Sir, I have just heard on the news that Mr David Cameron is asking the public to back fracking in order to “benefit from lower fuel bills”.
Now where have we heard all this before?
I remember when it was said that hydro electricity “would be so cheap it would hardly be worth sending out the bills”. It never happened.
We progressed to nuclear generation. Again, it never happened.
Then we had oil in the North Sea. Now we have the most expensive fuel in Europe.
If our prime minister really wanted to deliver cheap fuel to the British public he would have offered to guarantee to keep the supply under public control ie nationalised.
But that is not something his party is in favour of.
Mr Cameron wonders why the people in the north east of England are against this technology; well, they have probably heard it all before as well and view his utterings as weasel words.
Can anyone blame them?
G Stewart. Springbank, Clayholes, Carnoustie.
Slap in the face for lottery ticket buyers
Sir, I have just learned from my retailer that from October a Lotto ticket will cost double at £2. Why has there been no announcement about this?
Looking on the Lotto website there is nothing. Lotto is a Government lottery so why no warning of a 100% increase?
For those of us who, through syndicates or on our own, have paid our way since November 1995 and have very little to show for it it is a slap in the face. No consultation, no warning.
We should be told the reasons for the increase and why we should continue to give to good causes in this fashion.
Donald P. McDonald. 50 Abbey Road, Scone.
Parking debt recovery threat
Sir, I am writing to you regarding parking charges at Gallagher Retail Park, Dundee.
I was there recently, got a ticket from the machine and stuck it to my car window. I returned a short time later to find a parking charge stuck to my windscreen.
I asked the parking attendant why I had received this as I had a ticket but it had fallen off the window. He advised me to write to the address on the parking charge.
I wrote asking that the charge be cancelled as I had a valid ticket and sent copies of this. I received a reply saying that having reviewed the case they would reduce the sum to £15 as long as it was paid in seven days, otherwise it would revert to the full amount. It also stated if I didn’t pay they would pass the matter on to a debt recovery agent.
I have heard of other people experiencing similar treatment. Surely this is unlawful and simply a way of gaining money from people by means of threatening debt recovery when there is no valid reason for doing so (eg when a valid parking ticket had been purchased)?
J Spence. Monifieth.
No need to spend £300
Sir, I read with interest the article on the ongoing saga of the scruffy saltire which continues to fly above St Andrews Town Hall (Scruffy saltire still flying, Friday, August 9).
Unfortunately this bedraggled apology for Scotland’s national flag has now embraced a sizeable proportion of the tourist season which is rather sad, particularly in the town which carries the name of the patron saint.
I was surprised to note that the existing flag had been purchased last September for the princely sum of £300. I have flown a 5ft by 3ft saltire on a 20ft flagpole since September last year and only replaced the flag a month ago.
Although showing signs of wear and tear, it was still in better shape than the one currently flying above the town hall. My flag cost £2.65 with free delivery.
Some food for thought as to how £300 can be justified.
Roy R Russell. 1c Smithy Road, Balmullo.
And if you believe that . . .
Sir, In your letters page (Thursday, August 8), Jas Davie lauds Simon Pia’s debunking of Alex Salmond’s (and by implication the SNP’s) propaganda re Scotland’s future.
Mr Davie says at some point in his letter that “no political party can be trusted with the truth” and closes with the fervent wish that Mr Pia’s pen should be even more powerful. Is this the same Simon Pia who used to write for Wendy Alexander and other Scottish politicians?
Is he perhaps still a member/supporter of that political party commonly known as Labour? Surely not.
The above being the case, I am sure that Mr Pia’s views are every bit as unbiased as Mr Davie’s.
And if you believe that . . .
John Campbell. 40 Auchrannie Terrace, Dundee.
East Neuk fund- raising success
Sir, On behalf of the committee of Macmillan Cancer Support I would like to thank all who were in the East Neuk last Friday and Saturday and helped towards the total of £793.62 being raised for this great cause.
On Friday we were at Pittenweem Arts Festival serving soup, bacon rolls and home baking and then on the Saturday we had a cake stall at Anstruther Harbour Festival.
Hope to see you all again next year. Many thanks.
Colin Campbell. Chairperson, Macmillan Cancer Support. Pittenweem.
A ‘minor’ earthquake
Sir, Let me try to put this earthquake rubbish into context. The largest tremor alleged to have been caused by fracking was 2.3 on the Richter scale. This is officially classed as “minor” and would barely have been felt by most people.
A truck passing by on the road outside your house will cause a tremor of around 2.5 to 3.
Of the hundreds of thousands of fracked mines in the USA not a single one has polluted nearby water supplies. If one had done so we would most certainly have heard about it in that litigious country.
Most of this anti-fracking stuff is the purest green scaremongering. If you really want something to blight your life, a giant windmill in the neighbourhood should do the trick.
Dr John Cameron. 10 Howard Place, St Andrews.
Appalling reason for closure
Sir, Having visited the Beacon Leisure Centre in Burnt-island recently I was appalled to read the article in Friday’s Courier about the pool having to be closed due to faecal contamination.
Surely this is the height of ignorance to allow contamination of this kind. Everybody should be aware that a pool is for everyone’s use and behave accordingly.
If, as stated, a lot of contamination is because mothers are not using swimming nappies on young children then a large sign needs to be displayed at the entrance to all pools advising them of the importance of using them.
The thought that anyone else could defecate in a pool is just inconceivable.
Jill Nelson. 2 Hewitt Place, Aberdour.
He was making a good point
Sir, UKIP’s Godfrey Bloom made a bloomer when he used inappropriate language to describe aid-receiving countries, but the point he was making was correct. David Cameron retaliated angrily and insisted helping other countries was in the national interest.
How can it be in the national interest to give away money we don’t have? We are borrowing even more money to pay crippling interest on the money we are giving away. The UK also contributes indirectly to foreign aid through the EU.
The real problem is that there are no guarantees that British money will not go into the pockets of corrupt political leaders in the countries to which it is sent. The poor, sick, hungry and homeless often receive only a fraction, if any, of the aid sent. Worse still, some of the aid may be used to purchase weapons to be used against their own people.
If Britain is to help the starving and sick in Third World countries, aid should be in the form of food, medical supplies and projects such as fresh water and drainage installations delivered directly to the areas concerned with every aspect carefully supervised and controlled. Local politicians, once sanction has been given, should have nothing to do with the aid we send.
As far as EU and UN aid is concerned, the UK should opt out until our government is sure our money is being used wisely and not lining the pockets of local dictators or being wasted by lax administration.
Meanwhile, there is a lot to be said for Godfrey Bloom’s stance that all such charity should be left to the individual to choose. I must say I object to seeing even well-known charities top-heavy with overpaid officials, with only a small percentage going to the people for whom it is intended.
George K McMillan. 5 Mount Tabor Avenue, Perth.
Mercenary attitude
Sir, I am writing this letter after visiting my friend at Ninewells Hospital for several days. In these hard times it’s difficult for many people to pay £2 for parking even though the visit may not last more than 20 minutes or so.
As the car park allows four hours for that £2 fee many people are good-hearted enough to want to help others by offering a part-used ticket to them to use up the remainder of the allocated time. I was astonished to see Vinci Dundee Ltd has been mercenary enough to warn that the tickets are not transferable!
It’s difficult enough to visit sick near and dear ones and no-one would think of cutting their visits to save on expense, but for Vinci to extract more money by not letting people share a ticket, without going beyond the limited time, is a reflection of the type of commercial uncaring behaviour I feel is not compatible with our NHS.
I am moved daily to see how much goodwill is there amongst ordinary people even in these difficult times. Vinci should show some understanding.
Krishna Ghosh. 5 Farington Terrace, Dundee.