Letters Page

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Banks do not have all the answers

SIR, – There is an old saying that if you give someone enough rope, they will hang themselves. This could be applied to what has happened with banks and financial institutions.

It has led us to the sorry state when taxpayers around the world are having to bail banks out to the tune of billions of pounds.

I deliberately say taxpayers and not governments as this is the real position.

As a taxpayer for 42 years I agree that banks have to be supported to protect their depositors. But any rescue plan must come with strongly-enforced governmental controls.

Those in the banks and financial institutions must never again be given so much rope.

We were all lulled into thinking that the “masters of the universe” in the financial sector had all the answers.

They didn’t and the credit crunch has exposed that myth once and for all.

We have to insist that sufficient constraints are put in place to prevent irresponsible lending and exposure to risk.

If the message is not strong enough then the same will happen again.

John Summers,

Dryburgh Crescent, Perth.

Similar experience with compass fault

SIR, – I was interested in a P&J article (September 25) which described the plight of a couple whose compass was faulty on Ben Nevis.

Around 1960 I was on the summit of Ben Macdui with a woman, who later became my wife.

Thick mist descended and the compass bearing led us to the edge of steep cliffs. We regained the summit cairn by a back bearing and tried again after having rechecked the map.

The same thing happened and I came to the conclusion that we were heading to cliffs above the Lairig Ghru instead of the Sron Riach. The only reason being that the polarity of the compass was reversed. I found this to be the case.

I sent the compass to the manufacturer (Silva) who corrected it and told me that “this can happen when the compass is subjected to a strong magnetic field such as from a photo-electric exposure meter”.

This was the cause and ever since I have been very careful to ensure that my compass is kept well away from any such influences.

We do not use exposure meters nowadays but there are modern battery-operated “aids” which could have the same effect.

James R. MacKay,

Blairdaff, Inverurie.

Fears about North Sea tax increase

SIR, – With reference to your article North Sea workers may face tax increase (Saturday 27), I am concerned about the impact this will have on the North Sea oil industry. As the wife of someone in the North Sea diving industry, I know that they work months away at a time from their loved ones.

They don’t get much more than your average oil-related onshore worker pro-rata. The tax break was one of the very few perks we could look forward to.

I can see this leading to a mass exodus from the industry of highly trained diving-related personnel. What then for all the decommissioning of the old platforms?

What the article fails to mention is that they won't even be getting their tax back this year that they earned last year.

In fact, anyone who put a claim in from January 2008 will either not be receiving the money, or even worse, those who have already received it are being made to pay it all back.

How can they do that?

Catherine Smith,

Alexander Crescent,

Kemnay.

Commonsense views over AWPR

SIR, – I agree with Maitland Mackie’s viewpoint in the P&J (September 27).

At last, here is someone with commonsense people will listen to.

The rest of us have been trying to make Maitland Mackie’s points for years. We need to tackle the bottlenecks and upgrade our existing roads.

We should not put good money after bad by building the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.

I hope Scottish ministers have the courage to scrap the plans.

Taxpayers could then breath a huge sigh of relief. No wonder Alisa Wilson QC for Transport Scotland did not cross-examine Mr Mackie as there is no argument. This project is not the answer to traffic congestion. It is people with the calibre of Maitland Mackie we need at the head of decision-making.

Herbert Petrie,

Parkhill Sawmill, Dyce.

Fortunes of Aberdeen FC

SIR, – Why the indignation (from certain quarters) that the usual pattern is beginning to emerge sooner rather than later at Pittodrie this early in the season?

If due to financial restraints Aberdeen is reduced to signing players who can’t get a game for Dundee United or get into Darlington’s starting 11 then why should the present results come as any surprise?

Am I being cynical or is it a coincidence that things began to disintegrate when the management signed an extension to their present contract. Living in the comfort zone comes to mind.

While I hesitate, however, to join the “get rid of the manager” brigade, this has been seen as the best course of action on numerous occasions, with no change in our fortunes.

I have to direct my fire at the board. Open the purse strings and give the manager a decent transfer kitty before you and Aberdeen FC becomes a laughing stock.

Duncan MacDonald,

Drumdyre Road,

Dingwall.

Bring on the Yellow buses

SIR, – I’m strongly in favour of legislation being brought in to stop the accidents and death of children stepping off buses.

We need the law to be the same as it is in the United States and Canada. On buses there, a red stoplight will stick out at the front, back and sides of the bus when it stops to let students off.

All traffic comes to a standstill until the students are safely across the road and the bus begins to move off again.

I spent seven years in the US until end of 2006 and was impressed with the way the system worked and how easily this can be done with the right will and attitude coming from the right departments.

It would be great to at least see the law being passed on the bus stop procedure for the safety of all concerned.

Angus Campbell,

Garynamonie, South Uist.