I HAVE just returned from a visit to Arbroath Abbey, spurred on by Scotrail’s “£17 anywhere in Scotland” offer to Club 50 members. A pity it is not available to all. Cheap public transport encourages us to travel, and book accommodation when we may have stayed at home. It boosts local economies, in this instance two hotel nights plus visits to other attractions. I used eight trains, all on time, so praise to Scotrail, and their offer had me adding on other journeys benefitting them too.
The humorous downside is that I boarded a train for Perth in Arbroath and the onboard neon side said “next stop Aberdeen”. The following day I took a train from Perth to Dunkeld and the neon sign stated “next stop Stirling”.
Aye, it’s quite funny, but were you a visitor whose first language was not English it could start a travel panic. Imagine boarding a train in Magdeburg to go to Berlin; the train moves off and the sign says “next stop Hanover”. You would understandably panic, especially if not fluent in German.
Scotrail, you are doing okay but please get this silliness sorted. I don’t think the onboard conductor has control over these signs.
Oh, a 700-year-old Declaration was another reason for my trip. Neatly leaving The National on the table for other potential readers is a wee bonus.
Bryan Clark
Maybole
IN reply to Rosemary Smiths’s letter of Tuesday, whatever you think of Christianity it did not come to Scotland by way of bloodshed. In the fourth, fifth and sixth centuries St Ninian, St Moluag, St Maelrubha, St Donnan, St Mungo, St Columba, and many others who came here were scholars as well as active missionaries. The religion they brought was deemed better than what had been here before, and the hundreds of place-names throughout Scotland called after them is evidence of the esteem and affection in which they were held.
No, the bullying I was writing about is not religious but simply political and may require urgent attention. There is supposed to be a public consultation as to whether transgender legislation is to be passed in Holyrood. Yet The National reports that the minister in charge of the proposal has said that the Scottish Government is “determined” to press ahead with the plans (SNP women’s group warns of ‘predatory men’ risk over GRA reform, February 24).
READ MORE: SNP group says GRA reform may expose women to 'predatory' men
Why does Shirley-Anne Somerville think women’s right and trans rights are not mutually exclusive? I thoroughly endorse Mo MacLean’s letter (February 25): it does not seem that the Scottish Government intends to respect our genuine concerns, although the consultation is supposed to be open until March 17.
Doctors and psychologists have become seriously concerned about experimental treatment of children with transgender dysphoria at the Tavistock Centre in London. Large pharmaceutical companies, on the other hand, are very interested. It is their medication which is being used.
Is it indeed the case that because of this legislation the possibility of gender dysphoria is to be taught to our children in school, and at the same time the abolition of safe spaces and single-sex services is to be brought about? This will affect young girls as well as women of all ages.
Political parties should be mindful that half the voters in Scotland are women.
Lesley J Findlay
Fort Augustus
I COMPLETELY accept that diversity and equality of all persons must be shown and expressed in schools. However, the current example of a drag queen being invited into a school to read to very young children (Council in drag queen sex row, February 25) was entirely wrong – this was pushing the boat out too far and too soon.
Winifred McCartney
via email
READ MORE: Council apologises after drag act FlowJob visits Glencoats pupils
300 years of subservience and 300 years of superiority is hard-wired into the populations north and south of the Border.
With reference to the article by Judith Duffy in the Sunday National (Scotland more in favour of immigration than the rest of the UK, February 23), Chris Curtis, political research manager at YouGov, is quoted as saying: “There are, however, regional disparities across Great Britain, with Scotland the region least likely to say immigration is too high and most likely to say it’s about right.”
READ MORE: Scotland is more positive about immigration than rest of the UK
I presume that Mr Curtis is some sort of expert with regards to the politics of the UK to have the position he has within YouGov.
Also I would suggest that working for a company that spends so much time delving into the politics of the British Isles, he would understand the difference between a country and a region.
Yet either by error or intent he is quite happy to refer to Scotland as a region. The view from London, as always.
Douglas Stanley
Ayr
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