THE letter arguing against a 20mph limit (Letters, September 16) is mistaken in almost every way.
It is a mistake to ignore the tragedy of loss by traffic accident. This is a common happening. In my own case, many years ago my mother-in-law was hit by a drunk driver who went through a controlled junction and knocked her out of the car and she was killed. She had been an educational missionary in India and was at the time a headteacher. Her death was a great blow. This of course made us strongly favour of the subsequent laws that introduced seat belts and forbade drinking and driving. It also now makes us support a 20mph limit in the built-up areas of Edinburgh similar to where this happened all these years ago.
That C Kerr has not heard of anyone being knocked over in a New Town which is designed to have full traffic management is also mistaken and misleading, as the need for the limit is not there but in the majority of communities, which are not so fortunate. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health states that about six children are killed on the roads every year in Scotland. Not far from Glenrothes in Scotlandwell we have no 20mph limit, no cycle path and pedestrian network but plenty of hurrying commuters and tractors accelerating to get through the village on narrow roads. So far no child has died here, but people have in the past.
The letter is also wrong in stating the majority are against safe limits: in a recent poll only 28 per cent were in opposition to them. There is also support of the World Health Organisation, the Scottish Government and NHS trusts, for example. The greatest mistake is to argue against a simple proposal which saves lives, creates a quieter environment, and is economical in that less is expended on fuel, road and vehicle repairs. It is in every way civilising.
Iain WD Forde
Scotlandwell
THE Sutherlands are commemorated in Scotland by more than the statue of “The Mannie” (Is it time for the Duke of Sutherland statue to come down?, The National, August 30).
The fishing village of Millig was renamed Helensburgh by Sir James Colquhoun of Luss in honour of his wife, Helen Sutherland. Sir James created the geometric grid pattern of modern Helensburgh. The laird and his successors collected feu duty on the building plots sold to wealthy Glasgow businessmen. The original plan for a town of weavers was abandoned for rapid expansion when the arrival of the railway made it possible for the barons of industry to commute from their fancy villas with stunning views of the Firth of Clyde to the squalor of industrial Glasgow, the source of their fortunes.
The new council offices in Helensburgh, built by a misguided council on the prime real estate in the town, carry an image of Helen Sutherland.
Surely it is time to remove this historic blight from the map of Scotland. The town should be renamed Millig.
John A Black
The Scottish Jacobite Party
RUTH Davidson’s recent outburst in Holyrood on the subject of teacher shortages showed remarkable ignorance (Ruth Davidson ‘loses the plot’ as she blunders through FMQs attack on teacher numbers, The National, September 15).
Ms Davidson may be interested to learn that Scotland has a different education system from England, including different rules regarding qualifications and training for teachers. The General Teaching Council is responsible for enforcing the standards which must be met by those wishing to teach in Scotland.
We have no idea what subject or teacher-training qualifications were held by the individual referred to by Ms Davidson. The fact that he was accepted to teach in England is irrelevant in Scotland. It may surprise her to learn that not everyone can teach, therefore a rigorous selection and training process is vital to maintain and improve teacher performance in Scotland.
Perhaps she should spend time trying to persuade her well-heeled constituents to show some respect for dedicated, hard-working teachers. Perhaps we could all support a reduction in teacher workload and allow teachers to actually get on with educating our children without all the ritualistic box ticking which has infected the education system.
(For anyone who is interested in successful education systems, can I recommend “Cleverlands” by Lucy Crehan, particularly in relation to Finland and Canada. So much could be applicable in our Scottish system.)
Sandra Durning
Glasgow
Pat Kane’s article on crypto-currencies like Bitcoin (The National, 16th September, 2017) reflect the increasing inflation of a bubble and the worrying inability to separate a possibly useful technology (Blockchain) from a building hysteria using that technology. Itt will end in more than tears.
Most of the stories, like this article talk about other people doubling or tripling or quadrupling their “money” in a short space of time. What you don’t hear is about those who jumped into the scheme at its peak who are now sitting on significant losses.
The tulip bubble in 17th century Holland saw the values of tulip bulbs soar to more than the average annual salary and indeed more than the price of the house before crashing to earth. It was a classic bubble driven by greed and emotion. When the JPMorgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon (to whose comments I would ascribe some value, unlike those of Ms. Mone), told investors at a conference last week that this was a fraud worse than tulip bulbs he was probably right because at the end of the bubble at least you had some flowers in your garden. Does it also have the smell of the Darien scheme about it? Although that at least was based on a genuine economic venture, albeit one that was poorly thought through and sabotaged by the Westminster government of the time and arguably was a prime mover in the Union of 1707.
When people stop questioning the fundamental value on which an asset is based and instead “invest” on the basis of their emotions and on what they see as an easy path to riches achieved by somebody else, you have the essential definition of a bubble. The bottom line is that this is an unregulated and un–policed market and subject to not only the whims and emotions of those participating but also to government action. Last week China banned crypto – currency exchanges for example.
I would be very concerned if somebody read this article and saw some validation in crypto-currencies without thoroughly understanding that there is no underlying fundamental value and that, while some may do well - like always in a pyramid scheme, the risk of loss is significant.
David Cairns of Finavon
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