IT is disappointing and puzzling to some of us who were involved in conveyancing 20 or more years ago that the seriousness of the White's chemical company trail of pollution is only now being recognised, and puzzling also that developers and planners claim to have been unaware of the problem ("Toxic land: Immediate and long-term public health risk", The Herald, March 19).

Early attempts (notably by Alasdair Sampson) to alert practitioners to a general need for environmental assessment were largely disregarded by all potentially involved (and I include the Law Society of Scotland) although information, albeit less detailed than can now be found, was available. Even so, I recall that random dumping by White's was a hazard known to any who took enough interest, the problem being that no-one knew for sure where they had dumped.

Brian Chrystal,

55 Craiglockhart Road, Edinburgh.

TO highlight the pollution threat in Polmadie, you have a fine front-page picture of the Polmadie site set against the backdrop of the more environmentally-friendly Dumgoyne in the Strathblane hills. This has historical resonance. In 1241 Alexander III King of Scots made the Kirklands, terra stratblathy, a pertinent of the Church of Strathblane, which was then part of the Hospital of Polmadie. The connection ended with the Reformation. Later Polmadie would become a major player in the industrial economy whereas terra strathblathy despite a brief period associated with printing and consequential contamination, survived relatively unscathed from pollution.

RF Gibson,

2 Southview Drive, Blanefield.

When life imitates art

I AM not sure why Gerry Docherty (Letters, March) assumes there is a “cover-up” about John Buchan’s career. Presumably these details are contained in Ursula Buchan’s biography.

Buchan is often accused of writing which “couldn’t possibly be true” but I commend to you his account of one of his Gorbals Diehards scoring a winning try for Scotland (Castle Gay).

This account came vividly to mind watching Saturday’s Calcutta Cup match. It couldn’t possibly be true that Scotland could make such a comeback from 31-0, but they did, they really did.

Margaret Bell

West Lane, Paisley.

Architect's damp discourse

R RUSSELL Smith (Letters, March 19) implies that Hill House does not qualify as an architectural masterpiece because it needs help to combat the effect of exposure to 115 years of West of Scotland weather.

A quote from Frank Loyd Wright comes to mind. A client of his complained that his house was leaking, to which Wright replied: "That is your fault for keeping a work of art out in the rain."

J Proctor,

19 Balgonie Avenue, Paisley.

Live and kicking

AFTER reading that anyone can call themselves an electrician in Scotland ("Call for rules to be tightened on electricians", The Herald, March 19), I decided to call myself an electrician and carry out a minor wiring job. Unfortunately, I came into contact with a live wire I did not know about. That said, the live wire was left by an electrician.

Scott Simpson,

Novar Drive, Glasgow.