Sir, – Re the rabbits on Garthdee roundabout others of the tribe set up permanent home on the infamous Inshes roundabout at Inverness.
They seemed happy and contented buns and the colony prospered.
So efficient were they in maintaining the roundabout that the grass came to resemble a bowling green.
Then one day one of their number crawled into my garden. A passing schoolboy alerted me to its presence and on beholding the poor creature I saw it had myxomatosis so I put it out of its misery. The whole colony would have been infected so there are no rabbits there now and the grass grows as it pleases.
Two things I recall: the first is the joy the buns brought to kids especially and I give thanks for that, but the second is the schoolboy who noticed the rabbit’s plight and cared enough to divert to my front door to ring my doorbell. I give thanks for that too, a lad like that will succeed in life.
Keith Fernie, Drakies Avenue, Inverness.
We should all heed weather warnings
Sir, – Firstly, can I thank those within the education sector of Aberdeenshire Council who, in my opinion, made the correct decision to send children home following the red weather warning at 1.10pm on Friday.
However, on contacting my work in Aberdeen I was told grocery deliveries were going ahead as normal, despite the red weather alert. It would be fair to say that my second customer on Beechgrove Terrace was surprised to see me delivering to their door that day, just as BBC Radio Scotland would have been to see me at their studios across the road.
It made my day when, as a supporter of independence, I reached a customer on Merkland Lane in Aberdeen, who told me it was news to them that there
was a red weather warning in place.
It is Scotland after all – and who really concerns themselves with the weather in North-east Scotland? It is obviously not just the first minister and the Scottish Government who ignore what is happening in this area, as suggested by Councillor Andy Killie and the oil industry on the front page of Saturday’s Press and Journal.
I think it would be helpful to have a protocol in place for such weather events to take such decisions away from private businesses. All our drivers arrived back safe and well at the depot but 19 orders were unable to be delivered due to the locations being inaccessible.
I enjoy the work I do, especially the ability to work in a wonderful part of Scotland but, without being over-dramatic, when weather people issue a red warning, they want the
advice behind them adhered to and it important that that happens.
Peter Ovenstone, Orchard Grove, Peterhead.
Storm’s shocking wake-up call
Storm Arwen on Friday night has reminded us all to expect extreme weather events resulting from climate change. High winds were forecast in advance so I made sure
my brown, green and purple bins were tied to the shed to prevent them going
walkabout.
The blue bin went into the shed which, fortunately stayed put. From the débris left lying around in the streets afterwards, it would appear that not everyone can take such precautions.
I also use elastic bungee cords to prevent lids blowing open so that rubbish is not cast to the four winds. Arwen also reminds us of the need for good property maintenance. Stormy weather will always take its toll on property regardless.
Bill Maxwell, Mar Place, Keith.
Turn to ex-pros
Sir, – Funso Ojo’s second yellow card last week at Tannadice resulting in a sending off highlights the old argument that professional football players should turn to taking up refereeing when they retire.
Ex-pro player/manager Willie Miller stated “it is an absolute nonsense…”.
Ex-pro players have a better understanding of what goes on inside a footballer’s brain because they have lived and breathed football all their career.
There has been and continues to be bad refereeing. The fans would be happier.
T Shirron, Aberdeen.
Time to make Covid vaccine mandatory
Sir, – It looks as though our national, and regional, health services are in real trouble.
There is a massive backlog of procedures, hospital beds are nearly always full, with some patients travelling hundreds of miles for everyday occurrences like childbirth, ambulances cannot get to emergencies because they are full of patients outside A&E, and it’s extremely difficult to get a GP, or dental appointment.
And what are the respective governments doing about it? Not a lot except throw cash around, and tell us – sorry, HOPE – everything will be OK.
Well it’s all too little, too late, simply because there are not enough trained staff, or beds, and won’t be for years.
Underfunding for the last 50 years or so, by successive governments, has finally come home to roost. Year on year closing hospital wards, and cutting back more staff. They didn’t heed warnings by unions and consultants about lack of doctors, nurses and paramedics.
Unfortunately, with increased hospitalisations from Covid-19 amongst the younger generation, it seems the only way of relieving current circumstances could well be making vaccination mandatory.
I know some are totally against the idea, but it is my opinion that it is totally selfish to put others at risk by being unvaccinated, and is now more imperative to ‘get the jab’, especially as a more highly infectious new strain of the virus is emerging from South Africa.
JH, Aberdeen