It's easily seen that an election is on the horizon with First Minister John Swinney again proclaiming that the dualling of the A9 is a priority for his government ("John Swinney: Dualling A9 ‘remains a priority for this Government’", heraldscotland, February 9). How many times have we heard successive ministers saying that, yet the original 2025 completion date has been extended to 2035. Judging by the lamentable timescales involving the building of the Glen Sannox and the Glen Rosa this projected date will probably be extended ad infinitum.
Of course, driving errors can be blamed for many of the collisions resulting in injury and death but the contribution of the state of the road should not be understated, particularly egressing from junctions and crossing traffic. Local communities and visitors alike have been let down badly by the Scottish Government and money which could have been used to progress the project has been spent on other "priorities". Once the elections are over I would suspect that the dualling of the A9 will again be put into the slow lane.
Bob MacDougall, Kippen.
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Learn from the successes
Peter Wright (Letters, February 10), in his haste to criticise Eric Begbie’s comments (Letters, February 7) and embark on another anti-SNP rant, overlooked a pivotal point of Mr Begbie’s letter, as did David Bradshaw in his letter (also February 10). Politicians do not build ships. Certainly the Scottish Government should now have learned, as many governments around the world have painfully learned, that public projects involving world-leading technical advances should be avoided. At the same time, when one employs a reputable contractor one should expect that commitments made to budget and time will be professionally honoured.
In this instance it appears that the knowledgeable individual at the heart of winning the dual-fuel ferries contract, Jim McColl, did not stay around to steer it through to completion but jumped ship and headed to his comfortable abode in Monaco. This is not to absolve the Scottish Government of blame, as clearly mistakes were made around the time of the contract award and more mistakes have been made since in attempting to avoid public expenditure being totally wasted (like the billions of pounds incinerated by the UK Government in useless PPE procurement, a malfunctioning test/trace service and an HS2 unlikely to ever reach “The North”).
That said, if we wish to learn valid lessons for the future then all aspects of this sorry saga must be objectively considered against successes, such as the Queensferry Crossing, so that future Scottish governments, whichever political party or parties are in power, can fulfil public expectations in major procurements.
Stan Grodynski, Longniddry.
We need some joined-up thinking
As someone who lives in a rural area I can understand some of the issues facing the Highlands, but sometimes I'm baffled by the contradictory nature of some of the issues.
In your series "The New Highland Clearances – Revisited" (The Herald, this week) on one hand someone was blaming Keir Starmer for his immigration policy constraining the necessary workforce. Meanwhile another article is blaming lack of affordable housing. It really begs the question. if there isn't enough housing how can increased immigration be managed ?
Both points seem to entail a certain amount of political point-scoring from all sides but is it not about time our generally inept politicians were honest about complex situations and offered solutions which involve a level of joined-up thinking?
Ian McNair, Cellardykes.
Let Moore have his sword
We were interested to read about the current conservation work on the immensely important bronze statues made for George Square in Glasgow in Mark Smith’s recent article ("I went nose to nose with Walter 80ft up and discovered the fate of Glasgow’s statues", Herald Magazine, February 7).
The statue of Sir John Moore (1761-1809) by one of the most internationally significant sculptors of the early 19th century, John Flaxman (1755-1826), was erected in 1819. The statue originally held a sword, which went missing in the 1980s, and a fitting replacement has now been made. We wish to lend wholehearted support to this sword being placed on the sculpture.
Aesthetically the sculpture needs the sword; it adds a strong vertical thrust. Moreover, the sword was specifically included in the composition to indicate Sir John’s profession. He is not portrayed in overtly military dress, his cloak intentionally designed to cover it. Furthermore the committee supervising the work expressly instructed Flaxman not to use "trophies". The sword is therefore an essential element.
The sculpture was put up by public subscription to commemorate a man who was seen at the time as a gallant soldier in the Napoleonic Wars in which he was mortally wounded. Like the sculptors of the other fine statues in George Square, Flaxman was a leading practitioner, greatly revered in his own time and much admired today. This year is the bicentenary of this death. It will be a fitting memorial to him to see this work fully restored and on public view once more.
Joanna Barnes and Holly Trusted, Co-chairs, Public Statues and Sculpture Association, Duns Tew, Oxfordshire.
Let's hear it for dentists
I refer to the Which? report detailing that 13% of people would want to go to the dentist rather than spend an hour planning their retirement ("Trip to dentist ‘better than plan for retirement'", The Herald, February 9). That description does not present a particularly happy picture of dentists and their work. Dentists, I believe, deserve to be presented in a more complimentary mode, what with all the drilling, filling and extracting which they undertake on behalf of their patients. The profession has come a long way since the days of Ecclesiastes chapter 12 verse 3, "The grinders cease because because they are few" and, much later, the time when a number of people had all their teeth taken out as a means of sparing pain and avoiding dental costs in the future.
A major challenge today for many would be to find an NHS dentist today when you wish to avoid thinking about retirement plans.
Ian W Thomson, Lenzie.
Elementary?
I was overwhelmed by Gordon Fisher's paean to Elle Duffy's weekly column (Letters, February 10).
A pity, however, that Mr Fisher's concluding sentence was "I only have two words: thank you".
I have only two words for Mr Fisher: thank you.
David Miller, Milngavie.
• Thank you, Gordon Fisher. No one, except perhaps Elle herself, could have expressed more eloquently what I'm sure is the response of many.
Peter McKerrell, Kilmacolm.
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