Sir, – In reply to Gordon Kennedy’s letter about the cost of clothes for overweight people (May 18) let me put forth a viewpoint from his opposite, a skinny person.
I find it hard to believe that anyone’s nose could be so out of joint over such a self-inflictedsituation.
Does Mr Kennedy expect sympathy for thissituation of his ownmaking?
It has been MrKennedy’s own choice to“eat what he wants” and as he says, this is his right.
However, as a result of this, he is now obese and objecting to having topay more for outsize clothing.
For a start, the option always exists for you to diet and lose the weight you have piled on due to overeating.
As a result, you would find that the pricesyou pay for clothing become much morereasonable, as it is (and should be) for people like myself.
If there is less material used to manufacture clothing for slim people, then it is only fair that we should pay less for them, and if Mr Kennedyconsiders this discrimination, then perhaps he should consider losing some weight, since this would undoubtedly be the best way to fight this alleged miscarriage of justice, instead of writing letters to this paper and continuing to eatwhatever he likes.
Colin Johnston. Newmill Cottage. By Eassie, Forfar.
Market will dictate prices
Sir, – Gordon Kennedy, (May 18) says it is an overweight person’s right to eat what they want.
Of course it is, just as it is every clothes retailer’s right to charge whatever they think the market will bear for theirproducts.
If they get it wrong, they will go out business because people will shop elsewhere.
Laurie Richards. 100 Crail Road, Cellardyke.
Benefits of a daily walk
Sir, – I have everysympathy with yourcorrespondent Gordon Kennedy (May 18) and his travails with his weight.
We should all setaside a little time tosupport and offerguidance to those in our communities who find themselves excluded from everyday experiences because of personal challenges.
There is no immediate answer to theseproblems but may Isuggest to Mr Kennedy that a daily walk ofeven half an hourwill sharpen himphysically and brighten his outlook?
It can be a thought to face the world first thing on a winter morning but once you get going, the endorphin hormones that make you feel better kick in.
This will help yousustain a robust daily routine.
By contrast, inactivity and staying in a warm house only encourages lethargy.
Alternatively, MrKennedy may wish to try the age-old practice of fasting.
After only a few hours, your body will tell you what food it needs rather than your mind telling you what it thinks you need.
It can also be amentally enlightening experience.
I wish Mr Kennedy the very best of luck for a happier future.
Robert Anderson. Kirkton, Arbroath.
Perth is in a dreadful state
Sir, – After one of my now infrequent visits into Perth, I went homefeeling depressed due to the number of dreadful eyesores I passed.
Do the people who want to turn the oldSt Paul’s Church into a pub and restaurant know what they are letting themselves in for?
I see there is a newsign outside the former Caledonian RoadSchool but the building is now looking very much worse for wear.
Not far from the school is the crumbling former Waverely Hotel.
Another empty pub is the White Horse Inn which could be converted into flats.
The former St Andrew’s Church in Atholl Street is in better condition than St Paul’s Church but it remains empty.
Still, despite recent developments, we have no news about a preferred bidder for Perth City Hall.
I am also concerned about delays over the refurbishment of Perth Theatre. It is due to be completed in 2017 but work has not yet begun.
Alister Allan. 18 Castle View, Letham, Perth.
Benefits oflynx effect
Sir, – Jim Crumley’s column (May 12)debating the release of top carnivores such as the wolf and lynx in Scotland, was excellent.
The wolf carries too much of a reputation to be reintroduced soonbut the lynx is a better candidate.
We never hear ofsavage lynx. Naturalists can live in Norway, northern Spain orCanada and never see a lynx outside a zoo.
It could be reintroduced to forest parks such as Kielder and Galloway where they would be unlikely to invade farmland or areas where humans live. Of course, they would have to be quarantined before release.
One point Mr Crumley did not make is thatprivate landowners in Britain have for long been allowed to possess non-native or extirpated species.
Quite often they have made their getaway, hence invasive nuisances like muntjac deer damaging wild forests or the beaver which are supposedly devastating Tayside. This is a distinct problem not related to the legal release of a smallnumber of beaver in Argyllshire.
If you do not takethe word of the lynxpeople, go to the trouble or researching theanimals’ ecology and biology if you think our natural ecosystem is worth preserving.
Alison McAdam. 37 Laing Place, Dundee.
Democratic injustice
Sir, -The appointment of Andrew Dunlop as junior minister in the Scotland Office after his elevation from Conservative special advisor to the House of Lords waswelcomed by the Scottish Conservatives.
No surprises there. While the appointment was criticised by the SNP as an affront todemocracy, it wassurprising to see that the Labour Party and Liberal Democrats in Scotland chose to make nocomment.
Are we left to conclude that they are comfortable with such appointments?
Maybe so, for who would bet that, incoming weeks, Andrew Dunlop will not be joined by other placemen and former MPs from the Liberal and Labour ranks?
It is disappointing that the much-laudedfightback by theseparties will not extend to addressing a fundamental democratic injustice.
Iain Anderson. 41 West End, St Monans.
Cut links withLondon parties
Sir, – I find some of the rhetoric from some of the defeated parties quite confusing.
A number of Scottish Labour, Liberal andConservative politicians are now referring toScotland as a one-party state.
We voted no to being a state last September but now these same politicians are saying we are indeed a state.
Can they please make up their minds?
Scotland does need a credible opposition but while these parties remain answerable to London, they will not gain much traction in Scotland.
It is sad to see what has happened to the once-mighty Labour movement but this was a party that latterly tried to out-Tory the Tories.
The only hope for Scottish Labour, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats is to remove themselves from London influence or their diresituation is unlikely to get any better.
Bryan Auchterlonie. Bluebell Cottage, Ardargie, Perth.
End this folly of climate levies
Sir, – Amber Rudd, the new Conservative energy minister should havedispensed with theprevious government’s obsession withrenewables but not so.
While fuel poverty exists now, we should not be providing for some conjectural carbon-free future. It is those alive today who must beprotected.
Rationing expensive energy at home because of unaffordable carbon compliance costs increases ill health, with knock-on economicconsequences and leads to premature death for many.
The climate change alarmists who promote renewable energy are wealthy individuals or organisations forwhom energy costs are unimportant and their pseudo-science is self-serving and manufactured to suit theirtheories.
For them, it is simply a good living.
It is an invented industry, whose demands are leading us to bankruptcy and whose long-term supposition even if true is of no concern to us in today’s circumstances.
In a few years’ time, other problems we face will have overwhelmed us, so to make costly provision for something that may never happen, is to betray the presentgeneration on the largest possible scale.
Could the new government please address this nonsense before the lights go out?
Malcolm Parkin. 15 Gamekeepers Road, Kinnesswood, Kinross.
Perth does have a university
Sir, – We refer to your article (May 6) in which the then prospective parliamentary candidate for Perth and North Perthshire, Pete Wishart, was calling for a university for Perth.
Perth already has a university: the University of the Highlands and Islands Perth College or Perth College UHI as it is referred to.
Perth College UHI is one of the largest of 13 partner colleges and research institutions which form UHI.
UHI is the UK’s leading integrated university, encompassing bothfurther and highereducation. We are different. We are not atraditional university.
The university partnership is already acting as a force for economic, social and cultural change across our region by connecting andcollaborating withbusinesses, public and third-sector partners and communities.
Margaret Munckton. Principal, Perth College UHI, Professor Clive Mulholland. Principal and Vice-Chancellor,UHI.