Today’s letters to The Courier.
Sir, I was amazed to read that CityJet had cut the number of flights to Dundee because there was simply ”no demand” (Courier, January 14). If there is no demand I am sure it is a result of the unrealistic fares charged by CityJet.
Last year, I travelled from London City to Dundee once a month to see family and friends. But I now fly with CityJet from London City to Edinburgh, which costs around £100 to £120 return. CityJet London City to Dundee return fares are now, most commonly, upwards of £200.
As for the cut-price flights mentioned in the story, I was only ever lucky enough to secure the £136 London City to Dundee return flights on two occasions last year. Presumably because of excess demand?
I am not sure why there is such a large cost difference between Edinburgh and Dundee. Perhaps either CityJet, the aircraft operator Suckling Airways or Highland and Islands Airports can explain the uncompetitive fares to Dundee?
From my own experience, the CityJet fares between London and Dundee are the most expensive rate per kilometre of the whole network of CityJet’s parent the Air France KLM Group. Is it any wonder, ”Thousands fewer passengers are passing through the gates at Dundee Airport…”?
Neil M. Kennedy.London.
Proposed PE cuts a bad move
Sir, I disagree with the proposed cuts to physical education. As a retired PE teacher I feel that my experience of teaching in both secondary and primary gives me insight as to why we cannot ignore the value of quality PE lessons delivered by specialist teachers.
Scotland’s political masters were surely aware of a project to evaluate daily PE lessons, delivered by qualified PE teachers of to a certain number of primaries in Glasgow in the late 70s early 80s.
The conclusions were quite startling. Not only physical fitness improved, but also behaviour, and overall gains in educational attainment were marked. A recent study noted in The Courier came up with the same results.
Scotland could have been leading the world if the system had been implemented in primary schools. It never started because it would have involved training many more PE teachers with resultant costs.
The start of the ”obesity” problem was noticeable in the early 80s because, at my school, we gave every first year pupil the opportunity to do a sponsored walk/run for 30 minutes.
From 1976 most pupils managed to run most of the way; by the mid-80s most walked. The numbers that could not complete it increased each year.
You require to do a lot of physical activity to burn off the calories eg walking briskly for four miles would use up around 500 calories easily replaced by five little biscuits in calorie value so the obesity problem must be tackled by diet and then activity.
Scotland has been left behind in the world tables of educational attainment can we afford to turn down a proven way of getting kids healthier and fitter, more socially aware and better behaved in class, thus ensuring better results in attainment?
We ignore PE specialists at our collective peril!
Philip Kearns.Grove Road,Dundee.
Currency claim no legal basis
Sir, I was shocked by your front page article ‘Price of freedom give up sterling’ in which you state as fact that the case for independence ”was dealt a major blow last night” when George Osborne would not confirm that ”Scotland could keep sterling as its currency if it split from the UK”.
George Osborne would not have made that claim because, as far as it is possible to ascertain at the moment, it has no legal basis.
When taken with your report of an interview with Prof Alan Page, he said: ”the referendum would likely be judged illegal by the courts unless Westminster changed the law” ie that there is doubt about the legal situation, which you present as proof of him contradicting Alex Salmond.
You are clearly guilty of sensationalising a guarded comment by the Chancellor and it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that you do so in order to mislead your readers.
Lovina Roe.Glasgow Road,Perth.
Would have no ‘clout’ in EU
Sir, The ‘debate’ on the Scottish independence referendum has so far been ignoring some inconvenient truths.
The Westminster government (Conservative) signed the Treaty of Rome. This gave away our sea fishing rights under the Common Fisheries Policy. The UK had 70% of the fish stocks at accession and is now left with a 9% share of the catch.
The Westminster government (Labour) signed the Lisbon Treaty. This contains a Common Energy Policy. Oil produced in Scottish waters is by far the largest source in the EU.
A separate Scotland with a population of five million would have little influence with the system of Qualified Majority Voting which rules in the EU, as the EU total population is 350 million. Brussels extends its influence all the time. What mechanism would a separate Scotland have to prevent this?
It would not be the ability to physically defend oil rigs as the SNP has no coherent defence policy. Indeed it is likely that Scotland would be as bereft of defence as Ireland, which you remember Alex Salmond extolled as a wonderful model of ‘independence in Europe’.
The SNP’s talk of democracy and its keenness to be in the EU sits ill with the current situation where democratically elected governments in Greece and Italy have been overriden by Brussels, and unelected kommissars imposed on them. Both countries are larger than Scotland.
Ian Strachan.Golf Course Road,Blairgowrie.
Get involved: to have your say on these or any other topics, email your letter to letters@thecourier.co.uk or send to Letters Editor, The Courier, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee DD4 8SL.