I WAS going to send this to the Scottish Parliament, as I want our MSPs who back independence for Scotland to know how much they are valued, but it is relevant to all independence supporters.

I am a 90-year-old Scot now residing in a care home in Blairgowrie but I have campaigned for Scottish independence since the 1940s. I know how much dedication, time and hard work goes into promoting our right to be an independent nation at grassroots level and I want to pass this message on to everyone who is marching for this cause.

A few nights ago I watched the Yes/No: Inside the Indyref documentary, which took the issue right to the wire and its disappointing conclusion. We saw the utter despair which was written on the face of Nicola Sturgeon, which was matched by the total dejection on the face of Alex Salmond, and it brought tears to my eyes. I remember during the indyref campaign seeing streets full of people carrying saltire flags and thinking THIS! is my Scotland.

When we sing Flower of Scotland we ask “when will we see your like again?” Well, we are seeing the like now when we see Nicola Sturgeon, Alex Salmond, John Swinney and all our fellow patriots carrying saltires. We are looking at Scotland the Brave, and somebody should tell them not to despair because this is our Scotland and they are our heroes.

I want them to know that I believe because of their efforts independence for Scotland is inevitable. I ask them to remember the very last words of William Wallace before he was put to death – SCOTLAND SHALL YET BE FREE!

Shout it from the rooftops you wonderful people, and you will shake the very foundations of Westminster.

Andrew Cameron
Blairgowrie

HOW I agree with Adam Tomkins when he says the First Minister should concentrate on the things that really matter to people.

For my own part, health care is really important and I am grateful to the Scottish Government for the best healthcare system in the British Isles. In delivering this of course I thank my Sri Lankan doctor and my Estonian dentist as well as my pharmacist. I’d like to thank them for making their home here, and the Scottish Government for opposing the unwelcoming regime of Mrs May.

After that, the pound in my pocket is important and I am grateful to be paying lower tax bills than the rest of the UK. Of course life is still a struggle for many of my fellow pensioners, and I’d like to thank Ms Sturgeon and her colleagues for their opposition to Mr Tomkins’s party’s constant attacks on my pension rights.

Of course, there are areas where they have been less successful, and I would have been happier had they been able to prevent Mr Tomkins’s party dragging us out of Europe against our wishes. I noticed that I had contributed £19 to Europe last year, which will soon be overtaken by the cost of visas, green cards, health insurance etc just to visit Europe next year.

Although not directly affecting me, I am sure that other citizens will point to the massive infrastructure improvements such as the second Forth crossing and the Borders Railway. Much has to be done, but Nicola Sturgeon’s government have shown their willingness and capability to address the issues that matter to the people of Scotland. It is a shame that Adam Tomkins can not concentrate on these issues but is instead preoccupied with the issue of nationalism.

Ian Richmond
Dumfries and Galloway

IN the last paragraph of his excellent article (MP’s scaremongering proves farmers can’t trust the Tories, March 23), Jim Fairlie asks if the Tories are “the kind of party we should trust with anything”. The unequivocal answer is a resounding NO.

Apart from all the other statements made and actions suggested, that is absolutely clear from the government’s efforts to retain in London the various powers which will return from Europe on the activation of Brexit. The Tory party, should it get its way, will, I am afraid, do everything it can to run down the agricultural industry in Scotland, so that it can thereby denude the Scottish countryside of people and businesses and promote a full return to the “huntin, shootin and fishin” scenario so beloved of the English “Toffs”.

Apart from that, the vision of loveliness portrayed by the sight of Michael Gove, from England’s Defra, cavorting along on the horizon like a demented flea, must send a very cold shiver down the collective spines of everyone involved in the Scottish farming scene.

I have raised the question of the possible effects of the Tory party on our agricultural industry, in the event of Brexit becoming a reality, several time in these pages, and over recent times I have got the feeling that it is being more widely appreciated just how high the risk is.

In the run-up to the referendum in 2014, I was greatly discouraged by the almost blanket view across the farming scene, who by a huge margin were in favour of No. Then of course we did not have the benefit of The National to help put our case. Let us hope that when the time comes around to again cast a vote – and it may not be too far off – we in the countryside tick the right box.

George M Mitchell
Dunblane