ROBERT Menzies (Letters, September 18) finds it “appalling” that that people want to blame the Health Secretary for the problems at the Queen Elizabeth and Sick Kids hospitals. Leaving aside the question “who else is responsible?”, I listened to Ms Freeman's statement in Holyrood last week and she very loudly and clearly blamed the health board.

Does Mr Menzies find the Health Secretary's own blame-placing “appalling”, or is his distress at criticism reserved solely for the defence of politicians of a particular persuasion?

Alex Gallagher, Labour councillor, Largs.

The abuse of great music

IT is not only the excessive decibels of “background” music which offend many of us.

In all three episodes of Rise of the Nazis just shown on BBC2, extracts from Mozart’s Requiem and Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata were used throughout, plus odd snatches of Wagner, a Viennese waltz, an operatic aria and piano music – all quite unnecessarily and to accompany scenes of storm troopers marching with fire torches, Hitler saluting them from a balcony, the Reichstag fire and its suspension, the book-burning obscenity and the murderous Night of the Long Knives.

Quite apart from the other nondescript banging of drums and cacophonous noises, does BBC Music approve of such prostitution of Europe’s greatest music?

John Birkett, St Andrews.

Marriage lines

I NOTICED your headline “Rowing is the secret to a happy marriage" (The Herald, September 18) so I’m just going out to buy myself a boat.

Michael Watson, Glasgow G73.