Sir, The unintended consequences of the council’s disposal site strategy dual sites are becoming clear.
There will be a sizeable carbon footprint for individuals transporting between the sites at approximately 15 miles a time, all in the name of environmental consideration.
On a more mundane level, we have the frustration and anger of the citizens of Dundee.
The question remains; however noble-minded it is to protect the planet, does the council not have a duty and responsibility to the residents to provide simple access for the disposal of the detritus of modernliving?
Just what is a mother to do with her childrens’ broken composite plastic toys such as dolls’ prams, tricycles, pedal-cars, push chairs, baby chairs, etc?
It could be argued that the council has a higher priority to saving the planet on such a small scale, namely serving its public.
A W A’Hara. 21 Rockfield Street, Dundee.
We’re entitled to feel angry
Sir, How much do we really respect the National Health Service? Some very diplomatic comments were made by the various spokespersons Jack McKeown talked to about missed hospital appointments(View, August 13).
There were more than three quarters of a million missed appointments in 2012 – 2013. This does not include the number of people who don’t turn up for a meeting with their doctor three hundred a month is not unusual in one surgery alone.
This is almost scandalous. What goes through (or doesn’t go through) the minds of people who seem to treat the NHS with such cavalier disdain?
This is not the only problem health service staff have to deal with. Physical and verbal abuse often fuelled by drunkeness is common in many hospitals and some patients and visitors seem to think it is acceptable to smoke close to the entrances of hospital premises.
We need to see the public clamour for improved accessible health services in the light of this kind of behaviour.
Many people, including myself, owe a deep sense of gratitude to hospital personnel who have been highly professional in very difficult circumstances. We are entitled to feel angry at the attitude of those who don’t appear to show it respect simply because it is free at the point of use!
Bob Taylor. 24 Shiel Court, Glenrothes.
So much for free thought
Sir, When did Jenny Hjul appoint herself the unofficial commissar of the arts for Scotland? I must have missed that stealthy transition from opinion maker to Sir Jonathan Mill’s puppet.
The notion that the arts are effectively silenced from having a platform to engage with the independence debate at the Edinburgh Festival has a frighteningly dictatorial ring to it. It’s a bit like the cuddly panda situation. One minute it was eating bamboo; the next it was being artificially inseminated with hardly a peep out of the media in protest (don’t want to upset the rich and powerful now do we?).
So, in effect, politicians will be able to bend, bully and cajole us with their propaganda but heaven forbid that the arts are able to comment on Scotland’s future at the world’s biggest arts festival. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for free thought is it? Ah well, at least we’ll have a panda cub to stare at.
David Cruickshanks. Forth Street, Dunfermline.
We are being mugged
Sir Re the recent “Bongo Bongo Land” row, surely Mr Bloom was merely drawing attention to how we taxpayersare being mugged by countries upon whom we lavish “aid” aid which should be directed to the needy at home.
We have people having to use food banks and others begging on the street.
A few months ago Claridges Hotel was featured on TV and viewers witnessed the arrival of the President of Malawi’s husband along with an entourage of 15 who booked in for an 11-day stay to attend the Olympics.
Earlier in the programme we were told that it could cost £5000 per night to stay in this hotel.
The storm should not be about Mr Bloom’s comments, but about how the aid we give is abused.
Gordon Taylor. Hawthorn, Backmuir of Liff, Dundee.
School worth fighting for
Sir, It is a joy to see all the schoolchildren start the new school year with their new uniforms and well polished faces. I have numerous nieces and nephews, all of whom I am very proud of, and one day I will see my own grand-daughter follow the same pattern.
However, I do feel vexed for my nephews who attend Pitcorthie Primary School in Dunfermline. Even though it is the second fullest in the whole of Fife, the threat of closure hangs over their heads.
Will this be their last year? Where will they go afterwards? What about their friends? All these things are very important to children. Pitcorthie Primary School is worth fighting for and the campaign to save it is a very just one.
Helen Todd. 18 Inchmickery Road, Dalgety Bay.