ON Wednesday I decided once and for all that my postal vote was not going to make it. So, despite recovering from torn ankle ligaments, I gave thanks for being self-employed, which offered me the luxury of reaching the City Chambers between 9am and 5pm, and living on a wonderful Edinburgh bus route.

Little did I know what battles would greet me on the Royal Mile. The King, and all his entourage, were being driven from Holyrood to a service at St Giles’. This meant that the road was closed from 9.30am. None of the security personnel knew the timings, or certainly the ones I asked didn’t, and neither did the bobbies. Perhaps if those who had no choice but to be assigned to this operation had been furnished with such basic information, it might have prevented some of the understandable frustrations from people trying to achieve something. Many of the delightful tourists I spoke to (all of whom had fallen in love with Edinburgh, Scotland and the Scots) were vexed that they had not been able to visit Holyrood this week because of the King’s visit to the city, and of course St Giles’ was also off limits.

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Perhaps as a result of “not my king” protests in the past, the whole area opposite St Giles’ was screened off by black material. Interestingly, the area in front of said screens was reserved for impeccably-turned-out pupils from Queen Victoria School, Dunblane. Presumably they were thought to be safe, but I was delighted they were waving Saltires and Lion Rampants with not a Union flag in sight, despite the history of the school. The republicans meanwhile had skilfully secured a protest spot on the pavement just round from the cathedral entrance.

A lovely lady from Fife who, like me, had taken shelter in Starbucks, asked me what was going on and, after much swearing, I told her. We were in total agreement that the whole thing was obscene when there is such deep hardship and poverty in the country and the city of Edinburgh is on its knees financially. As a result of the deployment of hundreds of our wonderful Police Scotland officers, in addition to hundreds of security personnel, not to mention the snipers on numerous roofs, I dread to think what the bill to the city will be.

Because I was trapped, I decided to stay and watch the band coming down from the castle followed by hundreds of the Royal Company of Archers.

READ MORE: Church of Scotland ministers pan council for 'allowing Orange march'

The tourists of course thought they’d died and gone to heaven but, had it not been for them, there would have been no-one lining the Royal Mile. Very interesting.

In all this mayhem the staff inside and outside the City Chambers were exemplary in their thankless task and it was wonderful to enter such a beautiful setting. The icing on the cake was, when directed to the loo, seeing a huge Saltire and Lion Rampant on either side of a ceremonial chair in the hallway. That was a first in a polling station!

The wink I got from one of the young pipers as I yelled “Go Scotland” made it all worthwhile!

And of course not to have to negotiate Ian Murray and his followers when going to vote was a definite plus! I know he will retain his seat in my constituency, but at least I made sure there was one more vote against him.

Jenny Pearson
Edinburgh

AMERICA’S November election may yet see Donald Trump again playing world politics. Whilst involved in two wars, the US economy is running a $34 trillion deficit at a time that, as reported in Thursday’s National, China has chosen once more to provoke the USA over Taiwan (Taiwan says boat ‘seized by China’ Jul 4).

As global governance falls into fewer hands, an American president’s international attitude plays a major part in world safety. Political disruption at Westminster following our current election could be the equivalent of Scottish nationalism placing a metaphorical bomb under the House of Commons. Guy Fawkes would smile.

I hope by November 5 Scotland is lighting the fuse for independence on the road to a small, responsible nation gaining worldwide respect by addressing critical issues beyond the grasp of trumped-up personalities.

Iain R Thomson
Strathglass

WHAT state is Joe Biden going to be in, four years from now – if he lasts that long? What were the real leaders of the Democratic Party thinking, pushing this old relic forward for another term? Don’t they want to beat Trump?

John Cormack
via thenational.scot

IN reply to the letter from Iain R Thomson of Strathglass in Monday’s edition (We must be wary of tools used for control), has he not considered that the future may already be upon us?

The number and nature of responses to letters in The National and comments on social media might be an indication that they are already attracting the attention of surveillance networks.

Artificial intelligence will only increase surveillance by making it easier, faster, less time-consuming and even more widespread.

John Jamieson
South Queensferry

SO, Kaye Adams told John Swinney that she kept interrupting him because she had seen people interrupting each other in leaders’ debates and that “seems to be the way to do it”.

This reply not only demonstrates that she has no respect for the SNP leader, but also that she does not know that her job is to be an objective journalist.

READ MORE: John Swinney clashes with BBC's Kaye Adams over 'constant interruptions'

In fact, this vital ingredient of the job description has been totally lost among most, if not all, of the media when interviewing independence-supporting politicians.

And most people in Scotland are utterly sick of it.

Dennis White
Blackwood