – It would appear that Conservative Party politician Murdo Fraser may have revealed his real face.
It is alleged that he Tweeted after the Old firm game on Sunday:
“The Queen’s 11 deliver Her Majesty the perfect Birthday present”.
Is this the kind of inflammatory language we should expect to come from a senior
Conservative Party politician?
I would like to think it was ill judged or his Twitter account was in some way or form subverted.
If the comment was made by him he would be wise to distance himself from it with an apology.
The Old Firm game was exciting and went to the wire. According to police it passed off with only a few arrests.
But as we all know this fixture has the potential to create much passion on both sides and I would expect someone in the public eye to be mindful of this before making stupid remarks.
Bryan Auchterlonie.
Bluebell Cottage,
Ardargie.
Former PM tops earnings chart
Sir, – David Cameron is nowhere in the financial stakes.
Top of the bill, is an on-the-make former Labour Prime Minister and his wife, who have become multi-millionaires by trading on his taxpayer-funded career of
bankrupting Britain, and in the passing, making us the target of terrorists from wars caused by figments of his self-promoting imagination; while in retirement
representing and advising dictators and despots and acquiring property on a scale that defies personal need, then reluctantly giving evidence to committees about his various activities.
Malcolm Parkin.
15 Gamekeepers Road,
Kinnesswood,
Kinross.
Contradictory approach
Sir, – The SNP is proposing to halve Air Passenger Duty which it is claimed will increase air travel to and from Scotland by 30% and thereby improve our economy.
However, the party is now also planning to increase the carbon emissions reduction target from 42% to 50% by 2020.
Since it is well known that air travel is one of the higher sources of carbon emissions, can anyone explain how these two diametrically opposed objectives
represent joined-up thinking?
GM Lindsay.
Whinfield Gardens,
Kinross.
Make high-viz vests invisible
Sir, – If I see another picture, or newsclip, of a politician, north or south of the border, wearing a hard hat and a high visability vest I may well decline to accept any further responsibility for my actions.
Laurie Richards.
100 Crail Road,
Cellardyke.
