Sir, – Why do I get the impression that all hype around asking citizens for their opinions about the proposed changes to the town is a complete waste of time and money?
Also, my time going to view the architect’s drawings seems a waste as the council, as per usual, will ignore our thoughts on the scheme and go ahead with whatever they want – presuming that they know best.
Not very democratic when you consider that there are a few councillors inflicting their choices on the rest of us.
No mention of a vote for us to make our preferences known. Save our historic buildings, no more tampering by adding carbuncles to iconic buildings.
We once had a beautiful city to be proud of and enjoy visiting.
Now I am embarrassed when friends come to visit and we venture into the city.
DW.
No comparison between Iranian protesters and those in UK
Sir, – Is Davinia Smythe-Barrett, the Flying Pigs’ “ordinary mum”, Catherine Deveney’s ghostwriter?
How on earth can Ms Deveney (October 14) cite the situation of young women and the general population in Iran and their struggle to protest, with their counterparts in the UK?
I’ve yet to hear of any young girls here being beaten to death by police but I regularly read of middle-class juvenile “tyre extinguishers” puncturing the likes of Davinia’s four-wheel drive tyres and getting away with it.
In terms of corruption, the UK is in the top 20 least corrupt countries in the world, with a score of 78 out of 100, and Iran is in 150th place with a score of 25.
And in terms of getting rid of regimes, we are about to see one of the most idiotic and strange events in British political history – the election of Liz Truss as prime minister when it was plain for those with eyes that wanted to see that she is useless and dangerous – coming to an abrupt end. The sensible MPs in her party, in combination with her supporters, who now face redundancy in a general election are getting rid of her.
There are plenty of issues our young people should be protesting about. Why has public education been trashed to the extent that many youngsters are unfit for work? Why are so many flogged university courses that are never going to lead to a career? Why can’t those who can and want to study hard subjects like science, engineering and medicine get a place because the university needs the fees from foreign students to maintain its over-expanded, creaking enterprise?
Why has student accommodation been monetised to such an extent that it can cost almost £700 a month for a one-bed flat?
But the hardest issue to discuss and protest against is the one Ivan Reid brilliantly described today: What societal, marketing and parental influences are to blame for, as he calls it, “so many lacking the backbone and character required to begin climbing the ladder of fulfilment”?
Allan Sutherland, Willow Row, Stonehaven.
Big Noise Torry bring happy tune
Sir, – I attended the Royal Scottish National Orchestra concert on Thursday night at the Music Hall and was delighted to see that members of Big Noise Torry were interspersed on stage with the full orchestra to participate in the opening number.
The excitement among those taking part spilled over into the audience as it was so refreshing to see the youngsters taking part in the lively piece by the Mexican composer Arturo Marquez.
I would think the mums and dads, grandmas and grandas in the audience would have been filled with pride seeing their kids and grandkids performing with a world-respected orchestra.
It made you forget all the bad things going on in this world at the moment and concentrate on the wonderful talent we have on our very own doorstep.
Keep it up, boys and girls, we support you all the way.
Alexander Sutherland, Hilton Drive, Aberdeen.
Government uses taxpayers’ money
Sir, – It appears there is a minority group in Scotland that needs a refresher course in economics so let’s keep it simple.
First of all my pet hate: charities and businesses of all persuasions ask for government money, there is no such thing, it is taxpayer money.
Governments collect from the taxpayer and are responsible for spending it wisely. The term asking for government help should be replaced with taxpayers’ help.
All governments have the necessary equipment to get a very good idea of what revenue they can generate through taxes. So they know what is available to spend and from this we arrive at the budget. If outgoings exceed income then we have a budget deficit and to cover that deficit we have to borrow.
Not a difficult concept to grasp so why are the Scottish administration unable to grasp this.
The promise of £20 billion? By the time they pay for the Nat ferries, Nat railways, Nat airports, Nat NHS, Nat police, Nat fire service, etc, there won’t be anything left. The SNP under Alex Salmond and now Nicola Sturgeon have practised appeasement policies in the hope of winning more voters to the independence cause and look at what it has got us.
Nothing works properly and when questioned about the serious state of our services, her only answer is: “Well, it’s better than England.”
This is not the answer a serious politician who puts the people of Scotland first gives. The term “crisis management” cannot be applied to the Scottish administration as it contains the word management.
Finlay G Mackintosh, Forres.
Grip of Old Firm stops investment
Sir, – Critics miss the elephant in the room as to the chasm between English and Scottish domestic football.
England’s well-deserved dominance in Europe has been the end product of a determination at the highest level to ensure domestic competitions remain competitive.
Scottish fans will never see wonders akin to Leicester City’s “impossible” championship. The dubious penalties, the judiciously timed dismissals and suspensions of key opposition players, the whole ragtag and bobtail of sharp practice ensuring there will never be another like Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen or Gordon Smith’s Dundee, Hearts and Hibernian.
The central tenet at SFA HQ is nothing must threaten the Old Firm’s hegemony or its poisonous miasma on society at large ever again.
This is a massive deterrent to any investor considering committing to any Scottish club at the levels found even in non-league Wrexham and Macclesfield let alone an English Premier side.
Scottish football is the nation’s metaphor – suppurating in wilful mismanagement to ensure the status quo’s “ascendancy” in Perpetuum.
Knowing your place is now the Scottish way – with the mediocrity that comes with it.
Mark Boyle, Linn Park Gardens, Johnstone, Renfrewshire.
Day to remember in the Commons
Sir, – Who can forget the day in the House of Commons when the leader of the SNP, refusing to retract his statement that Boris Johnson had told lies, was ordered out of the chamber?
What followed was the most disgusting display of booing and jeering by members of the Conservative Party that made one wonder at their level of intelligence, especially as we all now acknowledge ex-prime minister Boris Johnson DID tells lies.
Frederick Stewart, Alder Drive, Portlethen.
Putting cap on energy producers
Sir, – You published a letter from Don Carney (October 14) highlighting the gap between the £50 to £60 fair price per megawatt and the £490 price currently charged by the ”big players” and other energy producers.
Back in September, you published letters from Mr Williams and myself in similar vein. I hoped then I would raise debate on the subject and no one – not even The Press and Journal which claims to be the Voice of the North – responded to my criticism.
So? Are we the only three wise men who know to put the cap on the producers?
GA Davidson, Portsoy.
Society has moved on since the 1960s
Sir, – I refer to the letter (October 14) from Mr Ivan W Reid, where he harks back to the attitudes of the 1960s stating, somewhat cynically, that attitudes of that era could be revived, when either you worked or shamefully signed on at what he refers to as the “broo”.
What an attitude of sheer arrogance. Did the thousands of men who lost their jobs with the decline of Clydeside shipyards and Lanarkshire steelworks wish to sign on at the “broo”? Absolutely not, their jobs were lost because the owners of such enterprises were slow to realise that such work was cheaper and more efficient in the Far East, and as such many highly-skilled tradesmen had no option but to “sign on”.
I also noticed that Mr Reid’s wage, when he was supporting a wife and young child, was £7.50 per week in addition to his £5 bonus for having “put in a good shift”.
All well and good, but in 1960 the average wage was £14 per week, and in 1968 it was £22 per week, so it poses the question – was Mr Reid one of the underpaid and overworked?
In essence, his letter takes us back to a time when the whole scope of society was totally different in many aspects of life; so, Mr Reid, reminisces about the Swinging Sixties, but time moves on and the distant past is not always relevant.
John Reid, Regent Court, Keith.
Most of Scotland ‘detests’ Tories
Sir, – Could Andrew Dingwall-Fordyce please explain why it is OK for Liz Truss to say that Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, “should be ignored” and is “an attention seeker”, yet it is not OK for Ms Sturgeon to say that she “detests Tories?” – a view probably held by around 90% of the people in Scotland?
Could he also explain why those of us who don’t want to live in a country governed by a heartless, xenophobic and totally incompetent Conservative Party, are “misguided”?
I look forward to reading Mr Dingwall-Fordyce’s next letter.
WA Ross, Broomhill Avenue, Aberdeen.
Onshore wind unnecessary
Sir, – The 2022 ScotWind licensing round sanctioned 17 offshore wind projects totalling 24,286 megawatts (MW). The proposed Hill of Fare wind farm will provide only 122MW.
Our net-zero goals can now be achieved without more onshore wind.
Keith Mair, Invery house, Banchory.
General election the only answer
Sir, – With the party famed for U-turns continuing to make them, it’s high time we had a general election.
Ron Campbell, Richmond Walk, Aberdeen.
Markets showed who is ‘in charge’
Sir, – The article by Catherine Deveney (October 14) drawing analogies between the Iranian people protesting against their oppressive government and the ambitions of Scots and ordinary people in the rest of the UK was really interesting but tenuous and borderline nonsensical.
Like it or not it was the markets, speculators and investors that demonstrated to Liz Truss who is “in charge”.
N Morgan. Dorset.
Truss leads way in poor leadership
Sir, – As I write we are unsure whether Liz Truss will survive the day as PM. Perhaps the Tories are planning a calendar of chancellors, given we’ve had four in as many months.
Keir Starmer, itching to get the keys to Number 10, seems incapable of addressing an audience without having to constantly look at his notes.
As for our mouthy first minister, propped up by the monster-raving loony Greens, had she been subjected to a fraction of the political scrutiny by the Scottish media her Westminster counterparts have received, she would have been history years ago.
Who would be a politician in these febrile times?
GH Mountford, Golden Square, Aberdeen.
Pie marred great win
Sir, – Great win over Hearts, but missed some of it having to have a wee rest after fighting through the leather-like base of the Pittodrie Pie.
AG.
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