SO here I am nearing the end of a sixth week in lockdown in Sicily, although last week we had a minor adjustment, the smallest of lifting, with the ability to buy books, paper and pens. And we also have a date for a wee bit more of a lift, Sunday May 3, although no idea as to what form it will take.
As it happens I have a flight booked for that very day. It is the fifth I have had booked so far and “ah ha’ ma doots” whether it will go. Will the flight go at all, and should I be on it?
You see today beyond my balcony the sky is blue and cloudless, the temperature is 25 degrees, a bird is singing, people are chatting across the yard, someone is play Spring from the Four Seasons and I still have some money in the bank, so could stay a week, maybe, three, more. But I am torn.
On the radio last week there was a report from a tranquil Ullapool, where the birds were also singing and I heard Davie La-La talking about the thing nearest to his heart apart from perhaps his wife and laddie, Cameron, that is “fush”.
But stop. I have to be practical. I know my business at home will not be able to start up again until at least May 9, probably later, and all my other stuff I can do from here by internet.
Yet I know too that at home May is the best month of the year. And there is also the question of infection rates. In Italy, even in battered Lombardy, it is now 2. In Sicily it is 1.9 and falling, whereas in the Highlands it is 1.6, in Scotland as a whole it is 5, and in Edinburgh, where my flight will land, 5.5 and higher even than the UK average because not least too little was, unlike here, done too late.
So the quandary is do I just now really want to leave a beautiful place where Covid-19 is abating from an already low level to travel, by passing through a second place that is admittedly no’ bad but where the virus is still rampant and I could pick it up, to the equally beautiful place I call home, where said virus has been so far largely avoided but where I could infect Davie, Cameron, my weans, Polly, Ken, Chris, Fraser, Ailean, Ruth and all the rest?
A dopo.
Ian Campbell Whittle
Catania/Polbain
CARE home owner Robert Kilgour (above) is becoming the ubiquitous go-to-man for comments relating to issues concerning supply of PPE and deaths in care homes (Care home boss fears virus has claimed up to 1000 lives in sector, April 23). I find this surprising as Mr Kilgour is the executive chairman of Renaissance Care, which runs 15 out of some 1142 or 1.3% of Scottish care homes. They care for 700 people out of the 40,927, or 1.7% of the registered places.
In Thursday’s article, Mr Kilgour is relatively balanced in his comments, although I suspect the BMA will be concerned to read his opinion here and elsewhere that GPs are not accurately reporting deaths which he says his staff think are related to Covid-19.
In other newspapers Mr Kilgour has been scathing in his criticism of the Scottish Government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Robert Kilgour founded the think tank Think Scotland and the business group Scottish Business UK. Both were formed with the express purpose of opposing Scottish independence and a second independence referendum. Readers can make their own judgment on how impartial Mr Kilgour’s comments are.
Douglas Turner
Edinburgh
MAY I add some recollections on the Scottish Patriots and Wendy Wood? Every Sunday she held a well-attended meeting/rally at The Mound in Edinburgh in conjunction with the Scottish National Congress. SNC was led by Roland Eugene Muirhead and based on the work of Mahatma Ghandi and The Indian National Congress. The Indian Congress of course spearheaded Indian independence.
Wendy lived at Howard Place in Edinburgh which I believe had been the residence of Lewis Spence, poet and patriot ( as stated on his gravestone in the Dean Cemetery). Spence was at some time editor of The Scotsman. His house had been left to the patriots.
Wendy had for many years an assistant called Violet McInnes who I understand was charged with depositing Wendy’s ashes at the site of any new Parliament to be built. Whether this wish was ever executed sadly I do not know. I spent some afternoons having tea at Howard Place with Wendy. Inspiring for a young man.
Willie Archibald
Peebles
FRANCE plans to block firms registered in tax havens from accessing the state bailout fund. “If a company has its tax headquarters or subsidiaries in a tax haven, I want to say with great force, it will not be able to benefit from state financial aid,” the country’s finance minister said. Last Saturday Denmark enforced a similar measure, following the lead of authorities in Poland. France has allocated 110 billion euros, or $108bn, to save its businesses amid the crisis. Let’s do the same and refuse to rescue these cheats.
B McKenna
Dumbarton
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel