The Herald

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What a nonsense. Shoppers always look for the best prices. If it’s too expensive, customers will go elsewhere.

- Jonathon Anderson Oh how the yessers hate hard facts! They would rather see Scotland an ash heap, but freeeeee!

- Tom Flinn, Dunbar Hard fact. The UK is £1.6 trillion in debt which will take £1 billion a week just to service. You think Scotland will become an ash heap but what do you call a country that disappears below the waves?

- Ron Watson, Irvine Why can’t they delay the referendum for another year so we can keep on venting our spleens? Brings to mind the old Fats Waller song: “No one to talk with, all by myself.” I might have to take up tiddlywink­s.

- Peter Sinclair Join the debate at heraldscot­land.com in the top 20. Then again, the tenemental nirvana that is Glasgow came fifth, perhaps because of all the parks, though it might just as well have been there on account of having friendly adults.

Interestin­gly, in the loose sense of the term, Edinburgh (“You’ll have had your toys”) came 20th in the top 20.

Bottom line is, I don’t envy children today, in the sense that they live in a world where adults in the street are afraid to smile and say hello to them. It could make them grow up as grim as Johann Lamont.

And does it matter where you live as long as you’ve enough universal gadgets with which to play? Perhaps a park is just a place to sit on a bench faffing about with a phablet.

Perhaps I’m doing the children, or at least their idealistic parents, a disservice.

Norwich was actually marked down for a lack of hills suitable for sledging. Didn’t I read in the Daily Tale that sledging was illegal now?

Perhaps they meant only in an independen­t Scotland.

Meanwhile, a spokeswoma­n for Panda peered over her half-moon glasses and ululated: “A happy childhood does not depend on the latest games, expensive gadgets and access to theme parks.

“This survey shows how vital the great outdoors can be.”

Amen to that, I think (sorry, Better No’ cereal woman). I spent my entire childhood outdoors and am not convinced it did me much good.

You say: “But look at the fine, strapping man you turned out to be.” And I say: “That is a pillar box you are talking to, madam. I am over here. Standing on your glasses.”

I didn’t even learn much about nature, unless you count dog poo and puddles.

But I was happy by and large. Certainly we had safer roads. There were fewer cyclists back in those days.

Still, that was then. And this, according to my watch, is now.

Look, here are more of those adults. Hoy! They’re trying to take my piggy bank.

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