WHAT a pleasure listening to the Wee Ginger Dug at the Yes Cafe in Edinburgh last week. Erudite and thought-provoking as usual. Stressing the need to call the Unionists what they are: “British nationalists”. How true. They are the ones pushing their “nationalist” agenda and pretending otherwise.

I agree, we need to be braver in standing up to their nationalism, and recognise our movement is an inclusive movement to create a better society, and their view is exclusive, narrow nationalism. And that we must not let them barrack us with their insults that we are “nasty separatist nationalists” and be “polite” and “meek”, but respond assertively. I never leave a meeting the Dug speaks at without feeling thoughtful, energised, entertained and he certainly charges your fighting batteries up again!

I was shocked to hear that he has had invites from every part of Scotland – except the Western Islands. Mo chreach! Dè tha a’ gabhail riubh? Mo nàire oirbh!!! Cuiribh an cuireachd thuige – gun dàil!!

He also brought his wonderful maps of Gaelic place names he’s researched. I felt I was like looking at treasure maps, with the jewels of places names recovered in the original Gaelic; truly recovering our language and culture through centuries of the mists of time and the ignorance and prejudices of the state to local cultural expression. I just had to buy a couple and they’ll be up on the wall! I just can’t wait for his one of Dùn Eideann (Edinburgh) to come out.

But of course the highlight had to be meeting such a superstar and spending some personal time together to get to know each other, and giving him a clap. Normally I carry dog chews in my jacket but had none that day – hopefully I will have opportunity again in future. He was kind enough to paw-print my maps for me, even with the lack of chews. Paul too scrawled his mark across them, but I suppose folk will be so wowed by the paw prints and then the Gaelic that they won’t be too distracted by them!

Crìsdean Mac Fhearghais
Dùn Eideann

MOST supermarket bosses rule an empire exactly as Britain once did. God who made us mighty, make us mightier yet, et cetera. Now, leading her choir of discordant voices is precious-Union Mrs May, who fancies a years-of-yore action replay. As a trailer in the superstores, British flags appear on shelves of whisky, salmon, black pudding, Smokies and Perthshire berries.

Still, the choice is ours, to buy or not to buy into this line of business. Who knows what’s next in store. An English flag on Brussels sprouts or Eton Mess? Dog biscuits for Britties, not Scotties? And certainly none for the Wee Ginger Dug.

Jack Newbigging
Irvine

JOAN Rowley urges Mr Mundell to “redouble his efforts by challenging the Westminster government about the issues of poverty created by welfare reform” and other matters (Letters, February 14).

I’m afraid any expectation that Mr Mundell will ever do anything to benefit the people of Scotland is dead in the water. At a hustings meeting in Peebles last year, when he was up against his main challenger, the up-and-coming young lawyer and SNP candidate Mairi McAllan, I asked him the following question: “What is your main achievement in the Tory Cabinet?”, to which he replied: “The part I played in the Scotland Act”.

Is that the same Act that he and his UK Tory government are about to try to unravel?

Dennis White
Blackwood, Lanark

I FEEL that we must refuse to accept the defeatist talk that the next referendum will be the last. The first was lost by a narrow margin and probably by underhand tactics by the No camp. Unless we do something about it there is a danger that the next referendum be lost in the same way. So long as the opponents of Scottish independence are unprincipled in their methods we do not have to respect anything from, for or about them.

Victor Moncrieff
Lanark

VICTOR Moncrieff, Scotland thanks you, sir (Letters, February 15). Keep at it. You speak for millions.

Rory Bulloch
Address supplied