Sir, – Why can supermarkets not leave stuff on the same shelves?
I am 77 with Type 2 diabetes and my diet has to be strictly adhered to, so I go personally to the supermarket to be sure of getting the right foodstuffs.
To do this I go with a list of what is needed in the order they are on the shelves then it is straight into the trolley and to the checkout.
We can do our full, once-a-week shop in 10 to 15 minutes, depending on how many other shoppers we have to dodge around on the way.
Unfortunately, supermarkets move things around on shelves.
I am told it is so the customer then has to look for the things they need, and may see something else which they buy on impulse, thereby boosting the stores profits, and probably bonuses.
Do they not know there is a pandemic on?
These changes turn a 10 to 15 minute visit into a 30 to 40 minute visit.
That’s double the time in the store, double the number of people and double the chances of catching an infection.
Health and safety, of course, means the staff have to be behind plastic screens, or hidden away in the back somewhere so there is nobody to ask where anything is. We ended up leaving without getting all we needed, which means another one or two visits to another supermarket, and another chance of infection.
Please, please, please, until we all get vaccinated, leave things where they are so we can get in, shop, and out again as quickly as possible.
Ian Macdonald.
Perth.
Frequent visits north of border for PM
Sir, – I had to chuckle on noting that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to visit Scotland this week in an “all-out” bid to save the union.
He is expected to use the trip to make a plea, without any sense of irony, for Scots to reject “narrow separatism”0 and hail the benefits of being in the UK.
Noting that we are some months away from April Fool’s Day, it should be noted that this statement is from a prime minister whose narrow nationalism, driven by his right-wing Tory Party, has seen Scotland as part of the UK forced out of a European Union of 28 states which comprises the largest single market in the world.
Given his appalling poll ratings in Scotland, I would urge Mr Johnson to become a frequent visitor north of the border.
Alex Orr.
Marchmont Road,
Edinburgh.
Home schooling the muggle generation
Sir, – I was astonished to learn what some home schooling consists of.
What possible value could there be in pupils translating Harry Potter into Scots?
If some time must be devoted to comprehending an unused language, there might be a little value in translating Burns into English at this time of year. In reality, there are and should be more productive and useful lessons to learn.
If this signals the standard on offer from Scotland’s education under today’s administration of none of the talents, a virus is the least of our problems.
Hamish Hossick.
Strathern Road,
Broughty Ferry.
Why is Boris silent on Churchill now?
Sir, – In 2016, then US president Barack Obama had a bust of Winston Churchill removed fron the Oval Office in the White House.
This was met by a furious response from Boris Johnson who said it could be viewed as “a snub to Britain”.
Johnson went on to criticise Obama further by stating “some say this is symbolic of the part-Kenyan president’s ancestral dislike of the British empire, of which Churchill had been such a fervent defender”.
Donald Trump had the bust returned to the Oval Office but one of Joe Biden’s first acts following his elevation to the presidency was to have it removed once more and replaced with one of Cesar Chavez.
This was brought to the prime minister’s notice but, curiously, he had absolutely nothing to say about it. I wonder why?
Alan Woodcock.
Osborne Place,
Dundee.
