Sir, – In her long and eventful reign, Elizabeth Queen of Scots, with due deference to her in Scotland, commanded universal respect and was a cohesive force for good. However, her passing finally severs an imperial connection to that Anglo-Britain of the past.
The days of mourning and royal pageantry in Edinburgh emphasised that Scotland as a nation is not necessarily opposed to the monarchy, but is opposed to the British state which the monarchy represents.
The proclamation of King Charles III and his firm affirmation of the independence of the Church of Scotland, confirmed the sovereignty of Scotland and that of its people.
This was guaranteed, along with Scotland’s separate judicial system, by the 1707 mutual Act of Union between Scotland and England. Hopefully in Scotland Charles will be known as Charles, King of Scots in respect of his mother.
In these very difficult times, with a weak new PM, Charles has become King of a United Kingdom in transition, where human rights and democratic leadership will be paramount.
Grant Frazer. Cruachan, Newtonmore.
Mourning can’t just be turned off
Sir, – In the news was the announcement that the royal family will mourn the death of the Queen for another week.
If only mourning was as simple as turning on and off a tap but in truth, as someone who lost their dear wife almost a decade ago, the pain of losing the person who was paramount in your life transcends time and date.
As they grieve as I did the words of Helen Keller come to life – “what we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us”.
Ivan W. Reid. Kirkburn, Laurencekirk.
Leave respected media groups be
Sir, – I have seen two fine examples of trustworthy reporting. One about the BBC’s flawless coverage of the Queen’s death, adding to its wide educational and world reputation for UK information integrity and, two, from Channel 4 News seeing the immense imminent response of Putin on Ukraine, with deep insight from respected Scot Lord Robertson.
These exemplary media organisations are threatened by the current UK Government, for political revenge it seems. Why do current UK ministers believe the BBC or Channel 4 have to compete with entertainment-driven Netflix for God’s sake? We desperately need trustworthy news and analysis, not more populist pap or biased channels. Do we want decline towards some Fox-Trump news culture in the UK?
The BBC in particular, and Channel 4, give excellent, very broad true value right now compared to the cost of Netflix or whoever.
To PM Truss and co, leave proven exalted institutions be – your predecessor attacked them, and the monarchical constitution, and the norms of decency.
Continue in similar vein and you may cement division and enmity ever more widely.
Mike Hannan, Cults.
Wartime austerity in the 21st Century
Sir, – I have lived in two centuries, seen as many prime ministers as our late Queen and now my third monarch, King Charles III, but in all these years I have never seen this country in the state it is today since the end of the Second World War in 1945.
Children and families living in poverty, not able to afford to eat or heat their house and having to rely on food banks. The government is going to reduce income tax, reverse the national insurance rise and give every person £400 towards their heating, but that will not cut it as food prices continue to rise, banks raise interest rates and wages and pensions fail to rise in line with inflation.
Don McKay. Provost Hogg Court, Torry.
Unified Ireland a matter of consent
Sir, – President Biden worries me, and not because many disparagingly refer to him as “Sleepy Joe”, although this may indeed be a cause for concern.
His view of justice and democracy may be blinkered by his Irish roots to Counties Louth and Mayo, clouding his dreamy vision of Northern Ireland and its place in the UK.
A unified island of Ireland seems logical to me, but only by consent. The electors of Northern Ireland must decide their own future.
Currently, its laws and regulations, with due regard to Stormont, are still governed by Westminster where Parliament reigns supreme. Northern Ireland will not be bound by EU diktat and intransigence.
President Biden is the man who reigns over the federal government of the United States of America, the archetypal example of colonialism, where native Americans are largely unheard of, Uncle Sam defeated George III in the War of Independence (1775-83) and slave-owning George Washington became its first president.
Likewise, King Charles III reigns over Great Britain and Northern Ireland by consent.
Bill Maxwell. Mar Place, Keith.
Wind turbines hot air in CO2 debate
Sir, – Wind turbines as sources of energy are windspeed-dependent electricity generators typifying the wastefulness of the UK’s futile attempts to avert the world’s risks of dangerous climate changes.
As proportions of our used electricity supplies, wind turbines contribute percentages ranging between single figures and about a third. They are always dependent on variable wind strength and on fossil-fuelled backup.
Owing to inability to store useful amounts of electricity, Sir David MacKay, professor of engineering at Cambridge University and government scientific adviser, warned the politicians not to touch them, pending vast improvements in battery storage.
That has not proved possible.
No pilot studies were done before their adoption so as to evaluate wind turbines’ usefulness and drawbacks.
Prof MacKay’s advice was ignored. Since then, some 11,000 UK wind turbines have been installed.
Each costs about £20,000 for the windmill’s structure alone.
They are manufactured mainly in China.
Including the additional outlays for installation, servicing and maintenance costs amount to, it is said, a total of up to a quarter-of-a-million pounds for each. Their lifespan is only about 15-20 years.
Damage to land, sea, people and avian wildlife is incalculable.
All-in-all, a scandalous waste, especially recalling that they are not even green when the greenhouse gases emitted from manufacturing, transport and installation are included. The UK’s carbon dioxide output is negligible at less than 1.5 % of the planet’s total. They still need petroleum products for backup and lubrication and their installations are ongoing, with no end in sight.
It is no wonder that the authorities of the Eastern nations, China, India and many more non-compliant in decarbonisation must be laughing at us.
(Dr) Charles Wardrop. Viewlands Road West, Perth.
Bus pass is now redundant
Sir, – I was very interested to know other people are finding it difficult with the number 13 bus route.
We are also having to use taxis for shop and medical appointments.
Maybe the buses spokesperson should look at the difficult situation he or she has created.
I have lived in the area all my life. There has always been a bus but money is more important than people.
We no longer need a bus pass as there is no bus.
I hope when they are old they don’t experience the difficulty they have caused for people of the Park Street area.
Sheila Sangster, Duff Street, Aberdeen.
No waiting time to see Torry GP
Sir, – The news of people waiting weeks for a GP appointment was surprising to me.
I may have been lucky because I managed to get a telephone appointment within two hours.
Having got that and talking to the doctor she offered me an appointment to come to the surgery after our call.
Maybe the times differ in different areas and surgeries, but I must commend Torry Medical Centre for a non-existent waiting time.
Well done.
Don McKay, Provost Hogg Court, Torry.
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