Today’s letters to The Courier.
Sir, I attended the Festival of Remembrance in the Caird Hall on Saturday night and was shocked and disappointed by the low, if not very low, numbers who attended.
The number of empty seats was a disgrace to behold and it is a terrible indictment on the public of Dundee and surrounding areas, in my opinion.
Perhaps the event could have been better publicised; perhaps people could not afford the ticket price; perhaps people simply do not see the relevance of such an event in today’s society.
Indeed, the average age of those attending the event appeared to be at least 60 years and perhaps significantly more.
Where were the younger set, the late teens onwards?
Or is the answer that people simply do not care now and that a Saturday night out on the town is far more relevant and important in their lives?
Tom McDonald.57 Durham Street,Monifieth.
False hope in renewables call
Sir, Your recent editorial call (November 3), for investments in the manufacturing here of wind turbines is flawed by two insuperable handicaps.
First, the money for them is ”funny”, having been raised from public taxation through energy bills, and, secondly, other nations’ industries have technological leads, notably in Denmark, Germany and, especially, China, with lower costs than can ever be available in Scotland.
Thus, like everything else to do with renewables, except as far as their financial and political beneficiaries are concerned, the hopes are, alas, false.
(Dr) Charles Wardrop.Viewlands Road West,Perth.
Sun Gods no longer shining
Sir, The Government has just slashed by 50% the solar panel subsidy. Many of those who installed panels at a cost of about £10,000 were able to get up to 43p per kilowatt hour in subsidies for 25 years. This was called the feed-in-tariff.
I wonder if their, not so affluent, neighbours realised that they were paying and will continue to pay for these subsidies hidden in their energy bills.
The date from which the subsidies will be reduced is December 12.
However, anyone thinking they should rush to install panels should think twice.
In Spain solar subsidies were cut and the whole solar panel industry was decimated and companies went into liquidation and their guarantees were worthless.
This will also happen here with the 10-year, or in some cases 20-year, warranties. Any repairs will need to be paid for.
The sun gods are not shining so brightly now.
Clark Cross.138 Springfield Road,Linlithgow.
Do as I say, not as I do!
Sir, In the May referendum the Conservative Party virulently opposed the use of the Alternative Vote system for future UK General Elections, saying that it was not clear cut, undermined the principle of ”one person, one vote”, and that the First Past the Post System should be maintained as there was the potential for ”second choices” to be elected.
It is therefore more than a little bizarre to note that the Scottish Conservatives elected their new leader by the very same system they had previously spent so much energy ridiculing.
Alex Orr.Flat 2, 77 Leamington Terrace,Edinburgh.
Lost contact with the street
Sir, With reference to the articles on crime and punishment (November 2), and the editorial, there can be no doubt that crime has increased over the past years.
Apart from unreported crime, there is the question of the extent of the reference points of comparison used by chief constables when they compile these periodic reports. Comments raised concerning the accuracy and validity of such reporting are, in my opinion, justified.
After the creation of police forces British Transport Police (a national force, I believe) followed by Peel’s city, burgh and county forces, crime levels did fall due to active patrolling, regular contact with the population, patient detective work and draconian punishment of arraigned offenders. People literally felt ‘safe in their beds’.
The population has risen in size and variety of ethnicity. Old crimes remain, new crimes are appearing, almost weekly particularly in relation to violent assault (reported almost daily in your columns), computer abuse, paedophilia/child abuse, and cyber crime, for example.
Patrolling officers have virtually disappeared from our streets, thanks, in part, to the introduction of the ‘panda’ car.
An improvement in salaries and working conditions (if the latter is possible for police officers…) has had the disadvantage, in my opinion, of reducing the affordable overall numbers of officers. Consequently much source information is lost to the police.
I cannot imagine how chief constables can possibly know what is going on in their areas of responsibility. Hence doubts arise over the accuracy of those reports.
I would also ask where do police officers live? Do they not see what is happening on their own streets?
As for the shortage of judges, I think the privilege of administering justice in a comfortable courtroom should be a matter of acquired honour, not money.
A. T. Geddie.68 Carleton Avenue,Glenrothes.
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.