ON November 29, 2013 a helicopter, for some reason, malfunctioned and landed on the roof of a bar in Glasgow ("Helicopter 's final moments 'like a swooshing sound as it fell from the sky'", The Herald, April 9).
This, of course, was not only entirely unexpected and concerning, but also devastating for the families and friends of the 10 people who lost their lives as a result. In addition, 31 customers of the bar on the night were injured.
On April 8, 2019 a fatal accident inquiry opened at Hampden Park. It is expected to involve some three months of evidence over six calendar months. Following that, it will take time to assess the evidence given at the inquiry and for findings to be published.
Why have families and friends of those killed and the many injured had to wait five and a half years for such an inquiry to commence? Surely the responsible authorities should be considering what measures they can take to improve their performance with regard to timescales in relation to such matters?
Ian W Thomson,
38 Kirkintilloch Road, Lenzie.
Can we quantify deforestation effect?
THANK you for publishing Alan Ritchie's very informative letter (April 8) that went a considerable way to answer questions that I raised (Letters, April 3) regarding the contribution of volcanic eruptions to CO2 volumes.
Perhaps Mr Ritchie or another informed reader can answer another question that comes up from time to time, but again I have never, that I can recall, seen any quantitative values that would add to our understanding of how nature is being altered by humanity's actions. The question is: given the amount of tropical deforestation that has been carried out, has there been an evaluation of the reduction in CO2 absorption by what are in effect the lungs of the planet? Does the replanting of other species to replace the lost trees, for example palm oil trees, redress the balance in any way?
We hear a lot about the value of peat and the work that is going on in remaking wetlands that will generate peat in the former coal fields of Ayrshire amongst other places. But surely this is only a pinprick compared with the rain forest depletion? But on the basis that every little helps, it is work that must carry on wherever it can.
I look forward to any information on my main question being published by The Herald.
Ian Gray,
Low Cottage, Croftamie.
I READ this morning’s main headline ("Scotland's homes are no match for deadly heatwaves", The Herald, April 9) glad I had been assured that "the moon by night thee shall not smite, nor yet the sun by day" (Psalm 121:6) and relieved that I shall not live to see 2050.
John McKie.
Congregational Hall,
Corrie, Isle of Arran.
Giving some grammatical advice
JOHN Macleod (Letters, April 6) claims to have been “taught the correct use of the gerund”, but what he fails to see in Thelma Edwards’s letter of April 1 is that the word “giving” in the phrase he quotes, “there you hear him giving.....”, is not a gerundival noun, but the participle of a verb. Gerundival use would be something like “his giving of a nine-minute talk on grammar was masterful”.
Ian Boyes,
5 Laurelhill Place, Stirling.
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