Readers' Letters: Good to hear Glasgow's Pavilion Theatre is in safe hands

We sat with other residents on long facing benches, (I was on my mother’s knee) under a dim blue light. Suddenly there was a loud bang, the bench collapsed, dumping us to the floor and the light went out. I’m told this was in March 1943; bombs dropping on Queen’s Park church. Glasgow is not a huge city. From outside the air raid shelter we could see a flickering red glow in the sky miles away.

After the war, my parent’s friends Jim Bennett and his wife Anne were regular visitors to the flat. Jim had been a Japenese prisoner of war and came back home minus several toes. He became manager of the Pavilion Theatre.

During his time there he kept an autograph book for me, obtaining countless autographs of the stars who performed at the immediately post-war Pavilion: a signed photo “to Douglas Sincerely Judy Garland”; Bob Hope ditto; Danny Kaye (I think); Harry Lauder; Will Fyffe; Jack Anthony; Jack Buchanan – I can’t remember them all now because a few years ago I sold the autograph book at auction for around £700.

To read that the Pavilion is back in very safe hands is certainly a reason to be cheerful.

Doug Morrison, Cranbrook, Kent​

Swear by it

Humza Yousaf has urged anyone told they do not belong because of their background to reply “f*** you!” (Scotsman, 9 August).

So, when SNP supporters next tell me to "go back to England” or object that I “don’t sound very Scottish”, is that the reply he recommends? What would that achieve, exactly? Surely the best way to respond to such bigots is to engage in discussion and help them to see that Scotland is a modern nation that should embrace people of all backgrounds, even English.

Can the First Minister please clarify whether pupils in school should be permitted to use the language that he chose, or should they be held to a higher standard than him? I certainly hope that they are.

The expression “f*** you!” is interesting. It is based on the assumption that sexual intercourse is something that is done to another in order to offend, hurt or degrade them. I am surprised that Mr Yousaf wishes to endorse such a mindset. Perhaps he has never thought about it. Perhaps he is just wanting to play the cool guy.

Being the Sturgeon continuity candidate, we are not surprised that he is talking about his mental health struggles. If he is seeking sympathy, he already has mine. It must be tough being out of your depth in the top job with no vision and no ideas of your own.

Richard Lucas, Scottish Family Party, Glasgow

Green history

One must correct Murdo Fraser’s appalling grasp of history and politics in claiming Robin Harper became the UK’s first Green Party parliamentarian (Scotsman, 9 August).

The UK Parliament consists of two Houses: the Commons and the Lords. In 1989 the inimitable Reverend George MacLeod (of Govan Old, the Iona Community and the University of Glasgow) joined the UK-wide Green Party.

As a peer since 1967 – the only former Moderator of the Church of Scotland to be made one – MacLeod thus became the UK's first Green Parliamentarian a full ten years before Robin Harper, and indeed a year before the "Scottish Greens" were even founded.

Mark Boyle, Johnstone, Renfrewshire

Work of fiction

It was surprising to note that up to nine publishers wanted to sign up Nicola Sturgeon to publish her memoirs (Scotsman, 10 August). Even more surprising was the successful publisher stating that some of Ms Sturgeon’s writings were “notable for their wit and honesty”, both traits of which she demonstrated little in her political life.

In terms of honesty, can we expect her to advise her adoring public why she misled Parliament and her take on the raft of failures across all aspects of domestic policy in Scotland? In terms of wit, I will not wait with bated breath.

Further, it will be almost as interesting to count how many times “me” and “I” appear in the book. I have little doubt that it will cast blame on many others, contain nasty and personal attacks and endeavour to whitewash her toxic legacy. If her behaviours and failures were not so serious she may consider titling the book title A Comedy of Errors.

Richard Allison, Edinburgh

Fair’s fair

The Scotsman editorial (10 August) was unduly harsh on the record of Nicola Sturgeon. After listing several of the most notable of her myriad failures it stated that Ms Sturgeon “has very little to be proud of”. What about the baby box?

Colin Hamilton, Edinburgh

Proud record

All retired politicians will have regrets and made several mistakes, but Nicola Sturgeon did more for women, children and the poorest in society than any of her predecessors thus making Scotland a much fairer place in which to live whilst operating within a finite budget under Tory austerity cuts, UK inflation and a damaging Brexit (Scotsman, 10 August).

She established a new social security system with 13 new benefits, with seven unique to Scotland, including the Scottish Child Payment which is the most ambitious anti-poverty measure anywhere in the UK.

Free childcare was expanded, available to all three- and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds, thus saving families around £5,000 per child per year. The Carer’s Allowance Supplement, giving 84,000 carers in Scotland the most generous support in the UK. The Young Carer Grant, the first benefit of its kind in the UK, supporting eligible young carers with a payment of more than £300. Fully mitigating the callous Tory bedroom tax, helping over 91,000 households sustain their tenancies, and mitigating the benefit cap for families.

Scotland has the best performing NHS in the UK with more doctors, dentists, nurses and hospital beds per head. The educational attainment gap has narrowed to 16 per cent compared to the pre-Covid level of 16.9 per cent in 2019 and last year 95.7 per cent of all school levers went on to positive destinations.

It is hardly Nicola Sturgeon’s fault that, having secured a pro-independence majority at Holyrood, the UK Government refuses to give Scotland’s voters the right to choose their constitutional future. Nicola Sturgeon has much to be proud of and little to apologise for.

Mary Thomas, Edinburgh

Slim volume

I see Nicola Sturgeon is to publish a memoir. Judging by her endless "I can’t recall”, “I don’t remember”, “it’s difficult to state with certainty” etc responses at Holyrood committee inquiries, it’s going to be an awfully slim volume.

Martin Redfern, Melrose, Scottish Borders

Skilful Salmond

Scottish nationalists must rue the day Alex Salmond resigned. He’d have waltzed past Nicola Sturgeon’s GRR, deposit return scheme and ferries banana skins.

Someone with the same strict, thorough schooling and teachers as I had in Linlithgow wouldn’t allow our education system to tank, he’d have taken a harder-nosed, realistic view of net zero, especially on the oil and gas industry and ludicrous plans to force heat pumps upon us, and I bet, as in his most successful 2007-11 term, he'd have formed a minority government, wheeling and dealing with the Conservatives rather than selling out to the Greens.

He might then have been in a better position to push for another referendum. Assuming his flawed 2014 prospectus could be repaired.

Allan Sutherland, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire

Stopped clock

At his Edinburgh Fringe show, the leader of the Alba Party called Patrick Harvie, co-leader of the Green Party that keeps the SNP in office, "a total idiot”.

For the first time, ever, I find myself in complete agreement with Alex Salmond. Of course even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

Alexander McKay, Edinburgh

Civilisation at stake

Clearly William Loneskie (Letters, 9 August) does not understand the significance of a 1C rise in the average global temperature since 1990.

The global temperature has remained constant for thousands of years, varying only slightly due to changes in the Earth’s orbit. However, the burning of fossil fuels that has given us the things we now value in modern civilisation has added so much greenhouse gas to the atmosphere that the global temperature is rising. Worse, it will go on rising unless drastic action is taken.

If average global temperatures reach 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, we can expect the Arctic Ocean to have one ice-free summer every 100 years. But if warming rises to 2C, ice-free summers in the Arctic could happen every ten years.

Already the effects of this slight warming (heat waves, flooding, wild fires, etc) are showing themselves. This is not alarmism; it’s plain facts. Civilisation is at stake.

Steuart Campbell, Edinburgh

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