MARTIN Hannan ponders the possibility that England may bring the World Cup home. That is the hope of the English fans north and south of the Tweed.
Scoring goals is one thing at penalties, winning games on the pitch is another.
The English team have scored no goals directly during their last two games other than a penalty against Colombia, and could only draw after 90 minutes and extra time. They lost against Belgium 1:0.
One may draw certain conclusions and cut through the hype and hysteria. Yet, football is unpredictable.
John Edgar
Kilmaurs
IT won’t be too bad if England win the World Cup. Of course, all the goals and penalties (whatever they are) will be shown on TV for the next half-century. But this time around they’ll be shown in colour!
Alan Jardine
Kintore, Aberdeenshire
MO Maclean’s heart is so clearly in the right place that I hesitate to take issue with the sentiments expressed in yesterday’s Long Letter. But in my view it is not the use of the word “underclass” that is loathsome, whether by Darren McGarvey or by Michael Fry.
What is loathsome is the state of poverty and in many cases despair that exists in a wealthy nation like Scotland.
I don’t want to waste time on semantics. But there has always been a tendency in polite society to shrink from words that bluntly describe harsh or unpleasant realities. Think of desperate evasions like washroom, toilet, bathroom or water closet!
So let’s not argue over the use of words. Let us focus instead on changing the realities of our society, and for a start that means regaining control over our own resources and using them to improve the lives of our people.
I think both Loki and Michael Fry could sign up to that!
Peter Craigie
Edinburgh
HERE we go again. Our opponents must be rubbing their hands. “We’ve got them arguing about the currency again. Tee-hee-hee.”
Do we learn nothing? One of the reasons we lost momentum at the final stages of the referendum was that we chose a currency position which gave them a target and allowing them , through their control of the mass media, to tell a big lie about it get away with it.
As we engaged them in an entirely fruitless and unnecessary argument about it.
And some people want us to give them a target again!
Here’s the political reality: when we vote for independence we will be using sterling. A Scottish administration will go forward negotiating the details of our parting from the UK, and as a part of that process various currency options will be considered. There are dozens of options to chose from, as can be seen by the choices made by countries large and small all across the globe. So it is OK now, in fact very useful, to point this out and even to present some of the options we may want to choose from – always underlining that Scotland surely isn’t the only country in the world too stupid run a currency.
But we will choose on this issue – and many others – what’s best for us when we get to independence.
David McEwan Hill
Sandbank, Argyll
I WOULD like to offer my opinion on what currency we should use on start-up. I am of the opinion that we have two choices which will not give any one a chance to rubbish our currency. It is quite simple: we would use the euro or the dollar until we have established our finances in a stable currency.
The euro would give us the best of the choices because it is already available to us.
The US dollar because the oil industry works with that currency and on independence the revenues from our oil resources are traded as such in this currency.
When we are secure in our currency then we could quiet easily change over to the groat.
Joe Gibson
Address supplied
REGARDING Martin Hannan’s story of June 21 (Coul Links final say will be by ministers).
As a member of the Highland Council North Planning Application Committee, I spoke in support of planning officer’s recommendation to refuse the application on the basis that “council planning officers said the new detail had not changed their earlier recommendation to refuse permission” and also “the application is contrary to the provisions of the Highland-wide Local Development Plan policies 28 (sustainable design) and 57 (natural, built and cultural heritage)”.
I struggle with developments that impact many environmentally sensitive sites, including this one. What is the point of “statutory protection” which includes RAMSAR, NATURA, SSSIs and MPAs, including the proposed Marine Protected Area which will be from Helmsdale across to Lossiemouth, if these designations can be overridden and we allow developers to ignore them?
If this application is not called in for further scrutiny and deliberation by the Scottish Government, it is a slap in the face for environmental protection.
Councillor Craig Fraser
Black Isle Ward 9
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