Sir, – It was, indeed, heart-warming to read of the actions of Danilo Danysenko, a 14-year-old schoolboy who travelled to the UK from the Mariupol area of war-torn Ukraine.
He and his mum have been resettled in Aberdeen. This young lad, supported by the Rosemount Learning Centre in Aberdeen, was gifted a bike.
They were limited in number and he noted a young girl, who was in tears, having been missed out. Without hesitation, Danilo gave her his bike.
Although a replacement was later found for him, his generosity should be a lesson to us all. The source of the bikes was Stella’s Voice, a Peterhead-based charity, well worthy of our support.
Ron Campbell, Richmond Walk, Aberdeen.
Economic reality is not an opinion
Sir, – Ron Campbell’s usual defence once again fails to pass the simple expediency of factchecking his claims. Both the SNP and Ron Campbell seem incapable of accepting economic reality.
Reality is not just an opinion. It can, with care, be factually checked. It can also be as simple as googling a question on Scotland’s financial status to receive neutral factual responses.
Does Scotland have a balance of payments surplus?
“Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland saw a goods surplus of £12 billion, £1.1bn and £0.8bn respectively. In 2019, the UK was a net exporter of services with a surplus of £103.3bn, compared with a surplus of £109.6bn in 2018.”
Does the Scottish Government have a deficit?
“Scotland’s deficit more than doubled to £36.3bn, or 22.4% of GDP in 2020-21, the highest yearly figure since devolution, but it should not be an obstacle to making the case for independence, according to Scotland’s finance secretary.”
Whyever not?
“Increased spending and falling revenues because of the Covid-19 pandemic, compounded by the continuing oil price slump, increased Scotland’s notional deficit for 2020-21 from 8.6% of GDP in 2019- 20, to 22.4%. “This is significantly higher than the 14.2% for the UK, and more than twice the advanced economy average of 11.7% estimated by the International Monetary Fund. The figure could rule an independent Scotland out of EU membership because of the rules on fiscal deficits.”
It is a reality even Ron Campbell must rationally accept and deal with.
David Philip, Knockhall Way, Newburgh.
Failure to deploy ferry fleet well
Sir, – Once again senior management at Gourock (David MacBrayne-CalMac HQ), have shown a curious lack of knowledge as to fleet capability and route requirements.
On the Hebrides (2000) being withdrawn for repair she has been replaced by the second-oldest vessel Hebridean Isles (1985), which in turn has been replaced on the Islay service by the oldest – Isle of Arran (1984).
The Hebrides was originally commissioned to replace the smaller Heb Isles which was then struggling to cope with traffic on the Uig triangle. Hebrides, 20-plus years on, is herself struggling to cope with the volume of traffic.
How Heb Isles is expected for the next seven to 10 days to cope with the volume of traffic to Harris and North and South Uist is, to most people, almost impossible.
Yet the Clansman (1998), sister vessel of Hebrides, is by comparison, being left on the light traffic route of Oban, Coll, Tiree.
Most residents and Western Isles Council would have expected Clansman to have been moved to Uig and the Isle of Arran to Oban as her replacement.
Instead we have potential chaos.
A Robertson, Kilmore, Argyll.
Drivers sick of no hospital parking
Sir, – I refer to your article regarding parking at Raigmore Hospital. For many of us cycling, walking and using public transport is not an option as we live too far away.
When my husband was admitted to hospital in Aberdeen a few years ago the car park was so full I had to leave him at the door, drive to a car park in the centre of the city and get a bus back.
When leaving later, around 4.30pm, my bus was held up by endless cars with only a driver leaving the car park. I could only assume the free parking saved them money when coming in to the city to work.
In addition, when my son was seriously ill and I was staying in Raigmore with him, the car park had many vehicles which were there for several nights and a staff member told me that people left them there and took a taxi to the airport to go on holiday.
Long-stay parking charges at Inverness Airport are extortionate so it is cheaper to park for free at Raigmore and take a taxi. In both cases people were abusing the system.
Those of us who have appointments, and have driven more than 50 miles to attend, spend far too much time trying to find a place to park, which is very stressful.
Unfortunately, there seem to be many people these days who only think of their convenience and are happy to abuse something provided free for a specific purpose with no thought for their fellows if there are no sanctions.
Surely it is not too difficult for Raigmore to have a barrier system, where those attending clinics or visiting patients could be given a code or a token enabling them to leave after their visit?
NHS Highland’s Dan Jenkins is right that being more active is a great way to keep physically and mentally healthy, but for those of us who are driving many miles to access treatment it is pie in the sky.
Heather Widdows, Strath, Gairloch.
Cut the ‘posh boys’ a wee bit of slack
Sir – What a pity Catherine Deveney in her column (Press and Journal, May 20) did not even mention the real reason for the spiralling energy prices that contribute so much to the cost of living crisis affecting so many families, the war in Ukraine, preferring instead to highlight the perceived failings of those “ posh boys from Oxbridge who currently rule Westminster” including of course “our millionaire chancellor” – you can almost hear the first minister utter those words – for failing to introduce a windfall tax on the energy companies.
The fact that they are well off and attended arguably the world’s two most prestigious universities has nothing to do with their reluctance to impose such a tax. First is the reality that windfall taxes primarily hurt ordinary people – we are all shareholders in these companies through pensions, savings or insurance policies or if the companies respond to such a tax by increasing prices.
Also, windfall taxes are difficult to impose as they involve intervening in a market where prices are determined by global, not local, supply and demand.
I’m sure the columnist will agree that, despite their wealth, the “posh boys” can also be compassionate as was shown in the hugely successful furlough scheme during the Covid pandemic, so rest assured the worst predictions in her article will not be allowed to happen.
I have some experience of living in a time of austerity, as a schoolboy during the 1940s, when even if we had the money, only basic food items were available. My mother and many like her were not as famous as Jack Monroe but, my word, they were real budget cooking experts.
Ivan W Reid, Kirkburn, Laurencekirk.
Call airport after Annie
Sir, – Aberdeen Airport has been under fire from readers in the local press. Excess fees for drop-offs and pick-ups, shopping down to a paper shop or go spend your time in the bar.
The laugh is it’s called Aberdeen International Airport, international defined as “global”, “worldwide” or “intercontinental”, but the only place you can fly to is Europe.
So it should be named Aberdeen Inter-European Airport or, better still, Annie Lennox Airport.
Don McKay, Torry.
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