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If people choose not to get the Covid vaccine, should they be allowed in pubs? (Photo: Getty)
Personally, I think it’s a good idea, not only for the medical benefits it brings, but also as a step back to normalcy. Your article today on which countries want British holidaymakers back is therefore interesting read, given that a number of countries are now opening up to fully vaccinated holidaymakers.
It is not our government that creates a two-tier society, it is individuals who rightly exercise their right to freedom of choice and choose to be on one side or the other. Will they accuse the Greek, Cypriot, Moroccan and other governments of creating the same problem of two-tier societies or can they admit that this makes sense?
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After reading your special report “Wind Energy Scotland” (June 24), I have to question the economic viability and reliability of generating electricity from waves.
As any nature observer will have noticed, waves are largely the result of wind and therefore no wind, no waves! So why are we investing money in what is yet another expensive means of intermittent, weather-dependent electricity generation when we need a reliable supply of electricity?
Managing Director Lindsay, Perth and Kinross
Maybe we can all agree that Freedom Day can’t come soon enough? Unfortunately for Downing Street, he had to record that Covid Freedom Day is incompatible with the demand for silence on an independence referendum as we are in the midst of a pandemic. It is therefore not surprising that attention has now turned to the means by which an independence referendum can be weighted in favor of the Union by changing the right to vote to include Scots residing in England. Not surprisingly, also, to see another version of a threshold raised for Yes, now offered at 75%! (Derek Stevenson, Letters, June 23). I have an alternative proposition that I have called consecutive weighting of life expectancy or, more loosely, skin-in-the-game. Essentially, more weight is given to the voices of those who would live the longest with the consequences, such as: 16-25 years old, one vote counts for three; 26-45 counts as two; 46-65 counts as one; and the vote of a person over 66 would count for only half of a vote.As I fall into the latter category, I would expect this to be seen as a selfless and objective proposition, rather that as a blatant attempt to get the result I prefer.
Robert Farquharson, Edinburgh
Carriers complained over the radio about the paperwork required to send goods to Europe. Just imagine how many more forms they will have to fill out if the SNP gains independence, especially since we will have to go through a foreign country (England) in order to reach the ports to access the EU. In addition, we export more to the rest of UK than to the EU, so more paperwork will be required to comply with their rules.
Elizabeth Hands, Armadale, West Lothian
Alastair Daltons Inside Transport column (Perspective, 25 June) examines the response to easyJets’ announcement of new domestic routes across the UK. While it is clear that we all need to look at our travels and the impact on climate change, we also need to consider how the alternatives stack up. For routes like Edinburgh to Manchester or London, the train, in my own experience, is clearly a viable and simpler and faster alternative when you factor in all the time on either side of a flight.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for other domestic destinations. Alistair mentions routes from Inverness to Newquay and Aberdeen to Bristol. At best, the former will take well over 14 hours by train, with four changes. The latter will be on the train for more than eight hours on a good day. You can’t blame people for letting the plane take the pressure off in this comparison, especially when flights are often much cheaper too. This highlights the need to invest in improving the speed and efficiency of our rail network across Great Britain in order to dramatically reduce journey times and make the train a better alternative for more than roads.
What a rant from Laura Waddell on June 24! Apparently Andy Burnham is guilty of all kinds of things. First of all, we get the backhanded compliment that he looked so kind before he committed his crime; a natural ally, although a staunch trade unionist is a staunch ally of a party whose only goal is to destroy this union, Ms Waddell keeps to herself.
Mr. Burnham’s crime, it seems, is to have the ineffable nerve to complain about bad manners no, that is too mild a term the contempt with which he, his town and the north of England were dealt with by the leader of the Scottish division party. , the SNP. Ms Waddell talks about a moody fight with Nicola Sturgeon. I think all of these latest fights are in a bad mood, usually fabricated on his part, but that’s his goal, of course. She loves to play gallery with this approach.
Ms Waddell cannot resist a blow to Mr Burnham’s status as the town’s mayor demanding to be treated like a national statesman. I’m sure Mr Burnham, who is a very level-headed and measured speaker, would have spoken of the shameful treatment of his town with a pithy epithet or two, but probably quite appropriately. If he had been dealing with a statesman, or someone of real status, I dare say he could have moderated his tone, but it was not deserved in this case.
The SNP does not seek to prevent Scots from traveling to places in Scotland with higher rates of Covid, like Dundee, but they do set Manchester apart, although they do not have the power to do so. Why? Well, obviously there is political capital to be done in attacking the English. We all know that. Still, Nicola Sturgeon said he tweeted his response four hours after he said he was welcome to pick up the phone. How kind of him! How strange that she didn’t feel the need to pick up the phone herself in the first place and show off a few manners, but he’s English after all, so manners don’t matter.
Andrew HN Gray, Edinburgh
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BBC Scotland needs its own board appointed by the Scottish Parliament as Euro 20 …
Kenny MacAskill suggests there should be more Scottish involvement in international football television coverage (Perspective, June 24). Obviously, unlike me, he could tolerate the exaggerated statements of the obvious that characterized STV’s commentary on the game against Croatia. On the other hand, the following evening on the BBC for the France vs Portugal match, Guy Mowbray and Jermaine Jenas gave a well-informed masterclass in description and analysis. At that time, the quality comparison was reminiscent of the contrast in regardability between the Scottish team containing Billy Gilmour and the one in which, unfortunately, he was absent.
Jim Douglas, Penicuik, Midlothian
As a British subject born in England who regularly visits his partner in Scotland, I find it hard to believe the pressure and control the SNP exerts over the media and the public in Scotland. When I read the daily news it seems like Nicola Surgeon or some other SNP member still has to try to bring down England. Yet when I read the news from the UK, not much is said about Scotland other than the real news.
Almost daily we read threats etc. uttered by Sturgeon, not only against the English, but against the Scottish public. She has imposed a travel ban in parts of England but has lifted restrictions in parts of Scotland with the increase in Covid cases. When asked, Sturgeon now likes to say that the number of cases doesn’t matter in Scotland, but that it does in England. When the Brexit saga was underway, in which the UK wanted to regain its independence, Sturgeon opposed it. Now she wants Scottish independence and when the UK does her favor by opposing it, she immediately belittles the UK and says disrespect the English. Scotland. Boris Johnston respects the wishes of the majority of Scots who voted to stay in the UK.
The selfish people who have treated Scottish beauties with utter disrespect through their acts of vandalism are not the kind of people who usually frequent our wilderness. Those familiar with the “Leave No Trace” request know how to behave in the hills, but these opportunistic newcomers are completely indifferent to their impact on the environment (your June 25 report). No one who loves our hills and glens would ever treat them with such disrespect. It is extremely disturbing to learn that their dogs are as unruly as their owners and are left to attack wildlife and livestock.
Perhaps it is time for the authorities to be less polite to the most destructive culprits and leave them no doubt about their recklessness and selfishness.
A small flag is needed. This month, which one? the magazine lists the UK’s 70 best gardens, based on readership ratings; and four of the top 10 are in Scotland. Additionally, all four are RBGE Gardens, with Logan rated as Britain’s Most Beautiful Garden. Dawyck is second and Benmore is third. Edinburgh Botanic Garden is ranked 10th. This is an extraordinary achievement and the staff at RBGE deserve our warmest congratulations.
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