Sir, – It was with interest that I read in Monday’s Web Comments of the 82-year-old on his way to bagging every Munro.
As a 79-year-old with 24 Munros still to climb in order to complete my fourth round of all the Munros, I can understand the compulsion of so many folks who aspire to be a Munroist.
Here in Turriff – almost as far as from Munros as you can get in Scotland – there are at least a couple of dozen Munroists including my wife.
Next year I hope to complete a post-70 year old round on the 70th anniversary of my first Munro – Ben Lomond – and the coronation.
Neil McLean. Laithers Crescent, Turriff.
Politicians aren’t working in arts but on demands of real life
Sir, – While agreeing with columnist Catherine Deveney’s opinion (August 5) that education is a life changer as I followed a similar route to that of her father, I scratch my head in bemusement she has so little regard for politicians, some who may become members of the cabinet or prime minister, in the case of Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss, who studied philosophy, politics and economics at arguably the world’s leading university.
Someone who studied politics becoming a politician is surely a sensible career path.
She then mentions that the Texas state university is to introduce a course with a fine title: Harry Styles and the cult of celebrity: Identity, the internet and European pop culture. Looking at the role of Styles in changing attitudes to gender fluidity would be fine so long as you were not looking for gainful employment after graduation, as I feel the number of job vacancies for someone with that expertise might be somewhat limited.
Only the wealthy or fortunate can afford to study such esoteric subjects for the sake of broadening the mind, the rest of us study to get a worthwhile occupation for the benefit of ourselves, our families and society. She queries if Sunak or Truss would pass the course.
Why, I ponder, would they waste their time? She views education as it exists in the sphere of the arts, I through science.
Neither one better than the other, just different.
To my mind comes the remark made to a work colleague by a senior member of the arts faculty who asked what he intended to do during the three-month long summer vacation that she and her family were to spend in Italy.
His reply that apart from a fortnight he would follow his usual routine as a doctor tending to his patients in hospital came to her as a surprise. Both academics but living in different worlds.
Ivan W Reid. Kirkburn, Laurencekirk.
SNP MPs should be accountable
Sir, – I do not often agree with Sir Iain Duncan Smith, but he is entirely correct to demand scrutiny of the SNP administration’s conduct of its devolved remit. Has anyone carried out a detailed audit of the Scottish administration’s conduct of its business since devolution?
Since the SNP came to power? If they have, I haven’t heard of it.
Yet the disasters continue – I won’t list the whole catalogue of ferries, BiFab, Gupta, etc – and no one is held to account for them.
I would like to see a much stronger role for Stephen Boyle, the auditor general, who has produced judicious reports on various issues, including education, but who can simply be ignored by the executive in the way that it ignores all criticism.
The devolution settlement failed in establishing accountability to Westminster on the part of the devolved administrations. Sir Iain’s plan to hold SNP MPs at Westminster accountable for the actions of the SNP in Edinburgh may or may not be viable.
But what we have is scarcely the SNP’s much-vaunted “democracy” when it itself is able to evade scrutiny, refuse to answer FOI requests and hide evidence (eg, the OECD schools’ report before the 2021 election) and maintain secrecy in many areas that would be of intense interest to voters.
Jill Stephenson. Corstorphine, Edinburgh.
We need PM who puts people first
Sir, – No prime minister since Harold Wilson has tried to rebuild our industry or said no to the USA as when they wanted the UK to send troops to Vietnam.
The Conservatives were all for it under Edward Heath.
So who would have been sent? The working class, people like me at 18. I told my father I would refuse to go to Vietnam. The poor people of Vietnam just wanted their country united and the foreigners to all go home. Since this has happened we don’t hear any news from Vietnam.
Today so many people owe their existence to Mr Wilson. He was the last PM who tried to look after the working class. If the PM came to any town today would there be any cheering crowds?
Not a bit, they bus in extras as would a film company to make it look like the PM was popular.
All parties do it. Children are brought from schools, given flags and ordered to wave them if a member of the royal family is in town. We get very little say on the future of our country.
Did any one ask us if we wanted Police Scotland? So when are we going to get a PM or an FM with a plan to rebuild the country? One thing you don’t do is to house and feed immigrants in conditions better than they have lived in at home.
Stop the jam and keep them at a secure camp and deport them. It is a bit much saying we can’t as it is against European law.
The same European laws that are allowing them to dump their problem on us.
So who caused this mass movement and migration of people?
The warmongers, the likes of Tony Blair, all friends of Israel being led by the nose by President George Bush and every other president into an illegal war that is still going and has left us with a war debt and over a million illegals that need sent home.
So how has it all panned out for them? They are now all multi-millionaires.
We need a PM who listens and puts the indigenous British people first.
We need MPs who don’t go off on holiday when the country needs leadership to see us through this difficult time when multi-nationals are milking us.
We as a nation have lost control of our industries that produce energy.
John G Phimister. St Clair Street, Kirkcaldy.
Time for Scotland to forge its destiny
Sir, – I certainly must’ve hit a raw nerve if George Emslie’s reply (Letters, August 3) is anything to go by!
I wasn’t intending to reply but George’s rant bolstering the performance of the UK Union and the current Tory government, while criticising the present Scottish SNP government, by citing misconceptions at best, simply cannot go unanswered.
It’s incredible that every accusation levelled by George at the Scottish Government can be multiplied many times over at the Westminster government since the Tories came into power:
“Ruled by Brussels” – the UK was never ruled by Brussels. This is just another piece of deceitful disinformation spread by the Leave campaign, and unfortunately accepted as fact by people such as George who obviously failed to fact check such right-wing propaganda for themselves. (Who knew we could have had blue passports anytime we wanted?);
“Fifteen years of shameless failure” – the Tory government has more than doubled the UK national debt since David Cameron came to power. £960 billion in April 2010, currently £2.3 trillion;
“Full of arrogance” – has there ever been a more arrogant collection of MPs and cabinet ministers (Jacob Rees Mogg, anyone!) than those surrounding the most narcissistic PM ever, Boris Johnson?
“Squandering the taxpayers’ money” – let’s not mention £37bn wasted on NHS (England) test and trace;
“Hoodwinking the public” – no parties going on here, we’re working, move along!;
“A two thirds majority must be achieved before change” – Johnson’s bunch of Eton entitled elitists pulled us out of Europe on less than 52% in favour (62% voted remain in Scotland)!
As a people, the Scots are not self-serving by nature – they are a social, generous, caring people which is why they have found each Tory incarnation since Thatcher more and more distasteful, and why they haven’t voted for a Tory government since 1959.
It is now time for Scotland to once again, forge its own way in the world, governed by its own people, guided by its own values.
Douglas Black. Kingsford, Alford.
Reader looking to find answers
Sir, – I was brought up for a number of years in Glen Clova in Angus and have seen many changes in the way its current inhabitants now live.
I also have relatives buried in the local churchyard there and have noticed more “outsiders” are choosing this location as their final resting place.
Can any of your readers help identify the person named on the headstone pictured on the left?
It is only a matter of feet from where my daughter-in-law is buried.
There is an Aberdeen connection with the date and place of birth of the deceased, but further than that, nothing.
I suspect the headstone is a recent addition to those already there.
TF.
Tale of two worlds
Sir, – A survey by eEnergy said a quarter of restaurants and bars fear closure due to high energy bills etc and many said redundancies and reduced staff hours will be made.
Not so at swanky eatery, Miro, in London’s Mayfair which opens soon with a £3,000 signature dish, cocktails costing from £500 to £50,000, a house special offering a kilo of caviar with dipping nibbles and with diners so rich they will barely notice the prices. In the cost of living crisis, some things just beggar belief!
In the “real” world, McDonald’s have put up the price of a cheeseburger.
T Shirron, Davidson Drive, Aberdeen.
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