I REMEMBER the old 'squatters' camp at Carmunnock (Memories, November 9).

I was about 16 when the photo was taken in 1956.

My mate and I came from Busby and we had girlfriends who lived in the camp

It was an old German PoW camp. The Germans used to make trinkets to swap with locals for cigarettes and things.

We had to walk through some woods to get to the camp and, when we left our girlfriends, we had to walk home through the woods in the dark.

We were scared to death – but it was worth it for us 16-year-olds.

Name and address supplied

I have some questions for the reader getting all sanctimonious over boisterous dogs needing licences (November 9).

Do dogs smash bus shelters?

Do they carpet public parks with litter during school holidays?

Do they scrawl their illiterate ramblings on any available wall?

No, these apparently recreational acts are mostly perpetrated by kids of a certain age, who lack any obvious talent apart from the ability to smash bottles in swing parks, while making chimp noises.

Why not make their parents apply for a licence before they inflict any more of their feckless offspring on us?

My kids are grown, and my dog has brought more joy to our lives than I could have imagined ... lay off the dogs, they, unlike some adolescent humans, are not inherently aggressive or destructive.

A Lanigan Bishopbriggs

AS MUCH as I'd love to see a high-speed rail link to Edinburgh (November 12), considering the current operator can't even supply enough carriages to meet present passenger demand, I won't hold my breath.

Scotland's railways, particularly the long-distance routes, are a disgrace, with some of the worst rolling stock in Europe.

The old British Rail was bad, but the private firms are worse.

Francis McNair Via e-mail