Today’s letters to The Courier.
Recognise bravery in the Merchant Navy Sir,-In June the country quite rightly celebrated Armed Forces Day with many prominent buildings flying standards and flags of various military units.
In recognition of the sacrifice of the Merchant Navy during world wars and several other conflicts, most notably the Falkland Islands war, the third of September is designated Merchant Navy Day.
In view of the fact that the Merchant Navy lost one in three of its personnel during the second world war, a higher proportion than any of the armed forces, the London Cenotaph displays the Red Ensign the only non-military organisation so honoured.
Although we no longer have so many UK-registered merchant vessels as we once did, it would be a fitting tribute if the same public buildings which proudly displayed appropriate flags during Armed Forces Day were to fly the Red Ensign as a fitting act of remembrance and as a tribute to the men and women of our Merchant Navy who kept the UK supplied with food, fuel and munitions during world wars and supported the armed forces in many other conflicts.
Colin Topping.26 Crathes Close,Glenrothes.
Getting away with too much
Sir,-I read with great interest the article (August 3) about the travellers causing havoc at a whippet derby in Kirkcaldy.
I see no mention of any person(s) being reported to the procurator fiscal.
To judge from your report alone, there appears to be no shortage of witnesses to possible cases of careless or reckless driving, breach of the peace and maybe even assault.
Yet again these travellers are allowed to basically do what they want.
If Joe Public had carried out such driving antics I bet they would soon be appearing, at the sheriff court.
This problem all stems from the “ethnic minority” apologists.
John Dewar.Perth.
Square will be good for Perth
Sir,-Recent articles and letters have criticised Perth and Kinross Council’s decision to demolish the City Hall and replace it with a civic square.
While anyone can be critical of the delay in decision making (how many of us foresaw the 2008 financial crisis?) I, for one, wish to commend the council on its determination to create a large open space in the centre of the city.
This is something which Perth has lacked for far too long.
Many small British and European cities have such squares and they are valued and loved by residents and visitors alike.
In this context, this will not be a very big square but it will provide an essential focal point for the city.
Critics have instanced their views about the hall’s perceived beauty, the lack of other significant surrounding buildings, the climate and fears about young people and revellers keeping the residents up all night.
How is it that all these other cities many in the Scandinavian countries value their squares, and why do we enjoy them so much when we go there on holiday?
Once the hall is demolished and the square created I believe that we will all be very pleasantly surprised by the lift that it will give to life in Perth indeed, we will soon wonder why we didn’t do it decades ago.
It will rapidly become the heart of a dynamic, vibrant city and a fitting tribute to the regaining of our civic title in 2012.
Hugh Macrae.Dalblair,Union Street,Coupar Angus.
Disappointed with digital
Sir,-Surely I am not the only one to have problems with television reception since Scotland went digital?
I have two digital receivers, one upstairs and one downstairs, both of which worked perfectly well before the switch. Now the picture on the one downstairs constantly breaks up and sometimes goes off with the message “The channel is scrambled or not available”.
The one upstairs sometimes shows a scrambled picture or indicates “no aerial”. This after spending £300 with a reputable installer to ensure I had good reception.
My experience of DAB radio is also rubbish.
R. Alder.91 Harbour Place,Dalgety Bay.
Creases were much prized
Sir,-I was quite amused at Anthony Troon’s story (August 4) of his schoolboy shorts with the permanent stitched creases.
He reminded me of my service in the army and how much permanent stitched creases were the “in thing”.
The creases were not only on the battledress trousers but were used to great effect on the battledress blouse.
It was a matter of great personal pride, and a mark of service, for a soldier to display these creases on his battledress. A soldier considered himself to be ridged, meaning “to be smart”. New recruits were condemned to baggy and ill-fitting battledress along with a huge unshrunken beret.
John G. McRae. 32 Charlotte Close, Dundee.
Piffling amounts of power
Sir,-Anent reports on wind generated electricity wind, as I write, is producing from around 3500 UK turbines, just 70 megawatts of electricity, which is 0.2% of total supplies generated.
Ironically, this latter figure is also the estimated proportion that Scotland contributes to world man-made CO2 emissions.
Low power production from wind is not unusual.
We do not need turbines.
Ron Greer.Armoury House,Blair Atholl.
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.