Today’s letters are dominated by support for the Etape Caledonia cycling event. There is also advice to opposition parties to show a stronger Scottish identity.
Etape’s great economic benefits for Pitlochry
Sir, – I write to express my anger and disgust at the attempted sabotage of the Etape 2011.
The perpetrators have been described as being “a number of locals who were opposed to the closed roads” but they are not representative of the overwhelming majority of local people who whole-heartedly support the event. They are cowardly and irresponsible and need to be identified and held to account for such dangerous, reckless and selfish behaviour.
The competitors, on the other hand, are bold and inspirational; the organisers IMG have been proactive and effective through their consultation with the local community and their planning and attention to detail has been excellent; and most importantly the event itself raises huge amounts for Macmillan Cancer Support.
My husband and I own and run Fern Cottage Restaurant in Pitlochry and this has been our busiest weekend in the nine years we’ve been in business. The event is very important to the area bringing great economic benefit, but it has also served to raise the profile of Highland Perthshire nationally and internationally.
Many of our customers over the weekend told us they were so impressed with the natural beauty of the area that they would be returning later in the year for another visit.
The week-long cycling festival has been a great success and local school children have also been very involved running their own sponsored mini Etape. So it would be true to say the community has embraced this event and benefited from it.
Well done to everyone who took part and we look forward to welcoming you all back. We have already received our first reservation for the Etape 2012 so it would appear ‘the tacks’ have not had the desired effect!
Karen Aycan.Ferry Road, Pitlochry.
Why not just join the fun?
Sir, – Brendan Murphy and B. Henderson (letters, May 18) are clearly not happy about their local roads being closed for the Etape. It’s their right as locals to voice their views but have they given due consideration to the local economy? Their local economy!
One look at the excellent picture of all the cyclists lined up at the start, in Monday’s Courier’s, and you get a feel for the bustling Pitlochry pavements with supporters all spending in the local shops, possibly staying for a couple of nights in hotels, B&Bs and campsites.
It’s one day a year, for goodness sake why don’t they go out and cheer the cyclists on?
Give the cyclists all the encouragement they deserve and will them over the finish line after all, it would get the roads opened quicker!
Stephen Caldwell.31 Bankton Park,Kingskettle.
Pitlochry lucky to stage Etape
Sir, – Surrounded as we are by unfit people in Scotland, it was truly uplifting to attend the Etape Caledonia in Pitlochry last Sunday and see at least 5000 fit, healthy people putting maximum effort into cycling 81 miles through spectacular countryside.
How sad, then, to pick up the Courier next day and find that there is a group of people who want to see the event stopped. Their spokesperson, Mr Hounam, claims the event is bad for business in Pitlochry and in Perthshire.
We were there to support five lads who had driven up from London and who rented a caravan for the weekend, who purchased provisions and went to the pub on the Sunday night, contributing to the local economy.
Granted, many cyclists probably went home after the event rather than staying in the town on Sunday night but I am sure they had a meal before they went home. And filled their tanks with fuel too.
The roads were not closed all day at all. Each section was closed for a maximum of five hours and there was a lot of signage warning people of the closure times and offering diversions.
Mr Hounam should try living in St Andrews, where I ran a tourism-orientated retail business for 20 three years. When The Open comes to town, people are denied vehicular access to the beach, which is used for Open parking, as are all the town car parks, free and paid, which are taken over by NCP.
The Open brings with it a huge tented village which caters for all the needs of the spectators. The town centre is like a ghost town during The Open, the roads into town are very congested and it takes place at the height of the tourist season, not in May like the Etape Caledonia.
However, the people of St Andrews, as well as enjoying the spectacle of The Open, realise that the kind of exposure which the town and Fife get from The Open is invaluable to businesses in the area.
Julia Young.South Flisk,Blebo Craigs,Cupar.
Parties need a Scottish identity
Sir, – Who is in charge of the Scottish Lib Dem party? Nick Clegg.
Who is in charge of the Scottish Conservative party? David Cameron.
Who is in charge of the Scottish Labour party? Ed Milliband.
It doesn’t really matter how these parties try to dress up their leadership elections for Holyrood, the people elected as notional party leaders are beholden to London and not their own Scottish membership.
If Labour, the Tories and the Lib Dems want to succeed at Holyrood they first have to prove to the Scottish electorate that they are not British first and Scottish second; that they have a Scottish vision and not a Westminster agenda; that they are independently minded.
The only cure for these parties is political divorce, a complete separation, a real and true Scottish indentity. Until that happens they will never be able to stand up to Alex Salmond and the SNP.
Malcolm McCandless.40 Muirfield Crescent,Dundee.
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.