RECENTLY I’ve relocated back to my home area of Carrick, south Ayrshire, after spending the most part of the past 30 years in the Isle of Lewis and Skye. Beautiful as the islands are, my only gripe from the 1980s till the turn of the century was the disgusting amount of rubbish discarded by the roadside. Most of it empty bottles and cans discarded by those not allowed to consume in the home.
It was sad cycling or walking to work and seeing so much waste.
Thankfully, with education, the island roadsides are generally now litter-free. I applaud the general public, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar and Highland Council in their effort achieving this great success.
Unfortunately the south-west has been rather neglected. On Saturday, a beautiful day, I took the bus to Stration, a pristine village, one of Scotland’s hidden gems. I walked up a few wee hills and through woodlands. Wonderful views of the Galloway hills “a’ covered wi’ sna’” and only the noise was of nature while I enjoyed a piece and a bottle ‘o ginger – sublime.
All changed when I meandered down to the B7045, which led to another grand wee village, Kirkmichael. Time looked good in order for a beer at the fine wee pub there. But all joy turned to dismay as I walked the roadside, and snowdrops in the woods were hard to take in due to the roadside litter. All had been purposely discarded. As a kind of distraction I counted the biggest gap between rubbish – seven metres in a 500m stretch. Where? above the aptly named Claty Burn. I wish I were making this up but no, it is unfortunately factual.
Did I go for a beer? No, I had been sickened too much by the disgrace that humanity is doing to a lovely area.
Are other parts of rural Scotland suffering similar abuses by the human? Perhaps an issue The National readers could take up – a photo a day to disgrace this abuse. Sorry I was too dismayed to take any, but I may do soon!
Bryan Clark
Maybole
HERE is a letter to Ivan McKee in response to his article from last week (Independence was always the goal – and it’s never been closer, The National, February 10).
Mr McKee, I agree with your response to Scotland’s negative economic outlook projected in the leaked UK Government Brexit analysis. The Tories are dragging us under, leading us into oblivion. Scotland as an internationalist and majority Remain country should be allowed to pursue its views and interests, separate to the rest of the UK, and we have the necessary assets to be a successfully sovereign nation, yet we are still not independent.
But is any of this news to us? I don’t think it’s unfair to say that the majority of The National’s readership are Yes supporters. Of course, it is important to present our arguments in order to get people on board, but we are wasting our voices by telling each other what we already know. Independence will not be achieved by preaching to the choir.
You say we must “work to make it a reality”. Instead of leaving us sitting idly in our chairs, dreaming about what this could all mean, give us more direction. Campaigning, letters, protests – these are the kinds of things which can set change in motion. If we inspire and motivate each other to embrace greater action on the ground, maybe then independence has a chance of becoming reality.
Madeleine Karlsberg Schaffer
Glasgow
ROSEMARY Smith mentions “people waving flags” during a recent event in Edinburgh (Letters, February 19). What surprised me, although it probably shouldn’t have, was that the vast majority of flags waved by the children seen on BBC news broadcasts were Union flags. There was perhaps a single, mostly obscured, saltire, and I think a lone St George’s cross. Who hands out these flags to the waiting children?
Jim Clark
Scone
BIG mouth strikes again! Obviously Morrissey, “the boy with a thorn in his side”, doesn’t realise that “some girls are bigger than others!” So “this charming man” shouts his mouth off in a “panic”. He stated that out of every country in the world, the highest sales of his new album were in Scotland! All bought by Unionists I take it? Music and politics go “hand in glove”, but as for his rantings, “what difference does it make?”
Iain McEwan
Troon
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