UNTIL tonight (March 11), I was prepared to give the new BBC Scotland channel the benefit of the doubt. Not any more.

Amongst a slew of uninspired – and uninspiring – programming, I have just watched the most inane drivel on the channel yet: Up For It, whose premise is that three "wacky yoof comedians" get involved in "wacky yoof comedian" japes.

This, coupled with rubbish like Test Drive, does not instil much confidence in the Pacific Quay panjandrums' ability to produce quality programming. One can only surmise that such banalities came into being after an extremely long and enjoyable liquid lunch at The Rogano.

Robert Hughes,

Flat 5-17, 843 Crow Road, Glasgow.

Water shock

THE Scottish council tax bills for 2019/2020 have been issued and already people are complaining. However some fail to realise that part of the bill they pay is for water and sewerage, which the councils collect on behalf of Scottish Water.

In my case it is £641, which is 30 per cent of the council charge, a significant proportion. Scottish Water wanted to cancel the 25 per cent discount that single-occupancy houses attract but was refused. Why should one person in a house, who obviously uses less water, pay the same as two, three or four adults in a house?

Was this proposal to pay for salary increases for executives already on £120,000-plus salaries, gold-plated pensions and substantial bonuses?

Clark Cross,

138 Springfield Road,

Linlithgow.

Poor taste

THE release of the report into the destruction of the Glasgow School of Art building was, I have to say, unedifying ("Insular and self-important culture at art school must change – MSPs", The Herald, March 9).

Months of submissions, evidence sessions, reading and digesting produced a 76-page report into one of the biggest catastrophes to hit the city.

That the committee convener, Joan McAlpine, thought it appropriate to have a big publicity launch in the Willow Tearooms seemed purely self-serving to me. An assembled scandal-seeking press allowed the convener to sum up six months' work in a few soundbites. Regrettably, this was a disservice to the committee process, the Scottish Parliament and the report itself.

Stephen Henson,

16 Drumfearn Place, Glasgow.

Royal loon

I WONDER how many Forfar denizens choked on their bridies upon hearing the news that Prince Edward is now Earl of Forfar ("Prince made Earl of Forfar", The Herald March 11). Just like that, as they say.

I wonder whether or not he had ever heard of Forfar until recently. It is alright for some that their mother can pull titles from her lucky bag to celebrate a birthday of their children. No doubt Forfar will greet its new-found fame with a touch of Angus insouciance.

Ian W Thomson,

38 Kirkintilloch Road, Lenzie.

Repeat after me..

AT this moment in time, and that’s one for starters, David Miller (Letters, March 12) is to be congratulated for early spring-cleaning redundant words from common usage.

My own contribution would be “years of age” and “feet in height”. What else? Inside leg measurement?

R Russell Smith,

96 Milton Road, Kilbirnie.