I READ Alison Rowat's column concerning the present state of Glasgow ("Our poor, dear Glasgow is in a bad way. Who is to blame?" The Herald, July 26) and I wish to commend her on her detailed, intelligent, angry and total summation of the state of our Dear Green Place. This is writing of the highest standard.

I am a Glaswegian; from birth I lived in four houses in the southside, with my mum, dad and sister; I have lived in Muirend and in Govanhill with my partner. I was educated in Glasgow, I know Glasgow, I worked in Glasgow. I have always been involved in the world of theatre and music, both from an amateur point of view and professionally, and appeared in most of the Glasgow theatres during the years, made wonderful friends from all over the world – family, professional artists, writers, actors, singers – many of whom were guests in our house and who commented on the wonderful city which Glasgow was, and of course its friendly, helpful people.

I know it is easy to blame those in charge – in this case the SNP-led Glasgow City Council – for the demise of a once-wonderful city. But we must also remember it is us who live and work in and use a city's amenities; it is us (or at least some of us) who throw litter wherever and whenever, it is us who damage walls, windows, building, statues with paint, crayons, hammers, whatever. It is some of our Glasgow population who treat with utter contempt and disdain our fellow human beings – indeed our fellow Glaswegians – be it walking in the streets, sitting in parks, attending theatres or concert halls, in shops, wherever. Surely, the political parties should work together to bring Glasgow to what it once was; a thriving, lovely, busy and bustling city, where everyone, be they residents or visitors, respect each other, respect their city and respect themselves.

I sincerely hope that Ms Rowat's heartfelt article is read by many.

Walter Paul, Glasgow.

PROMPTED by Alison Rowat's welcome article today about the condition of Glasgow, can I make a few suggestions as follows: Glasgow Central Station is the arrival point for many visitors from overseas. There is no problem with the station concourse but, walking through the main gates, there is usually the unpleasant sight of greasy, stained pavements, overflowing bins and street beggars. Would it be asking too much for the area outside the station to be jet-washed early in the morning, as happens in many other cities, such as Paris?

The homeless people looking for money are clearly vulnerable. The vagrancy laws allow begging, unless aggression is used. Could there not be an exclusion zone banning begging from the Gordon Street area around the station? Or better still, refer all the homeless people to Housing First.

Floral displays and hanging baskets would be an inexpensive way to make some parts of the inner city more attractive. The flower beds directly across from the City Chambers are always lovely; thank you to the department who maintain this area.

The Tourist Information office is not so easy to find if you are new to the city. Any chance this could be relocated with more prominent signage?

Elizabeth Mueller, Glasgow.

Read more: Closure of Chardon d'Or a worrying sign of the times

Stop subsidising banks for the rich

I AM not really concerned about Nigel Farage, his banking and the exposure of details of this ("BBC says sorry to Farage for report on account", The Herald, July 26). My concern is that the taxpayer part-owns, therefore paid for and subsidised, a bank which offers preferential banking to the rich and super-rich excluding ordinary tax payers.

That our low-paid, struggling workers have their taxes spent in such a manner beggars belief. Am I the only person who feels the preferential banking, contracts and whatever else preferential needs exposed and reviewed in these times that taxpayers are experiencing along with the products invested in by paid taxes?

Morag Campbell, Milton of Campsie.

Heat pump cold selling

THIS week I received a letter promoting heat pumps from Scottish Gas. From the content, and since it is addressed to “the homeowner” and has my address on it, I assume it has been delivered to many houses in this area and beyond.

It begins: “Did you know that properties in your area are brilliantly insulated? That makes them perfect for heat pumps.” The wording is carefully chosen to avoid being an outright lie but to the general reader it clearly implies that their home will be “brilliantly insulated”. In fact, my house, like many in my road, is an incredibly cold house built of stone in the 1950s. However, some people might reasonably expect a company like Scottish Gas to actually be factual and they may proceed to get an expensive inefficient heat pump.

Heat pumps are not adequate heat sources unless the house has very good insulation. This seems to me like mis-selling and should be investigated.

Helen McDade, Pitlochry.

Blinking strange

CLARK Ross (Letters, July 24) suggests that some cyclists cannot afford a bell. I am wondering why so many car drivers cannot afford the electricity needed to power the indicators that are fitted to all vehicles.

Scott Simpson, Glasgow.

Unequivocal nonsense

I NOTE David Miller’s frustration at the use (or abuse) of English (Letters, July 26). I recently encountered an abstract for a book on Grenfell Tower which contained the following: "... the use of equivocal language in addition to 'stay put' leads to probabilistic eliminationism amongst the racialised working class in a tower block fire. What happened at Grenfell Tower was congruent with a political strategy of probabilistic eliminationism."

And there was me thinking it was just a really bad thermal incident.

Robert Menzies, Falkirk.

Feeding frenzy

I AM not surprised that Kerry Hudson waxed eloquently on the five excellent kitchens on the MS Bolette, owned and operated by Fred Olsen Cruise Lines ("Most beautiful holiday destination? Scotland cruises that contest", The Herald, July 26 ).

I've been on an Alaskan cruise and several Caribbean cruises, and each time I embarked as a passenger and came off as freight.

R Russell Smith, Largs.