Pentland deal shows Calmac up
YOUR report on the introduction of the Vietnam-built £14 million MV Alfred by Pentland Ferries makes interesting reading (“‘Hugely significant’ new ferry flies the flag for low emission transport”, The Herald, December 12) and inevitably must draw comparison with the debacle of the two ferries being built for Calmac in the now-nationalised Ferguson Marine yard in Port Glasgow.
What in reality is hugely significant is that whilst everyone wants commercial shipbuilding to flourish again in Scotland, how can it when, at costs so far, if it had wanted Calmac could have had about seven Alfreds for one incomplete Glen Sannox and a hull?
Alan Fitzpatrick,
Dunlop.
IT is good that Darrell Desbrow, a keen crucverbalist, feels much better after sending you one or two cross words (Letters, Deccember 12). It is apparent that Mr Desbrow is also a keen student of English, having appeared in your pages in December 2016, holding up a tray in a local store which he said had “be-trayed” the English language. Said tray depicted the word “Tasty” as a noun.
Mr Desbrow makes a good case for the exclusion of proper nouns and names from cryptic crosswords. I wonder, however, what he would make of my addiction to the unique Myops and his famous Wee Stinker crosswords.
These include cryptic and general knowledge clues, as well as proper nouns and names; one difficulty in solving the Wee Stinker is in detecting which of these types of clue Myops has concocted for his followers.
David Miller,
Milngavie.
YOUR coverage of the reported fall in life expectancy across different parts of Scotland (“Life expectancy fall ‘unacceptable’”, The Herald, December 12) includes many suggested explanations (for example, obesity, diabetes), but neglects what the evidence most clearly points to. Academic experts across the UK have consistently shown the most likely cause to be the effects of UK Government austerity policies, including unprecedented cuts to social security affecting the most vulnerable in society.
It is important to emphasise that this is not a Scotland-specific issue. Similar changes to mortality rates and life expectancy have been recorded in all parts of the UK since the onset of the UK Government’s cuts to public spending in 2010. The changes have been driven by increasing mortality rates in the poorest parts of the UK, resulting in the further widening of inequalities reported in today’s article. Changes in mortality rates have been observed for many different causes of death and across almost all age groups.
According to the Scottish Government and the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR),
MUCH as I sympathise with
Darrell Desbrow’s opinion that crosswords should contain no proper names (the solution, incidentally, to his clue, Letters December 12), there are some names that simply beg to be encrypted:
Larry first browsed larder to cook for Herald correspondent (7,7)
Dr Hamish Maclaren,
Stirling.
I NOTE that Alan Simpson found the Forth crossing confusing (“Mr between 2010/11 and 2018/19 spending on social security in Great Britain reduced by more than £30 billion. By 2020/21, the reduction will have been in excess of £47bn. The poorer parts of the UK have been disproportionately and unjustly affected by these cuts. With the pathways between poverty and poor health well understood and well evidenced, governments have a moral duty to look after the most vulnerable in society. In the UK, however, that “social safety net” has
Men are not sexist, the Forth Bridge is confusing”, The Herald, December 12) pity my four-year-old granddaughter in Surrey. Her mother has informed her that they are going to France for the weekend and that will involve travelling in the car, on a train, under the sea.
Poor soul.
Duncan Shaw, Kilwinning.
I NOTE that even your cartoons are adopting American expressions. Steven Camley captioned his effort on Tuesday with “Several short been dismantled, and academic research has highlighted the resultant effects. These include increased child poverty, expansion of food banks, increased homelessness, poorer mental health among affected populations and, ultimately, increased numbers of deaths among the poorest.
In the words of the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, “poverty is a political choice”. What we are now sprints to the restroom.” Most of us use the well-tried “toilets” rather than “restrooms”. If it’s not the clumsy expression “the get-go” instead of “the start” it’s another silly Americanism. Maybe this is preparing us for trade deals after Brexit.
Ivor Matheson, Dumfries.
BY way of some clarification on when the first cone appeared on the Duke’s head (“Those were the days: Duke of Wellington, 1950 and 1959 (NB: No cone)” The Herald, witnessing in Scotland, and across the UK, are the health consequences of the choices that have been made.
Dr David Walsh, Public Health Programme Manager, Glasgow Centre for Population Health; Bruce Whyte, Public Health Programme Manager, Glasgow Centre for Population Health; Dr Gerry Mccartney, Consultant in Public Health and Head of the Public Health Observatory, NHS Health Scotland, Glasgow.
December 12), I attended the Glasgow College of Building over the period 1967-1972 and attest that the first placement took place during this period, although I cannot be more specific. We used to walk to the college from Central Station each weekday and the cone was usually in place on a Monday morning with it being removed by the authorities usually by the Tuesday/wednesday and then the weekly cycle of on/off continued. Being students ourselves, we had heard that students were responsible at that time.
Andrew Carlyle, Prestwick.