In February The Herald published my letter calling for the Glasgow School of Art (GSA) to relinquish control of the Mackintosh reinstatement.
I argued that they had been provided with the replacement capacity for their core business as an Arts School, and could not reasonably undertake the huge heritage project now embarrassing the Scottish nation, our Notre-Dame (“Mackintosh Building can never be exact replica of original, GSA chair says”, The Herald, July 22).
To no one’s surprise the commercial insurance arrangements GSA put in place will only meet stabilisation, allowing us all to see the ruined shell.
To add insult to injury, GSA now assure us that their internal project team will work assiduously to build a case for a heritage anchor for a new ‘Creative and Cultural Production Innovation District’ in Glasgow.
Eight years after the disastrous second fire, GSA pleads that the reinstatement cost is five times their annual turnover.
Their stewardship failed the Mackintosh legacy and they must be relieved of this reinstatement project. The First Minister, the City of Glasgow and the Scottish heritage bodies must agree an action plan now, not leave GSA trying to rebuild our Notre-Dame.
William Sang, Bridge of Allan.
More letters...
School day will need to change
Stressed students should be asking if university is the right place for them
Are 300 jobs really worth all the misery that has been heaped on our island communities?
Strength through adversity
I applaud Rebecca McCurdy for her insights on what it’s like to be absent from school for a long period, and more importantly, the reasons why (“Getting it right for every child? Not when over 12,000 are severely absent from school”, The Herald, July 22).
She has been the strong one; those who bullied her at school are the weak ones, who take comfort in numbers. I recall Ms McCurdy being equally honest, and sharing her life experiences, during the Herald's series on living in poverty.
Clearly she has faced problems to get to where she is today, and has shown that these can be overcome with determination.
As Herald readers, we should be grateful for her journalism and insights, which I'm guessing you won't find in many other dailies.
Willie Towers, Alford, Aberdeenshire.
Fire service failure
The SNP have reduced funding for the Scottish Fire service, despite global warming and fires increasingly breaking out in Scotland .
Since 2013 the SNP have reduced firefighters by 1250, and closed numerous fire stations, leaving many rural areas vulnerable.
We now face outbreaks of serious fires, and don’t have a service capable of containing them due to lack of manpower and modern equipment, such as dedicated helicopters.
Dennis Forbes Grattan, Aberdeen.
Mind your language
I am Scottish, born in Morayshire, where I learned how to speak clearly in our national language - English. I appreciate local dialects, especially Aberdeen Doric.
However, I am disgusted and disappointed when I hear native British people talking gibberish, based upon selfishness and laziness, in that they have made no attempt to learn how to speak properly, or establish a vocabulary and be understood.
While it may be amusing to listen to ‘Weegie Speak’ in Sauchiehall Street, it is a sad reflection of our younger generation.
The worst example of a person with minimal vocabulary was illustrated on a recent TV documentary about Barlinnie prison: "Ya know wit a mean, man."
Stewart MacPherson, Kilsyth.
Junior journalists
As I was taking a walk down memory lane, I began to wonder if any copies of the 1970s newspaper of Easterhouse’s St Leonard's Secondary School had survived.
The paper was named by a pupil ‘Punchline’.
Its intrepid reporters were sent out with a tape recorder, far and wide throughout Glasgow, to interview well known worthies.
Those notables included Bill Tennent, Jock Stein and Willie Waddell, as well as the governor of Barlinnie.
There were probably others who should be included on that list, but memories do fade.
Of course, the most notable interviewees were Stein and Waddell, whose comments on the way forward for improving Scottish football provided the paper with its only double-spread centre pages.
It would be interesting to know if any former pupil collected the issues of the paper, allowing then to survive as souvenirs.
And also to remind the owner of those copies that St Leonard's led the way in school journalism at that time.
I also wonder if any of the pupils, who acted as the school's intrepid reporters, have pleasant recollections of their expeditions beyond the school gates, to meet those whom they were sent to interview.
Denis Bruce, Bishopbriggs.
Golf and the meaning of life
I am in agreement with Bill Rutherford on his advice to golfer Robert MacIntyre (Letters, July 22). It reminded me of words attributed to another golfer - Bobby Jones.
He said: “Golf is the closest game to the game we call ‘life’. You get bad breaks from good shots, you get good breaks from bad shots, but you have to play the ball where it lies.”
Robert MacIntyre, take note!
Eric Macdonald, Paisley.
Crazy for cones
It's a shame we lost the United States of America as a colony in 1776.
Scotland conquered Boston, Massachusetts (and nothing else) in the World Cup.
So imagine an American Commonwealth Games team…
Its supporters would immerse themselves in Glasgow's vibrant cone culture.
A cone culture that currently decorates almost every city centre street, with the Duke of Wellington as its much revered centrepiece (Although the statue could be suitably ‘coned off’ for the Games.)
Open top bus tours of coned off areas would allow the US team to see over the hoardings and graffitied plywood, surrounding building sites that were once proud heritage displays.
Think of how much the city could have earned in merchandise sales of cone keyrings, cone "See you, Jimmy" hats and Dalek size-and-style cone outfits.
Like the alcohol-fuelled tourists returning by plane from Mexico, and trying to stuff oversize Sombreros into overhead lockers, those tired and emotional travellers returning via Glasgow Airport might find themselves pushing pristine cones into challenging, undersized spaces.
Those with the premium-priced cones - bent almost to right angles - with authentic bin lorry tyre marks adorning their surface, might stand a better chance.
But would Police Scotland - already overstretched by their security and peace-keeping duties - be ready to tackle any illicit trafficking?
For such an event, the public would be primed to ring 99.
Peter Wright, West Kilbride.
