MANY folk must, like me, have been close to tears at the sight of that little girl being lifted from the rubble of the earthquake. We must all have been relieved that our governments, like so many others, were rushing to send aid and assistance.

I wonder, though, how many at that point stopped to realise that, if these same people were to arrive next week on a small boat from across the Channel, they could be prevented from landing, turned back, possibly to drown, or sent straight back to the disaster area or to Rwanda?

READ MORE: ScotGov pledges £500,000 to quake relief effort in Turkey and Syria

Those currently arriving that way are in many cases suffering exactly the same as those in Turkey and Syria, though from war, persecution or climate disaster instead of earthquake.

It seems that Tory government humanity kicks in only when there is good publicity in it.

P Davidson
Falkirk

RECENT comments about the way the French protest have reminded me of a holiday in France many years ago, when there were strikes and lorry blockades.

On arrival in Le Havre on the ferry, we were informed that the Pont de Tancarville was blockaded and were given a map of small country roads that would lead us instead to the Pont de Brotonne, which was clear of lorries. Except that, by the time the long snake of cars got there, it was not!

The lorry drivers, however, aware that foreign tourists were not part of the dispute and brought valuable income to the economy, had so arranged their blockade that they could choose which vehicles to allow through, so that the delay was of only a few minutes. Plain sailing then.

READ MORE: French set a good example of angry resistance

Not altogether. An hour or so further on, we spotted half a dozen tractors coming up in a solid line towards the autoroute flyover we were about to cross. Even with a sudden spurt of speed, we were too late to stop them lining up beside each other right across the flyover. As each farmer hopped off, strolled nonchalantly to the side barrier and lit his Gauloise, we decided just to make the best of it and use the time to have our picnic lunch.

As other drivers got out of their cars to protest and one in particular immediately behind us ranted and raved at the top of his voice – in English, of course – I took our picnic bag from the boot and set it beside my open door, ready to unpack. Before I could do even that, one farmer, with Gauloise still firmly attached to his lip, strolled over, lifted the bag without a word and put it back in the boot.

At the same leisurely pace, he got on his tractor immediately ahead of us, drove forward just enough to let us through and as soon as we had squeezed past, reversed his tractor back again in line! With a cheery wave and a “Merci, M’sieur” we did not wait to see what colour the ranter behind us turned, and went merrily on our way.

L McGregor
Falkirk

SELMA Rahman in Saturday’s edition asked what can we do to change the minds of those still not convinced of independence. One aspect is that we should do what we can within the powers devolved to run our country as best as we can. Let me choose one particular bugbear – our conveyancing system.

There is a common misconception that it is better than other countries. It isn’t. It is a morass that brings unnecessary stress to all participants in the buying and selling of property. Let me suggest two refinements that the Scottish Government should pursue.

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An offer, once accepted, should be binding on both parties. At the moment, either party can pull out not at the eleventh hour but at the last minute, breaking chains and causing considerable distress. An agreement should be legally binding with severe financial penalty for breaking it. Such a change would force potential buyers to conduct their due diligence in advance of an offer.

Part of this due diligence should be a surveyor’s report. The current system of surveyor’s reports is a sham. Surveyors are getting away with murder. Basically they say “we ambled along, had a quick look and it seemed to be standing and here’s a couple of standard clauses we have for this sort of property and don’t blame us if its all a load of tosh”.

Surveyors should be held to account and buyers should have legal redress if the surveyors have been incompetent or remiss. Doubtless people will say that this will increase the cost of buying. No doubt it will, but it will significantly reduce the cost of repairs after transfer. No doubt there are other positive changes that can be made, but the two I have identified come up again and again.

Ian Richmond
Springfield

SURELY the English should be voting for “Scottish independence”, as all that money we are supposedly receiving from them would go to their own pot!

Or indeed they could vote for “English independence” and get the same result!

Rob Gill
via email