I RETURNED to visit Glasgow, my native city, recently after a very long absence.
I RETURNED to visit Glasgow, my native city, recently after a very long absence.
I found much to admire and applaud - the cleaning of the noble buildings, the redevelopment along the riverfront and former shipbuilding areas - but it seemed to me that in general these had been put in place to bolster Glasgow's reputation in the eyes of the world and to improve tourism.
So what about improvements affecting the everyday lives of Glaswegians? I found a dirty city with litter and cigarette ends everywhere; in side streets, crumbling and dangerous paving on footpaths which were often blocked by large, smelly rubbish bins. And what has been done to George Square?
For more decades than I care to remember, my annual Scottish calendar had one month devoted to a photo of George Square with its wonderful colourful flower beds - no wonder that the disgraceful desert it has become no longer features in calendars.
Glaswegians, where's your civic pride? Why have you allowed the city fathers to neglect those matters which are crucial to making the centre of any large city resident - and user - friendly?
SHEENA D, Via e-mail
Day of shame in city
I AM very saddened that on Saturday a small element tried to disrupt the Armed Forces Day celebrations in George Square; these people have brought nothing but shame on Glasgow.
We were there to thank our troops for past and present duties which have seen many loses. There is not a family in Scotland which has at some point not mourned loved ones killed in action around the world in the defence of freedom and liberty.
The people of this small group of protesters should hang there heads in shame as the day got headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Glasgow is to host the Commonwealth Games in 2014. Does this group want to protest at this too and bring more shame on a city that is trying to clean itself up for a world showcase?
SANDY, Glasgow
Darn noise a nuisance
I HAVE lived in the Glen Clunie flats in Darnley, Glasgow, for over three years and it's the noisiest place I've ever lived.
Dogs bark 24-hours-a-day, you can usually hear a chorus of car alarms that ring out for hours on end, failing that you're sure to have an idiot neighbour who plays happy hardcore music or have your eardrums blasted by the ever-present ice-cream van.
My bloodshot eyes and I are currently enjoying the delightful melody of an extension being built.
Work nights? Living in Darnley will seriously hinder catching up on that lost sleep.
Darnley: sponsored by Earplugs.
ALISON, Via e-mail
Seaside gem shines
DOWN in Largs at the weekend I was delighted to find that Nardini's has been refurbished and is back in business.
Sitting on the front terrace on Sunday, in glorious sunshine and surrounded by cheery Amercian, Polish, English and Scottish voices, brought a smile on my face.
It really is one of the jewels in the Clyde Coast crown and the ice cream is no bad either.
DOUGLAS HUNTER, Paisley
Sir Jackie has drive
LOVELY to see Sir Jackie Stewart back on his home turf in Dumbarton (It's back to school for Freeman Sir Jackie Stewart, June 27).
Apart from being a three-time F1 world champion, he is a tireless supporter of dyslexia charities, an inspiring speaker and a brilliant ambassador for Scotland.
KEN STRUTHERS, Glasgow
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HOT TOPIC: Big bonuses - for a second-class service
AM I the only person left in Britain who has to survive on their pay packet without any bonuses or expenses?
First it was the City boys, who apparently won't even switch on their computers without first getting a 'golden hello'. Now it's the politicians, BBC bosses and jobsworths at Network Rail.
Is it any wonder most of the services in this country are going to the dogs when the folk in charge refuse to do their jobs unless they are promised a bung on top of their already generous salaries?
We're paying twice for a second-class service.
ALEX RENNIE, Via e-mail
Put them on track
AS a regular business user of the West Coast rail line, I think the Network Rail bosses must be living on a different planet if they think they deserve performance' bonuses.
Rather than sitting in their cushy offices counting their cash, they should be handed hi-vis jackets and hard hats and put to work fixing the problems on the line. Or don't they like to get their hands dirty?
CLAUDIA WALLACE, Posted online
Jobs for the boys
WHERE do you apply for one of these jobs that promises a big bonus? If they are open to all I find it strange that I've never see them advertised in the Evening Times. Or is it the case, like politics, that this is a jobs-for-the-boys merry-go-round with the same faces jumping from company to company on a nod and a wink and picking up a bonus every time they pass Go?
It certainly seems that way.
MURDO, Posted online
Money misspent
DISHING out big bonuses to staff make them happy, but it's no way to run a railway. This money should have been redirected to compensate passengers or used to bring the West Coast line up to date, not dished out to already wealthy directors. It's a disgrace.
WATTIE, Posted online
Hit-and-miss affair
IF Network Rail is such a success that it can hand out bonuses to all its 35,000 staff, how come rail travel in this country is still such a hit-and-miss affair?
Surely, if the company is so successful we should all be arriving at our destinations on time on state-of-the-art, high-speed trains?
Well, we're not and we aren't, so why are they splashing the cash?
