The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Vulnerable being left behind in Covid vaccine roll-out
Sir, – Saturday’s Courier showed a stream of people in their sixties receiving Covid vaccinations at Caird Hall.
Great, except thousands of over-70s are still waiting for theirs. As a person in my 70s I am one of those who feel let down by the broken promises of the Scottish Government.
While I wait to be contacted, my younger sisters, both in their 60s, received their jabs at the weekend. One lives in Angus, the other in Dundee.
When I contacted my GP surgery I was told they are struggling to vaccinate those between 75 and 79 as they have insufficient supplies.
They were unable to give me any idea of when I might receive my vaccination.
So, what has gone wrong?
Is it the case that, in an attempt to ramp up numbers, the government has diverted supplies to these large centres, leaving GP practices short?
And if so, why not ensure these mass vaccination centres begin with those over 70?
Most of us are perfectly fit and able to travel. But, because of our age, we are vulnerable.
While we wait, some of us will inevitably catch the virus and some will die.
The programme is a shambolic example of mismanagement and makes a mockery of the Scottish Government’s assertion they are following the recommendations of the JCVI. Valerie Wright. Panmure Terrace, Broughty Ferry.
“The subject of pre-fabricated house building continues to attract interest and recollections in the Craigie Column,” observes a Montrose reader.
He says: “The phrase ‘building in one week’ caught my attention and brought to mind the enterprise of a local company in the mid 1920s which had an entirely different start up, having been spun off from the Coaster Construction Company shipyard located on Rossie Island.
“In an attempt to keep men employed and maintain facilities, the two partners in the business set up a construction company under the name Allied Builders Ltd. This plan was to build pre-fabricated housing using large standard-sized concrete blocks mounted atop and others side by side with corrugated flanges using steel bolts to secure
them together. The yard built a small barge to extract sand and gravel from Montrose Basin for the block-making.
“Three, four and five-apartment bungalows were advertised, priced at £239, £329 and £379 respectively, with two variants at each price level. Foundations, water and drainage were extra.
“In order to make a publicity ‘splash’, the first four-room bungalow was built in six days. The concrete block manufacturing, however, ceased by late 1927. The prefabricated idea was not generally accepted until almost three decades later after the end of the Second World War.
“The story, though, had started in the closing days of the Great War when in November 1918, the following news item appeared in a local newspaper: ‘On Friday, a large piece of land on the east side of Rossie Island Road consisting of an area of 13 acres, 3 roods and 24 poles was exposed for sale for an annual feu duty or ground rent when it was purchased by Mr W D Mclaren.’ This was the original move to acquire the site of the Coaster Construction Company Limited shipyard.
“Over the next few years, the company built a series of ships of different designs for owners as far distant as the Caribbean,
Canada, Australia and New Zealand including converting several former Royal Navy warships. Unfortunately, a serious downturn in the market followed in the mid 1920s causing new orders to dry up.
“The management endeavoured to diversify, firstly into steel fabrication and assembly, building two bridges one at Millden, in Glenesk, and the other at Edzell Golf Course. The pre-fabricated house building enterprise followed with a number of the bungalows still to be seen, mainly in Montrose.”
1540: The first recorded horse racing meeting in Britain was held at the Roodeye Field, Chester.
1855: The “Devil’s Footprints” appeared in snowbound South Devon – 100 miles of cloven hoofprints, eight inches apart in a single line and measuring four inches by two. 1865: Mrs Patrick Campbell, actress with an abrasive wit, was born in London. She created several famous roles, including Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion (1914), and had a well-documented relationship with George Bernard Shaw. She died in France in 1940.
1891: Ronald Colman, English actor who became a Hollywood star was born in Richmond, Surrey.
1893: The world’s first public striptease took place at the Moulin Rouge in Paris.
1942: Soap rationing began in Britain.
1949: Robert Mitchum was jailed in Los Angeles for smoking marijuana.
1961: The Beatles made their first appearance at the Cavern during a lunchtime session.
1964: Beatlemania gripped America as around 70 million tuned in to see the Fab Four on the Ed Sullivan Show. 1981: Rock ‘n’ roller Bill Haley died. He spearheaded the 1950s rock revolution with Rock Around The Clock.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: The Solar Orbiter, a spacecraft designed and built in the UK, prepared for launch on its journey to unlock the secrets of the Sun.
Law firm Thorntons managed to grow its sales last year despite Covid-19 disruption. Hundreds of workers went on furlough as courts closed and the property market was shut down during the first lockdown. Despite this, the firm still managed to increase its sales by 2.6% for the year ending May 31.
Newly filed accounts show that Dundee head quartered T horn tons’ turnover increased to £30.5 million from £29.8m in 2019.
Profit before members’ remuneration and profit shares rose to £8m against £7.1m the previous year.
Managing partner Craig Nicol said the results represent the first full year since it acquired the Edinburgh operation of Morisons LLP.
He said: “The business continued to grow and turnover and profitability increased.
“Our increased commercial offering in Edinburgh and in Glasgow played a significant role and our new colleagues who arrived following the Morisons acquisition settled in well.
“Like many businesses, our trading for the last months of the financial year were hit by the onset of Covid-19.
“Many of our markets were significantly impaired and, in the case of the residential property market, closed completely. Court closures meant significant challenges in our dispute resolution teams.
“These financial results represent our continued commitment to invest for the long term and our clear strategy for growth across our business.”
Thorntons is now one of the largest full service firms in Scotland, employing more than 500 people in 11 locations across the country. It has 58 partners. It has legal offices and estate agents across Fife, Angus and Perth. As well as the Morisons acquisition, it acquired Fife firm Pagan Osborne in 2017.
Mr Nicol said at its peak, the company had around 250 members of staff on furlough. This figure is now 17 on full furlough and 25 on flexi-furlough.
While the company is lagging behind last year’s performance, it is optimistic about 2021.
“Our investment in technology over the years meant that we were able to implement a rapid transition to home and agile working,” he added.
“Our people showed remarkable resilience, ensuring that our clients continue to be served well.
“Whilst currently we are still lagging behind last year’s performance, we have recovered well and we are now looking forward to planning for our next five year strategic period.
“We remain committed to providing our clients with a full service offering and our business levels remain strong amid continued uncertainty in the economy as we look towards 2021 and beyond.”
Mr Nicol will stand down on May 31 after 10 years as managing partner, seven of those as joint managing partner with Scott Milne.
He will be succeeded by partner Lesley Larg, an IP specialist who has sat on the firm’s board for several years. Mr Nicol will remain as one of the firm’s partners.
“It was always my intention to step aside as managing partner in the next couple of years and there is no doubt the time is right,” he added.
“We are now considering our next five-year strategic plan and how best to deliver for the changing requirements of our clients and colleagues in the postcovid environment.
“I am delighted to be handing over the reins to Lesley who has the skill, drive and expertise to lead the firm through this next period.”