Sir – Your editorial (November 13) says “it is hard to find fault with” the Scottish Tories’ demand for stiffer penalties for littering.
This is, of course, what is colloquially known as a “no-brainer”. The hard part is implementing and enforcing such a policy.
Bins should be big, well designed, even brightly coloured (and could carry advertising).
There should be many more of them and more frequently emptied. All councils know their own hot spots.
Now comes the bit that needs motivation and imagination.
As the police are well-nigh invisible on our streets – at least on foot – council wardens need the power, and the support of the public, to make a real difference.
A combination of camera-at-the-ready and, say, an old-fashioned whistle will concentrate minds, but it is essential wardens have the legal right to make, in effect, a “citizens’ arrest”.
As in all such anti-social matters, a few well-publicised fines will deter culprits and the rate of offending should begin to drop.
With luck, this could kick off a “virtuous cycle”. And that would be greatly encouraged if the council did their own bit properly, by cleaning in corners, where pavements meets walls and under benches and by doing something about chewing gum etc.
David Roche.
Isla Road,
Perth.
We, the ordinary, deserve better
Sir, – I hear, yet again, the suggestion of another referendum on Brexit.
This time it is being said that if the politicians cannot agree then they should ask the public, or should I use the term they use for us – the “ordinary people”.
Is it beyond the wit of these extraordinary people (I presume that is what they consider themselves to be) to list, in simple terms, the issues on the table to be agreed to or otherwise, and to say, with clarity, how it will affect the people of this country?
I do not believe we really understood what we were voting for and suggest that hearts rather than minds swung the vote.
It would be interesting, albeit unconstitutional, if there was another vote exclusively among the young people of our country whose lives will be affected far more than any other.
Surely at such a vital time in our history there should be a coalition of minds rather than ever-increasing hostility of party politics. I can no longer watch or listen to the constant angry barrage between the powers that be.
We need to stop, take a breath, then let the people know what the issues are because it is us, the ordinary people, who will be left to pick up the pieces.
Barbara Sturrock.
Invergowrie Drive,
Dundee.
Facts demand a second vote
Sir, – As each day passes, the negative effects of the UK leaving the EU are becoming more obvious and grossly outweigh all the rough guestimations and myths put forward by a small band in part led by Nigel Farage, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Boris Johnson.
On the basis the population were fed so much misleading disinformation prior to the referendum, do we not deserve a new referendum now that the damaging consequences of leaving the EU are becoming more apparent?
Colin Topping.
Crathes Close,
Glenrothes.
Beeb falls short on Scotland
Sir, – Why does BBC Scotland only receive 69% of the revenue raised in Scotland when Northern Ireland retains 89% and Wales retains 92%? I understand the Scottish figure is actually down from 72%.
I am sure the glorious BBC will come up with some explanation but to the average Scot it looks like either the British broadcaster in Scotland lacks ambition or this is another example of bias.
Bryan Auchterlonie.
Bluebell Cottage,
Perth.
Slessor legacy lives on
Sir, – In 2002 we started the Mary Slessor Foundation with the help of a significant grant from the Nine Incorporated Trades of Dundee. The Foundation was set up in Akpap Okoyong, the village in Nigeria where the Dundee missionary lived and worked.
Further contributions from many donors, not least the Dundee public, enabled us to build a medical centre, carpentry, metal and fashion design workshops, which made a huge difference to the lives of people in and around the village.
These ran for around 14 years until local difficulties compelled us to move to the nearby city of Calabar. Today the woodwork and fashion design centres still run in Calabar and are self-sufficient.
The Mary Slessor Foundation has now wound up its activities in Nigeria and is ceasing operations as a charity.
I’d like to thank all of the charity’s trustees, past and present, for their efforts to keep alive the name of Mary Slessor and contribute to lives less fortunate than our own.
Dr Lawrie Mitchell MBE and Eme Mitchell.
Rus Da Praia,
Moncarapacho,
Algarve,
Portugal.
Taking wind out of critics’ sails
Sir, – The news, that in October wind turbines produced enough electricity to supply 98% of Scotland’s needs (Courier, November 12) must come as a bit of a shock to the doom merchants who have said for years that they were a total waste of money and could never supply Scotland’s needs.
All we need now is a more efficient way of storing the surplus and we could be free from reliance on fossil fuels
Alister Rankin.
Whyterose Terrace,
Methil.
Hybrids still a half measure
Sir. – A recent study of hybrid cars bought by businesses, revealed that many were used as normal vehicles, and were never charged up to achieve the potential 130 mpg from the petrol / electric combination, so achieved just 40 mpg.
This surely reveals the impracticality of having to spend commercial time charging a vehicle, and the irrelevance of the lower mileage cost in a working situation.
These vehicles are useful only as plaything eco-statements for wives of the rich to impress friends while doing the shopping or going to coffee mornings.
Malcolm Parkin.
Gamekeepers Road,
Kinnesswood.
Floored by design choice
Sir, – I had my first visit to the V&A museum last Saturday. It was a very worthwhile experience and I sincerely hope it brings Dundee the credit – and income – we deserve for taking on and completing this incredible project.
But oh, dear, who chose the flooring? It looks exactly as if a painter has tramped over the black surface with shoes carrying white paint.
Unless I am missing the significance and it is some symbolic pattern?
Mona Clark.
Millbay Terrace,
Dundee.
Same sex rights are a reality
Sir, – Otto Inglis (Letters, November 13) opposes schools teaching about gay rights because he sees them as a moral issue and therefore a matter for parents rather than schools.
While it is possible to take moral issue with gay rights, they are themselves a legal reality. To teach that in Scotland homosexual couples can legally have sex, marry and raise children is not to offer moral opinions but simply to state facts.
Sex education cannot have a more important function than helping children to protect themselves, when they become sexually active, from life-threatening infections. Schools owe this duty of care as much to homosexual as to heterosexual pupils, and cannot fulfil it equitably without delivering accurate information about homosexual sex, the risks involved and the preventative measures available.
The government’s plans do not, as Mr Inglis alleges, “prevent people from teaching their own children their own beliefs”.
If people want to tell any gay children they might have that gay sex is evil and will lead them to Hell, they will still be free to do so regardless of legal and medical facts taught in schools.
Likewise, any parents who wish to tell their daughters that women should not enjoy the same rights as men are not silenced by what schools might teach about actual legal sex equality.
Robert Canning.
Secular Scotland,
Broughton Street,
Edinburgh.
Heading across two decks
Sir, – I had my first visit to the V&A museum last Saturday. It was a very worthwhile experience and I sincerely hope it brings Dundee the credit – and income – we deserve for taking on and completing this incredible project.
But oh, dear, who chose the flooring? It looks as if a painter has tramped over the black surface with shoes carrying white paint.
Unless I am missing the significance and it is some symbolic pattern?
Mona Clark.
Millbay Terrace,
Dundee.
