Helensburgh Advertiser readers' letters: August 22, 2019

To have your say on any topic of local interest, just email your views to editorial@helensburghadvertiser.co.uk with 'Letter' in the subject line, or get in touch via the

section of this website.

Please remember to include your name and address, and to keep your contributions as brief and to-the-point as you can.

We also require a daytime contact telephone number in case we need to check any details at short notice, though this will not be published. Happy writing!

* * * * * * * * * * *

I HAVE read many comments about the proposed new care home behind Prince Albert Terrace.

As a resident of said Terrace, and having an elderly and infirm mother who lives in the town, I was horrified to read the latest comments on the proposal, as reported in the Advertiser on August 15.

These people who are suggesting building such a facility on the outskirts of the town should look 30 or 40 years into the future and consider how they would feel being isolated out there.

Care homes, sheltered housing etc need to be centrally located so that residents who are able to go out or get out with assistance can easily access amenities.

Previously, when the Cala homes in Victoria Crescent were built, no consideration was given to their appearance, in a conservation area, or to the fact that one of the properties looks directly into our homes.

My personal opinion is that what was once a town park is now a disgrace.

I don’t want allotments next to my home. An abundance of greenery was unnecessarily removed, and the only good thing now in the park is a very much needed children’s play area, and the fact that the area around the cenotaph has been repaired and cleaned up.

Ewan MacRae, Prince Albert Terrace, Helensburgh

* * * * * * * * * * *

* * * * * * * * * * *

I NOTE that Argyll and Bute Council’s leisure and libraries trust, ‘Live Argyll’, has sneaked-in further cuts to the library service in Helensburgh.

No longer is it open on a Monday evening or Saturday afternoon, meaning that people who are at work have only got a couple of hours a week when they can get a book out for them or take their children to this important asset.

Let me be clear: the staff at the library are excellent, but it is a pity that the council’s trust is erecting, rather than removing, obstacles for those in Helensburgh and the surrounding area to access the service.

Michael MacNeil, Garelochhead

* * * * * * * * * * *

* * * * * * * * * * *

I AM writing to thank the people of Helensburgh and Lomond very much for all their support for the annual Stand Up To Cancer Family Festival.

Despite being once again let down by the weather, we raised a fantastic £5691 on Sunday, with around 650 people attending.

We received an enormous amount of compliments from everyone and the support was fantastic.

One of the animal outdoor activities had to be cancelled, due to howling wind and rain, but everything else went ahead, moving our venue to Hermitage Academy was definitely a good move !

We added new acts this year including the amazing Urbaniks Street Skool of Dance, Matinee at The Musicals 2, magician Leigh Milne, a fire engine, and a child’s roundabout from Taylor’s Pleasure Fairs.

They were all a huge hit with the crowds, as was our juggler, Fuzzy, our live band, Hot Ratz, and the Join the Dots mask making.

The children had a whale of a time and the stalls were packed out with people – both school car parks plus the playground were overflowing with cars!

The Hermitage Academy PTA raised £275 from beverage sales, and our barbecue and cake stalls were kept very busy.

Any remaining food at the end of the day was donated to the Helensburgh and Lomond Foodbank.

We would like to thank our Festival sponsors – Helensburgh and District Roundtable, Douglas Taylor of Bruichladdich Distillery, Helensburgh Lions Club, NAR Plumbing, Hart Insurance, Tunnock’s, and Ridings Sawmills.

Our barbecue was donated by Callaghan’s and Ann Davidson butcher, and cooked by the Wee Kelpie team.

We had a fantastic time and are delighted to have raised so much money in one day for life saving research. We are grateful to everyone who attended and took part.

Stand Up To Cancer raises money for translational research, which turns clinical trials into treatments for cancer patients. One of those trials is being conducted at the Beatson Cancer Institute in Glasgow.

We now look forward to our sold-out SU2C Grease and Dirty Dancing Ladies’ Night at the Commodore on Saturday, September 14. Though there are no tickets left, any donations of raffle or tombola prizes are always appreciated. Thank you.

To keep up to date with us, please like us on Facebook –

– and follow us on Twitter

.

Alison Sturgeon (deputy manager, Cancer Research UK Helensburgh store)

* * * * * * * * * * *

* * * * * * * * * * *

While digging out my morning coat to attend a recent wedding, I found in the pocket a 2014 Better Together miniature leaflet. I thought the content was highly relevant to today’s Brexit situation.

Firstly, we have a successful Scottish Parliament within the UK, which is the world’s sixth largest economy.

Being part of the EU, we receive strength, positive working opportunities and shared friendships throughout 28 countries.

Our joint influence and impact is substantial. As part of the UK we are on the United Nations Security Council and we have 270 embassies and consulates around the world. We are one of the big nations setting the agenda in the EU (or at least were and could be again).

The UK has been voted the most culturally influential nation on earth – with places like Cove Park being to the fore.

Scottish universities benefit enormously from their extensive collaboration with European and UK scientists, academics and inventors, and receive considerable investment and research funding from these associates.

It’s a joy to feel the warmth, understanding and united friendship when we holiday in Europe and welcome visitors and tourists to Scotland. Perhaps this oneness is most practically displayed by the European Health Insurance Card which provides us the opportunity to receive medical facilities as fellow Europeans.

The wedding I attended was between two gentlemen, one from the Netherlands and the other a Scot. My morning coat was a bit out of place given the amount of tartan and European fashion!

However, the ‘tying the knot’ with a Scottish shawl and a hand embroidered European wrap symbolised for me the love and joy of being in Scotland, in the UK and in the EU.

Finlay Craig, Cove

* * * * * * * * * * *

* * * * * * * * * * *

It was Ruth Davidson, the Scots Tory leader, who made the comment, referring to Brexit: “We are sick of divisive politics.”

In my opinion, Ruth and her fellow politicians who do not accept the referendum result are to blame. If they had kept quiet, the EU would have to put up a case for wanting us to stay.

But sadly they didn’t, and the Remainers effectively did the negotiations for them, as almost all the media was pro-Remain.

Now the priority for all Remainers is to block a ‘no deal Brexit’ which they claim would be to avert a catastrophe.

But hold on, do we spend more on the EU than they do on us? If so, is it not also in their interest to prevent such an outcome?

Sadly this point doesn’t seem to be getting debated!

John Connor, Dunfermline

* * * * * * * * * * *

* * * * * * * * * * *

There are currently 451 people in need of a kidney transplant in Scotland whose diet will be restricted due to kidney disease.

It is likely that they will be on fluid restrictions of around just 500ml of liquid a day (including liquid found in foods like sauces and ice cream).

That’s roughly the equivalent of only being able to have a small cup of tea and one can of soft drink for the whole day.

In addition, they are likely to have to limit the potassium and phosphate in their diet which means missing out on enjoying foods like chocolate, bananas and tomatoes.

Sadly a lot of the advice given to patients focuses on the foods to avoid, but we want to make the kidney diet about all the things kidney patients can eat, and to bring enjoyment back into food.

That’s why we’ve launched the Kidney Kitchen.

Research shows that only half of the general public in the Scotland are aware that kidney disease can restrict your diet, and just 45 per cent are aware that having kidney disease can restrict the amount of liquid you can consume every day.

We hope that the Kidney Kitchen will help raise awareness amongst your readers so that everyone living with kidney disease in Scotland can enjoy healthy and delicious food with their family and friends.

All of the recipes have been developed with the support of renal dieticians and each recipe comes with facts to help those cooking and/or eating the food how the recipes fit into their diet.

If you are, or if you know, a kidney patient, make sure you check out www.kidneykitchen.org.

Ewan Maclean (advocacy officer for Scotland with Kidney Care UK)