Sir, With reference to the front-page article in Tuesday’s Courier, I would like to relate the experience of a small Fife tourist village that is about to represent Scotland in Britain in Bloom.
Aberdour was not built for the motor vehicle and, as a result, we have a village full of double yellow and seasonal single yellow lines in a (vain) attempt to prevent thoughtless and often dangerous parking by drivers who are too lazy to walk a few yards to one of our free car parks or who think it is acceptable to abandon their vehicles regardless of the restrictions in force.
Not only do they park on these lines but also on dropped kerbs, preventing those who are less able from getting on and off pavements and navigating an already difficult route round the village, and on top of safe crossing points for children and parents with pushchairs etc.
We have two particular areas where inconsiderate parking causes an obstruction not only for other road users but also for emergency vehicles, which cannot pass or access the more remote areas of the village.
Until May of this year we never saw a traffic warden in the village so drivers parked with impunity, safe in the knowledge that they would never get booked.
We welcome the change and now we see the wardens on a regular basis; in fact, we wish they would come more often. Of course, there are far more tickets being issued. Any number greater than zero is always more than zero, so comparing this year with last year or any other year is a false statistic.
John Burrell. Secretary, Aberdour Community Council, The Community Centre, Shore Road, Aberdour.
Some food for thought on gull problem
Sir, The seagull problem (Monday’s Courier) is manmade stop feeding them and they will go back to sea. Millions of tons of household waste full of food for rats and seagulls is dumped in Scotland each week.
No wonder we have a seagull problem; they have stopped eating fish and now depend on us.
Household waste is fuel and should be burned in a specially designed plant, producing cheap electricity. I passed one every day while working in Holland and the ash can be used to reclaim land.
Also, the council is responsible for there being so many takeaways in my town and, in my street, it is overkill.
John George Phimister. 63 St Clair Street, Kirkcaldy.
Will it be an open field?
Sir, Martin Gilbert of Aberdeen Asset Management, the sponsor of the Scottish Open Golf Championship, says during his firm’s tenure he shall not take the Scottish Open to a men-only golf club (Tuesday’s Courier).
We can only assume that in the interests of equality in golf, which he and First Minister Alex Salmond seem to hold so dearly, he shall be willing to allow women to enter the Scottish Openalongside the men.
Robert T. Smith. 30 Braeside Terrace, Aberdeen.
Scam leads to charity advice
Sir, We’re sorry to discover that someone in Fife who is deaf has been defrauded in a Facebook scam which mentioned our charity (Thursday’s Courier).
We urge people not to provide any personal details or to make payments to anyone unless they are sure that they are dealing with genuine representatives from a charity.
Anyone who is wishing to double-check that someone is representing Action on Hearing Loss Scotland can email scotland@hearingloss.org.uk or telephone 0141 341 5330.
Delia Henry. Director of Action on Hearing Loss Scotland, 131 West Nile Street, Glasgow.
Landlords and stereotyping
Sir, Shelter may have a point over a few unscrupulous letting agents needing to be more closely policed (Monday’s Courier), but it has to be remembered that many landlords have had properties trashed in the past by poor tenants.
There has to be protection for the landlord as well.
Most landlords are not Fagin-like characters but people who have saved over the years to buy an extra property to help with their pension. Just because they’ve worked and managed to save a bit, instead of depending on state handouts all their days, does not make them a bad person.
John Strachan. 23 Beechwood Avenue, Glenrothes.