NHS nurses, bird flu and Christmas past

Sir, –  GIVE the nurses a pay rise,

Before worse situations arise,

They really need a rise in pay,

They deserve it anyway.

They all work so hard for us,

Carry on without a fuss,

All through Covid too

They were there for me and you.

They’re not looking for a lot,

Just a bit more than what they’ve got.

The cost of living is sky high,

And that is exactly why

They need a pay rise. Without a doubt

We don’t want out nurses to walk out.

Dot niven, loch court, aberdeen.

Walking on eggshells to protect big business profits is not on

Sir, – I was in one of our major supermarkets this week and read a notice beside the eggs which “informed” customers that all UK hens are being housed indoors “to protect the health of the hens”.

Besides this, we have had the wholesale slaughter of flocks of hens around the country which has aggravated the shortages, so we are told.

However, the public are being misinformed about the situation.

Bird flu acts in exactly the same way as human influenza – it is the very young, the elderly and chronically ill which, regrettably, are at risk from the flu. If we are to apply the principle, we might well ask whether we should start culling large swathes of our healthy population because a small proportion of our local citizens have flu? The idea is preposterous – nonetheless, it is the logical conclusion. If you’ll excuse the saying – “what’s good for the goose, is good for the gander”.

In other words – we are experiencing the needless slaughter of perfectly healthy flocks of hens just because a small proportion of the flock has flu. Given that it is not deadly to the hen population generally, there is no need either for culling or enforced hen-house arrest (a dead-cert for ensuring the spread within a flock). The only reason for such measures is because of the effect on profits to big business, be that the supermarkets or mass egg producers, because it may cause a temporary slowing-down of egg production in affected hens.

I only have a peripheral involvement with the farming fraternity, but it is enough to know the present situation is being contrived. I am also aware those who are fully and directly involved with the agricultural scene as a way of life have stated the unnecessary nature of the present measures being enforced.

It is time to cease with the circus.

Stuart McKay, Cairnwell Drive, Aberdeen.

Unionists losing the case for no IndyRef2

Sir, – A plethora of unionist-supporting letters have appeared on these pages since the Supreme Court ruling, which was foreseeable.

There is one very basic flaw in their arguments against the Scottish Government and SNP and that is they were put in place by the electorate of Scotland. The vast majority of unionist MSPs are, in fact, list MSPs – second-raters, if you like. At the last election, they even lost a seat.

They appear to be losing the independence argument, not winning.

Ron Campbell. Richmond Walk, Aberdeen.

Hospital Gaelic isn’t what doctor ordered

Sir, – I’ve just been reading your piece about NHS Highland wanting to push Gaelic in the hospital setting. Heavens, it seems they’re even wanting their own Gaelic logo (Press and Journal, November 24).

It’s small wonder hospital staff have ridiculed the idea, declaring it a waste of money when everyone who speaks Gaelic also speaks English.

And as for NHS Highland’s view that the Gaelic language has more therapeutic value than English when patients are feeling vulnerable, give me strength – what will they come up with next?

All this nonsense originated from the Scottish Government, but since we don’t find any intelligent thinking in that quarter it seems to me health board chairman Professor Boyd Robertson would be well advised to listen to the guys and girls on his own shop floor.

They’re the hands-on bods and they know what they’re talking about.

Keith Fernie. Drakies Avenue, Inverness.

‘Hair-shirt’ policies could ruin the UK

Sir, – When I read that the UK authorities are allocating many billions for closing down and clearing up our North Sea assets, something snapped.

A nation’s riches allow essential expenditures for a vast multitude of vital benefits, including what can profitably and safely be recovered from the ground, sea and seabed.

From recent news it is obvious that we cannot trust the supply of adequate petroleum products from foreign sources. Nor can the people of Europe, as most clearly exemplified by Germany, whose industries are now severely handicapped by a worsening lack of energy.

In planning policies, consideration of a wins-and-losses sum is logical and vital.

Just what does our nation and planet Earth gain from hair-shirt decarbonisation policies, perhaps economically disastrous?

The answer is nothing.

The dangers from rising carbon dioxide (CO2) levels lack convincing proof, as does any influence on the world’s climate from decarbonisation.

Our climate sacrifices are, in practical terms, purposeless and self-defeating.

Climate activists, afflicted and motivated by their hypertrophied consciences, really have nothing useful to give to their more balanced compatriots.

Indeed, to paraphrase a Winston Churchill speech in the last world war’s darkest days, they have nothing to offer us but illogical, irrational fears, vast, futile costs and, in the long term, a potential for ruin.

Yet the UK’s governments are, incomprehensibly, oblivious to practical climate realities.

In reality, we are simply daft to dispense with our petroleum which offers us vital benefits, and all without tears.

Charles Wardrop, Viewlands West, Perth.

No apology from Tories or Labour

Sir, – As both an independence voter of 2014 and a federalist who drives about in a bright orange 3.5-tonne van delivering groceries which matches my politics, I simply have to ask: when do the Conservative and Unionist and Labour parties take their share of the blame for fanning the flames of Scottish independence?

It was not me who got the Labour Party to join the Conservatives in running Aberdeen City Council in 2017 or going from 41 MPs in 2014 to one in 2015.

It certainly was not me that had a Brexit referendum in 2016 and then resigned as prime minister, nor for Boris Johnston or indeed Liz Truss as Conservative Party leaders and prime ministers?

So, any chance we will be hearing a sorry from either party for the mess the country is in? I doubt it.

Peter Ovenstone. Orchard Grove, Peterhead.

Lessons in law for top legal minds?

Sir, – I am not sure about Herbert Petrie’s legal qualifications but, following upon his most recent letter, he should clearly be appointed directly to the Supreme Court. According to him, the existing judges, despite their years of experience at the highest level, have wrongly applied the law in their recent decision.

Mr Petrie could inform them in his view, “Westminster is not sovereign in Scotland”. This will no doubt come as a shock to them but I am sure that they will be grateful once they have seen the error of their ways.

David Burnside. Albert Terrace, Aberdeen.

Excellent health service praised

Sir, – Having completely lost sight in one of my eyes since 2007, I have suffered on several occasions with uveitis (inflammation), within my good eye, which is very painful.

On Friday November 25, I felt a flare-up happening within my good eye, and, as per protocol, contacted my local optician in Buckie at 1.04pm for advice.

The optician saw me at 2.30, examined my eye and contacted the local health centre within 20 minutes.

A prescription recommendation was emailed to my health centre and, by 4.30pm, I had relevant prescribed eye drops in my hand.

What an excellent service I had received.

I feel it is far too easy to criticise local health services, which are doing their best for the public in such demanding times.

I take my hat off to them.

John Mair. Craigview, Buckie.

Bleak days of a Christmas past

Sir, – When I was growing up in the late 1940s and the early 50s, my mother and father had nothing.

They had 10 children and my grandparents to feed. My four brothers were in one room in just one bed, and my three sisters were in the other room in one bed, my grandparents were in another bedroom. My parents slept in the living room on a bed settee.

My younger brother and sister and I slept in cabinet drawers in the living room.

Every day we got porridge in the morning, homemade soup in the afternoon and for our supper we got a slice of bread and a piece of cheese.

We never got out on a Sunday because our clothes had to be washed for school on Monday.

For Christmas, we all got a pencil which was cut in half and we had no fruit or sweets. Christmas dinner was just like the rest of the year.

We did not have blankets, we had old Army coats to keep us warm.

There was no heating in the rooms or bulbs, so we got dressed and undressed in the dark.

C. ASH.