Sir, For sheer gall you have to hand it to Philip Hammond, the UK defence minister.
He lectures Scotland on potential defence problems when his own department is in utter turmoil.
We have witnessed troops sent to Afghanistan, not only without adequate helicopter support, but lacking in suitable footwear.
They are building two huge and very expensive aircraft carriers for which there are no suitable aircraft.
He touts the spending of billions on Trident despite the combined nuclear might of France and the UK failing to deter a sprinkling of rebels in Mali (or, indeed, anywhere else).
His department has closed more military bases in Scotland than anyone since the Emperor Hadrian but he blusters that a non-nuclear Faslane would mean job losses.
They have abandoned a clutch of rotting submarines at Rosyth with not even a proposal for their removal, but took the repair work to Devonport.
In a Government where an iota of success is rarer than a four leaf clover, his own department remains outstanding for its level of failure.
Joseph G Miller. 44 Gardeners Street, Dunfermline.
Work needs to be done on Riverside
Sir, Re Councillor Craig Melville’s letter, Marchbanks: decision through necessity (March 22), I agree that in these hard economic times the closure of the Marchbanks recycling centre is not unreasonable.
However, some work is required at the Riverside centre to ensure it remains open year round. On at least two occasions recently I was unable to use the facility due to it being flooded.
On these occasions I drove to Marchbanks, a little inconvenient but that’s life. I would not have driven across the city to Baldovie. That’s an option I would not consider.
Being a keen recycler it is very frustrating to arrive at Riverside only to be met with a “site closed” sign at its very entrance. Why can’t the sign be placed at the junction on the main road?
Also, placing information regarding site closures on the very good council website would help.
With regards to fly-tippers, people who do this are anti-social by nature and nothing the council does will prevent this practice. Strong action by police and the courts is the way to deal with this problem.
John Thomson. 14 Rosehall Gardens, Gowrie Park, Dundee.
Sceptics should think again
Sir, Mr Douglas Hamilton points out the very high build quality of our City Hall and corrects Councillor Grant’s error in describing it as constructed of concrete, reconstituted stone etc (Letters, March 22).
Cllr Grant’s opposition to the revival of the hall is well known and perhaps knowledge of the fine materials used in building it will help him and the other “City Hall sceptics” to understand what a cheapskate attitude they have shown disregarding the superb uses a revived City Hall would allow for the “Fair City”.
These include the proposed fresh-food market, resited tourist information centre and disabled persons’ library, local history and heritage displays and space for local functions, previously so valuable to city and county culture.
Those who still seek to plonk a Mediterranean-style civic square, to cost several million pounds, in rainy Perth, having demolished our City Hall with all the mess and noise of a building site for many months or even years, have overlooked the outstanding contributions a revived hall could make.
I would ask the sceptics to please reconsider.
Charles Wardrop. 111 Viewlands Road West, Perth.
Little effect on how they vote
Sir, May I wholeheartedly endorse the sentiments contained in Mr Ian Wheeler’s letter (Saturday, March 23) regarding the next 18 months.
Having been in the army during my formative years, I am well qualified to recognise the excrement deposited by cattle of the male gender and I, too, fear that we are in a for a very, very boring year and a half of lies, half-truths and unmitigated propaganda emanating from the mouths of our self-seeking politicos.
Mr Wheeler is correct in that most of the older generation (which is the one that usually votes, do not forget) has already decided how to vote and 18 months of smoke and mirrors is going to have very little effect on the way they will vote next year.
John D Ridley. 94 Spoutwells Drive, Scone, Perth.