DR RM Morris (Letters, January 9) criticises the contribution of Stuart Wilson ("(“Saint Greta and the cult of youth that abominates adulthood”, The Herald, January 7) as "bile"; however, he is guilty of the same towards those who voted to leave the EU, as he obviously disagrees with them.

Also, by putting herself in the public forum, Greta Thunberg – whom I applaud for her activism –can be legitimately criticised regarding her position on climate change, which seems to be rather naive in not recognising that we can only realistically address climate change with a gradual, joined-up global effort within the confines of currently working economies which can afford ground-breaking technology ( further than covering every nook and cranny of a country with wind, tidal and solar farms, although these technologies have their place within a mix of energy generation); thus, the contribution of Alex Dickson (Letters, January 9), suggesting that our current overseas aid of £14 billion might be better spent on carbon reduction projects in less developed countries which can rely heavily on more CO2-emitting fuels, is, I think, an example of looking to address climate change realistically, which Ms Thunberg would do well to take note of.

Philip Adams, Crosslee.

Gaughan’s genius

THE Wind That Shakes The Barley; Flooers O The Forest; just two of the very moving songs on the CD I bought one night in Portree, when Dick Gaughan came to sing for us at the Aros Centre. That is going back quite a bit so it was good to read about him ("Those were the days Dick Gaughan, 2000 and 2011", (The Herald, January 10).

He is a powerful presence with a voice that is both soft and tender, but so powerful it can shake mountains. I very often play the CD I bought that evening, and remember chatting to Mr Gaughan in the interval as one or two of us leaned against the outside wall of the hall for a breath of air. I felt very honoured to speak with him.

This CD called Prentice Piece has many very memorable songs on it, but the one that I play over and over is Robin Williamson's October Song. There cannot be another singer on this planet who can sing it like Dick Gaughan. Just his powerful voice and a soft keyboard drone is all it takes to give me goosebumps. He is indeed a marvellous singer, but all the more so for meaning the words that he sings.

Thelma Edwards, Kelso.

Police call

I NOTE with interest your report on Police Scotland finances ("Police chiefs ‘will need £50m extra to avoid cutting back 750 officers'",The Herald, January 10).

I look at all the police vehicles driving about (allegedly 3,750 of them) which have been wrapped with bilingual signage. I have no idea how much this cost, but worry that we may be reducing numbers of officers on the beat, just so that Gaelic speakers in Galashiels know that a car with “Police” on it is actually a “Poileas” car.

I welcome the protection of our Gaelic heritage, but in our household we have to make budgetary decisions for essentials, not the nice to have.

Douglas Hutchison, Kilcreggan.

Hunting not sport

ROBBIE Marsland's Agenda article ("It's time to ban fox hunting in Scotland, for good ", The Herald, January 9) may well occasion enraged comment from pro-hunt supporters. The scenario of a horse and rider in full flight under National Hunt rules on most of our resplendent Scottish race courses is a thrilling scenario. To witness similar horse and rider with attendant baying hounds chase and destroy an exhausted fox is not. There is a time and need for the swift humane destruction of a fox. This occurs when a farmer (or similar) is confronted with a decimated chicken run.

Organised sporting fox hunts sully the very name of sport. Their end objective can be equally achieved by a shotgun when needs must.

Allan C Steele, Giffnock.

Chipping in

I WOULD not wish to cast aspersions on the validity of Jemma Packington’s use of asparagus in foretelling the future ("Mystic tips off public on royals’ future", The Herald, January 10) but simply note that the humble spud ( Solanum Tuberosum is more widely available and makes better chips than highfalutin' asparagus.

My confident predictions for 2020 are that if Harry and Meghan extend their family there is a fifty-fifty chance that it will be a sister for Archie, she will not be called Kate or Pippa, and no one called Andy will win Wimbledon this year.

R Russell Smith, Kilbirnie.