DOUG Maughan (Letters, February 14) is spot on with his observations on the misuse of language; one of your correspondents had desribed the temporary closure of the Queensferry Crossing as "a catastrophe" Hyperbole and exaggeration abound in all areas of the reporting media. We are fortunate to enjoy a relatively cosseted lifestyle only occasionally interrupted by seasonal weather. The frustrations of cancelled flights, train and bus services reportedly become a major crisis in the lives of some.

As Mr Maughan highlights, real-life crisis lies in the war-ravaged areas of the Middle East. To that end people should modify their expressions of loss and inconvenience which become trivial in the world's prevailing disasters.

Allan C Steele, Giffnock.