Letters Page

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Oakbank more than a school – it’s their home

SIR, – I am writing to tell you about my experience with Oakbank School. I went there when I was 13. I was a very unruly child. I didn’t listen and didn’t behave. I very rarely went to school.

I had emotional problems and couldn’t talk about anything personal. But within months of attending Oakbank I managed to turn my life around. This was all thanks to the staff and the support at Oakbank.

I think that if Oakbank closes it will be a terrible mistake. I was there for about three years. I left to go home and start college. To this day, I am still in college, nearly qualified, and live with lovely people who give me all the support I need.

I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for Oakbank School. It was my home, and I’m sure it’s a home for lots of other kids. You can’t take that away from them.

I wonder if you know what it’s like for your home to be taken away from you. I wonder if you know what it’s like to be taken away from the people you trust most in the world. Maybe, maybe not, but you have to look at the children’s point of view.

When things get hard, I always give Oakbank a phone to hear a friendly voice or for some answers I need help with. I know I am not the only ex-pupil to do this. It would be a shame to see my home close down.

Ashleigh Rae, Towerhill Avenue, Inverness.

Baron of Troup show in bad taste

SIR, – Last night I saw the conclusion of the television programme, The Baron. The whole project was ill-conceived and in bad taste, especially the input from Malcolm McLaren.

Gardenstown/Gamrie is a beautiful and unspoiled area, unlike the areas that the contestants come from, and they should have appreciated this more and focused more on the wishes and traditions of the local people.

I can trace my family roots in the Gardenstown area back to the 1600s and, like many people in the north-east, appreciate and respect the scenery and people of Gamrie.

Ian Murray,

Fyfe Park,

Kemnay.

Leisure centre swimming teachers

SIR, – Regarding Highland Council’s response on Friday, May 9, to “unqualified swimming teachers” operating within Dingwall Leisure Centre, I would suggest that parents are perfectly within their rights to peruse the qualification of their present “teacher”.

The qualification date should suffice to tell them whether they have been receiving a quality service – which should be expected of Highland Council – for the length of time their child has been participating in lessons. I, for one, would certainly not hand over money to a driving instructor on the basis that he merely could drive. To wait over a year for swimming lessons for a child to receive an unqualified teacher (albeit they may be a qualified lifeguard) is totally unacceptable. Members of the public should check what service they are paying for before parting with their hard-earned cash to line Highland Council’s already growing coffers.

Aggrieved customer,

(name and address supplied).

Addressing gun crime in Scotland

SIR, – It is not surprising that Home Secretary Jacqui Smith refused the invitation to take part in the Scottish Government’s Wednesday summit with a view to seeking new ways to address the ever-increasing problem of gun crime throughout Scotland.

There is no doubt that if she and Defence Secretary Des Browne had their wish, every 14-year-old in Scotland would be given an airgun, thereby increasing their chances of them becoming Westminster frontline soldiers.

Donald J. Morrison,

Haig Street,

Portknockie.

£50million a day in lost revenue

SIR, – So now we know – £50million a day lost oil and gas production due to the Grangemouth shutdown. That’s £50million a day in oil and gas revenue to Westminster over the last 50 years from Scottish oil and gas reserves – and £50million a day for the next 30 years or so. That’s not including the massive Scottish oil and gas reserves off the Scottish west coast in the North Atlantic.

Scotland could be one of the richest sovereign, independent nations on the planet. Why is it paying what are probably the highest prices in the world to fill up at the pumps? Are the US, Dubai and Venezuela, to mention only three other oil-producing nations? If the Forties oil and gas field is meeting 40% of UK needs, it stands to reason that it would meet a very high percentage of an independent Scotland’s oil and gas needs.

The Scottish beast is indeed still slumbering – we risk becoming the laughing stock of the world if we don’t wake up soon.

William C. McLaughlin,

Glencozie, Stonehill Road, Carmichael, Biggar.

Missing luggage on Aberdeen flight

SIR, – Re the letter about missing luggage – we had a similar experience last year when our flight from London was cancelled.

When we arrived eventually at Aberdeen Airport at about 10pm – shattered and hungry – there was no sign of our luggage.

The next day, one case arrived and I asked where the other was. “Nae idea” was the response. “It’s probably in the other van”.

Half-an-hour later, a large lorry stopped at our door. A very kind lorry driver asked my name, address, and so on, and had I lost a case and could I describe it? He had found it in the middle of Baxter Street, Torry, and decided to deliver it rather than take it to the airport.

The case was unusable, but everything in it was intact.

My husband complained to the airport and got the same response as the gentleman in the P&J letter – “It’s not our fault, it’s the contractors”. My husband’s reply was, “my contract is with the airline, so the airline is responsible”.

We did get a cheque for about £10 – not enough to pay for a decent holdall or shopping bag these days, never mind a decent suitcase.

Lydia Martin,

Kingswood Crescent,

Kingswells, Aberdeen.