Sign of the times

I understand there is a move afoot to make all street signs in Edinburgh bilingual, English/ Gaelic. This is a concern, as it has no historical merit.

When I am putting money in a cup for a homeless man sitting on the street, I have to ask myself why the City of Edinburgh Council thinks that English/gaelic street signs are more important than peo from ple? However, it turns out to be a directive from the SNP and we do not need to delve too far to find out why. Rather than making sure that our poorest are given somewhere to shelter from the cold, rain and snow, or have somewhere to wash and to go to the lavatory, the SNP waste money on rewriting history.

Rewriting history to pretend that Gaelic was ever the language of Edinburgh and the south-east of Scotland is purely political posturing. It has no merit. This part of Scotland has been English-speaking since the time of Bede and the historical evidence proves it.

Check King David I’s charter to St Cuthbert’s in Edinburgh, which specifically refers to his “English and French” men there, meaning English and French speakers in the 1100s.

At various times, Cumbric, as well as Old English and Norman French have been spoken, by elements of the population here. The Cumbric tongue predates Old English, but changing street signs to include that language won’t help anyone, as it is no longer spoken and the French were knights brought here by King David.

In the end, one has to ask, what exactly is the point? And the answer comes: to rewrite history as the SNP wishes it had been.

ANDREW HN GRAY Craiglea Drive, Edinburgh