ON pondering the results of the recent European parliamentary elections, the political trajectory appears to be a Hard Brexit England, an independent Scotland and a united Ireland, both as EU members. Assuming this comes to pass, the opportunity arises for Scotland to act as a land
bridge between Ireland and Northern Europe once the proposed cruise and ferry port at Cockenzie/Preston Links is operational.
With a daily ferry link between Cockenzie and say Ijmuiden in the Netherlands, an “all-EU” route would be available to Ireland via Scotland without the need for customs checks as would be necessary if Irish freight and personal traffic transited Brexit England. The benefit to the Scottish economy could be considerable.
Roy Pedersen,
Many links with Jamaica
THE size of the record 18,555 crowd at Hampden Park for Scotland v Jamaica last night may have surprised many ("Kerr can't believe the crowd at Hampden, Herald Sport, May 29), but it is very likely that the unique relationship between Scotland and Jamaica pulled in many extra fans.
Many Jamaicans have Scottish ancestry and the Jamaican team included such names as Campbell, McClure, Patterson, Cameron and McCoy. There is a higher proportion of Scottish surnames in Jamaica than in New Zealand or Canada. You will also find places like Elgin, Kilmarnock, Culloden, Glasgow as well as Hampden itself in Jamaica.
We share too the saltire in our flags, because a Scotsman, William McGhie, who was born and brought up in Shettleston, had an important part to play in the design of the Jamaican flag. At the time of Jamaican independence in 1962, McGhie was a Presbyterian minister in Jamaica and had become a friend of the Jamaican Prime Minister Alexander Bustamante. It was after a conversation with Bustamante about the flag, that McGhie sketched out the design for the Jamaican flag.
For more on this and other Scottish/Jamaican connections and to further the links, contact Flag Up Scotland Jamaica via its website, flagupscotjam.uk
David Pott, Founder, Flag Up Scotland Jamaica,
Bishop Auckland.
Moths that leave me cold
AS always, I enjoyed Thelma Edwards’ contribution (Letters, May 29), and while like many I share her liking for butterflies, I remain under-enthused by moths.
I can tolerate the wee squashy woollen-greedy ones, but the big hairy ones which bang against the lightbulb to unman and distract me from my bedtime reading are another story.
To complement Mrs Edwards short poem by Vladimir Nabokov I offer The Firefly by American versifier Ogden Nash (1902 - 1971):
“The firefly’s flame
Is something for which science has no name.
I can think of nothing eerier
Than flying around with an unidentified glow on a person’s posteerier.”
R Russell Smith, Kilbirnie.
No, I won’t see you later
WHY is it that everywhere we go now we are constantly told by complete strangers: "See you later"?
They are not going to see you later as you are buying a newspaper or a cup of coffee in a town hundreds of miles away from where you live or whatever. Nonetheless, it has become the stock response to the termination of a purchase or human interaction and it is so futile.
Dare I say it, the American response of "have a nice day" at least has some meaning to it.
Alex Dickson,
Lochinver.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
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That is invaluable.
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