Sir, I read the letter in Monday’s Courier from the Royal Mail’s delivery director, Paul Kelly.
What Mr Kelly said was exactly what Government spokesmen said on TV several days earlier.
That was that the requirement for Royal Mail to maintain a six-day delivery at a uniform price to every address in the UK would remain, irrespective of who owned it.
As a frequent user of the Royal Mail, I appreciate the service provided where packages can go from one end of the country to the other overnight and be delivered the following day, sometimes even using the second class rate.
Mr Kelly states: “Private ownership will enable Royal Mail to become more flexible in fiercely competitive markets.”
I can only presume there is a reason for making the point about flexibility but the markets are not fiercely competitive, they are unfairly competitive.
Other companies have been allowed to come into the market, but they don’t have to provide the six-day uniform price anywhere service.
Make it a level playing field and let’s see how many of these other providers want to stay in the game.
Ronald Goodfellow. “Bogles Wood”, 6 Elmgrove Park, Monikie, by Broughty Ferry.
Forget the flippancy
Sir, Iain G Richmond (Letters, July 22) forgets the main thing about independence isn’t so much the issues he chooses to poke fun at, it’s the fact that the very important decisions about those issues will be taken by the people who know best about our needs in Scotland and that’s the people who actually live here, whatever their party colour might be. There’s no pretence about that.
His flippant letter might entertain the typical mean- spirited unionist, but brings nothing to the very important debate going on. The only pretence comes from the way he raises those issues by implying it’s all down to that bogey man Salmond.
The Queen is our monarch too, is she not, so what’s his point? The pound is also every bit as much ours as indeed is the Bank of England and 8.4% of its reserves, despite its title. We are also entitled to apply to join NATO the same as the other 27 members and we are already members of the EU. Everyone and their granny now realises that except Mr Richmond it seems.
People in this country in the 21st century now have to use food banks to feed themselves and the NHS needs ever more money, yet there is £100 billion to continue with those ridiculous nuclear weapons we can’t even use without Obama’s permission. It could and should be better used elsewhere. Frankly, with regards to the BBC I’m pretty sure many couldn’t care less what happens to that biased, den of iniquity.
Unionists are entitled to debate independence the same as anyone else. However, with the way things are starting to run away from them, I’d suggest some positivity would help their cause rather than the desperate, scaremongering negativity we have been used to and now this flippancy.
B J W Macfarlane. 10 Beck Crescent, Dunfermline.
Sending wrong message
Sir, The Open at Muirfield was an excellent competition with drama in all four rounds. One total negative to the proceedings was Tiger Woods constantly filmed spitting.
Twice on Sunday I saw him spit whether on the green or fairway, surely a totally disgusting habit? It is by no means the first time he has been filmed spitting on the golf course during a competition.
This is not the message a professional golfer should be sending out to young people coming into the game of golf.
The golf authorities in Britain and the United States must bring Woods to book for his display of unprofessional behaviour and make sure it is stamped out.
Phil Mickelson, on the other hand, was a true gentleman and thoroughly deserved to be the Open champion for 2013.
David Barrowman. Forfar.
Bring it on!
Sir, If the weather we enjoyed recently is a taste of global warming, then bring it on! The sooner the better.
Malcolm Parkin. 15 Gamekeepers Road, Kinnesswood, Kinross.
Need to get plans right
Sir, I would like to add my endorsement to the letter by Mr Nicoll of Monifieth in The Courier, July 23, suggesting the biomass proposal being scrapped in favour of a cruise ship landing stage. Going back to the 1960s Dundee went through a long overdue renovation and the council of the time did an excellent job re-housing the population of Dundee.
Unfortunately, though, it all went sadly astray through lack of planning about what to do with the centre of Dundee. Mistakes were made, but now we have a second chance through the prospect of being made the City of Culture.
Using Liverpool as a guideline, they had the good fortune of being made the City of Culture and went about re-inventing the city. From being the largest docks in Europe it became the biggest tourist attraction outside London. Yes, Dundee could do the same, if they take time and get the plans right this time.
George Gavine. The Veldt, Monikie.