LETTERS

True community spirit

WITH the extreme weather, we have seen the best of community spirit at times.

But we have also seen a negative side with people stripping the supermarket shelves of essential items such as bread and milk, leaving vulnerable and elderly people severely disadvantaged.

It is grossly irresponsible for people to overbuy and leave shelves empty.

How much of that food was wasted and how much bread and milk does one family or person actually need?

But supermarkets need to take responsibility and a ration should be placed on how much milk and bread people are allowed to buy.

Gordon Kennedy, Perth.

Applaud our snow heroes

AS Scotland spent much of the last week at a standstill due to winter weather, we should applaud those who really went the extra mile and kept working through it.

One individual who went above and beyond was a surgeon at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, Renfrewshire, (Mail) who trudged through an astonishing eight miles of snow to get to her workplace.

Others in positions of responsibility did little more than criticise and pose for photos holding snow shovels.

I take my hat off to the surgeon. It’s people like her who kept this country moving.

A. Morrison, dyce, Aberdeenshire.

Helpless Swinney

I LOVED the picture of John Swinney clearing a path (Mail). No council or Scottish Government help for even the Deputy First Minister sums up the Beast from the East experience for the general public. FrAnces Brown, Aberdeen.

Step up a gear, Humza

INSTEAD of impotently shaking his fist at haulage firms and companies which docked workers’ pay as a result of the snow, Transport Minister Humza Yousaf could do something useful.

Winter tyres, far better able to cope with snow and ice, are crucial in keeping European nations who get far more snow than we do on the road. Is it time for legislation here to force commercial and private drivers to change when winter bites? FionA sinGer, Glasgow.

Do we need Brexit?

MRS May’s version of Brexit calls into question the worth of the whole operation.

We are to suffer a reduction in trade with the EU but hold closely to all its standards and regulations.

We are to free ourselves from the European Supreme Court but be subject to some equivalent, which will have to be invented.

We are to pay for access to a number of European institutions but will have no say in how they are run.

There is nothing definite about future trade treaties with other countries and Donald Trump seems to be about to start a new trend towards protectionism.

There is no danger of us being forced into some super federation in Europe, if such was ever proposed. We would need to vote to enter into it voluntarily.

If we gain such benefits from staying close to the EU why don’t we just stay in it?

w. K. Brown, Glasgow.

Offence on the cards

I HAD the same experience as Robert Hardman when I went to a branch of the card shop Scribbler to buy birthday cards (Mail).

I don’t consider myself a prude, and I knew the shop specialises in edgy gifts.

However, I could not believe the wording on many cards. I was hardpressed to find one I could send that was not smutty or in bad taste.

If its cards are considered to be funny, the company must have a warped sense of what is amusing.

GeorGe eLLison, chichester, w. sussex. ROBERT HARDMAN should give card shops a wide berth and instead encourage his young daughter to make a card for her mum.

roseMAry cLArKe, Bedford.

Shame of Scotland

I WAS so glad to read Jonathan Brocklebank (Mail) on the shameful behaviour of Scottish rugby fans after the team’s win against England.

As for the awful dirge Flower of Scotland, I cannot abide the words and shudder every time I hear it, just as I am saddened almost daily by the antics of some of the SNP supporters who do not seem to even have a command of English, never mind the Gaelic they are trying to promote.

MoirA Kerr, crieff, Perthshire.

I COMPLETELY agree with Jonathan Brocklebank (Mail) about the embarrassment caused to Scotland by morons and their twisted form of patriotic support.

He spoke for many, if not most, Scots.

Our family has strong connections with the rest of the UK. My wife and I enjoy visiting other regions – the Lake District, Brecon, Somerset – and cherish friendships there.

Thanks to Jonathan for such a poignant description of the lunatics and the mindset of many of our politicians who shame the rest of us.

Lex ThoMPson, via email.

Peril of Putin

WHAT are we to do about the dangerous Vladimir Putin?

He has threatened the West with his ‘invincible’ nuclear weapons.

Throughout last year, he flew bomber aircraft close to our airspace and steered his warships within five miles of our country, not to mention the nuclear submarine that was detected off the coast of Scotland.

And the finger has been pointed at Russia for using cyber warfare to disrupt our day-to-day lives.

In a fortnight the Russians head to the polls to elect their president. Only a buffoon would suggest Putin will not be re-elected after his opponents have been intimidated.

Putin has few global friends, but those he does have speak for them-

selves: China, Syria, North Korea, Iran and Venezuela.

The West needs to be one step ahead of this belligerent despot.

IAN P. OLIVER, Leatherhead, Surrey.

Fee-paying challenge

WHAT a fabulous letter (Mail) from Kiera Marshall about the nonsense of the SNP offering fee-free education to Scottish students and those from Europe, but not to those from England.

I have no desire to see taxpayers’ cash squandered on court cases, but surely a legal challenge to this iniquitous SNP policy would succeed?

A. GALLOWAY, Glasgow.

Dial-up diners

WHY complain about people in restaurants not talking (Letters)?

My husband and I have been married for 42 years and do discuss the news and family matters, but by the time we go out for a meal, there isn’t a lot left to say.

We play a game on our mobiles and challenge each other while we are waiting for our meal to arrive.

Our phones do not make a noise, and we do not interfere with other people, so what is the problem? MARILYN PRATT, Sidcup, Kent.

A modern tragedy

‘MANNERS maketh man’ was at one time often incorrectly attributed to Shakespeare.

Now the internet generation thinks it’s from a sub-James Bond film named Kingsman (Weekender). We really are lost.

NANCY DALY, Glasgow.

Fine solution

WHAT a surprise! There has been a 50 per cent drop in drivers caught using mobiles at the wheel after fines are doubled (Mail).

Double the fines again and no motorist will risk making a call or sending a text.

We should use the same policy to tackle rubbish strewn along every country lane. I suggest a minimum £500 fine for dropping litter – £1,000 for repeat offenders.

DAVE HASKELL, Cardigan, Ceredigion.