This week's letters to the Advertiser include more of your views on the controversial plans to build houses in Portincaple, the latest closure of the A83, house prices, historical queries and more.
To add your views to the mix for next week, all you need to do is email your opinions to editorial@helensburghadvertiser.co.uk or get in touch via the Send Us Your News section of this site.
Please remember to include your name and address, and to try and keep your contributions as brief and to-the-point as you can.
We also require a daytime contact phone number in case we need to check any details at short notice, though this will not be published.
Happy writing!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I THINK as the current convener of the Garelochhead Community Council I should intervene in the ongoing debate on your Advertiser Comment page regarding Portincaple.
Both sides are of course entitled to their opinions, but we must remember that no-one can see into the future and see for certain to confirm how developments like this will affect an area.
This, I am sure, is one reason why local authorities have a process in place which allows all parties to contribute.
It’s on this basis, using the information Argyll and Bute Council’s website provides, that it must be pointed out that support for this application is extremely low – indeed around 0.2 per cent of public representations on the application.
Given the fact that it is as easy to support an application as it is to object, this clearly speaks volumes.
Regarding the Three Lochs Way, our community council has been looking at ways and routes to bring the way through Garelochhead, which would be of great benefit to both the hiker and the village.
We did propose a route a year or so ago, however the Helensburgh and District Access Trust had their concerns, which were understandable. But instead of things moving forward from there, they have stalled.
Being a hiker myself, I know what a welcome sight a village is, giving us access to food, accommodation and of course midge and blister cream.
Garelochhead can provide all of this and a fair bit more, so we would like to invite the Helensburgh and District Access Trust to re-engage or come along to one of our future meetings – when of course we can meet – with a view to making this happen, hopefully with the blessing of local people and businesses.
Watson Robinson (Convener, Garelochhead Community Council)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
READ MORE: Your letters to the Helensburgh Advertiser: July 30, 2020
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I JUST want to express my thanks to the Helensburgh Advertiser for the extensive coverage of local enterprises and volunteer bodies who have cared for every aspect of our lives during the lockdown.
You have expanded your range of coverage to include more information about all our needs, from TV programming to entertaining children; gardening for all; and where to find food outlets willing to deliver; community news and local history, all interesting facts to keep us informed.
Most people locally do not realise what a great asset the Advertiser is, as many other local papers across the United Kingdom have folded due to lack of advertising income and the spread of social media, but you have kept abreast of technology and catered for all of us.
So thank you very much and keep up the good work.
Margaret Horrell, Helensburgh
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
READ MORE: Readers' letters to the Advertiser: July 23, 2020
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
It is now two years since New Zealand's politicians passed a law to stop people buying a house in the country unless they were New Zealand residents.
They did this to prevent the house prices getting out of control and making it impossible for residents to buy a house.
It would be useful to see whether this law was a success, especially in current times of Covid and new technology which might cause a flight to a rural lifestyle from the more expensive inner cities.
R.L. Mackie, Helensburgh
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
READ MORE: Helensburgh Advertiser letters page: July 16, 2020
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I WONDER if any reader of the Advertiser might be able to help me with a historical enquiry.
A seafaring friend asked the other day about information on a ship that was scrapped by the Metal Industries Company at Faslane in 1966/67 – the RMS Queen of Bermuda.
My friend understands that some of the interior fittings and panelling from the ship’s lounges were purchased by a local hotel to install in their public rooms.
Does anyone have any knowledge of this?
The two hotels possibly could have been the Queens Hotel or the Cairndhu which I understand was refurbished about this time and opened as a hotel.
Just prior to her withdrawal, my friend had served on the ship as a junior officer, and often wondered where these parts had ended up.
Neil Smith, Helensburgh
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
READ MORE: Your letters to the Advertiser: July 9, 2020
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
It is high time we had a permanent solution to the problems blighting the A83 trunk road in Argyll.
As commuters suffer yet another trunk road closure due to landslides, many of my local constituents and the wider Argyll and Bute population will be asking what will it take for a permanent solution to be enacted by central government.
We have continued to see good money thrown after bad on piecemeal patchwork, yet what is there to show for the millions of taxpayers’ pounds being spent? Nothing. Just more dangerous landslides.
If this was a trunk road linking two urban centres, the Scottish Government would have dealt with this a long time ago. However, because this is a road in rural Argyll and Bute we continue to be ignored.
This cannot continue to go on. I once again call on the Scottish Government to sort this problem out once and for all.
Cllr Alastair Redman (Conservative, Kintyre and the Islands)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
READ MORE: Helensburgh Advertiser readers' letters: July 2, 2020
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Today, August 6, marks the 75th anniversary of the greatest single-act war crime in history, which will generally be ignored in the UK.
Our ignorance is sustained by a bogus historical narrative, viz. Hiroshima shortened the war.
This amoral analysis ignores two vital facts. It disregards the Russian victory in Manchuria, and the dates don’t add up.
Hiroshima was bombed on August 6, but Japan didn’t surrender till August 15. Why this delay?
After the surrender of Germany in May 1945, Japan was totally isolated. Her defeat was inevitable and known to be so. On July 12, the Japanese Prime Minister Fumimaro sent a secret cable to Stalin expressing a desire to end the war quickly.
Stalin showed the cable to Truman at the Potsdam Conference on July 18. However, the Manhattan project was nearing completion, so he ignored it.
As previously agreed with the Allies at Yalta, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and invaded Manchuria. Marshal Aleksandr Vasilievsky inflicted several crushing defeats on the Japanese army. By August 10 the Soviet Union was poised to invade mainland Japan.
America did not want to share the spoils of victory with Russia as they had in Germany. And for the Japanese, Soviet occupation would mean the annihilation of their ruling elite and the execution of Hirohito as a war criminal. So a deal had to be done - and quickly. The US dropped the demand for the unconditional surrender of the Emperor, (the one condition Japan had sought since May) and Japan agreed to the unconditional surrender of its armed forces.
When Prime Minister Suzuki was asked why Japan needed to surrender so quickly, he explained: “The Soviet Union will take not only Manchuria, Korea, Karafuto, but also Hokkaido. This would destroy the foundation of Japan.
"We must end the war when we can deal with the United States.” (NB. No mention of Hiroshima). It was dread of Stalin, not the A -bomb that made Japan surrender.
Weeks before, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff recommended that “with atomic weapons a nation must be ready to strike the first blow if needed”.
The resultant war plan (JIC 329/1) singled out for obliteration 20 Soviet cities. But the US only had two bombs, destined for Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
After these experiments proved successful, US production of nuclear weapons went into overdrive. Russia had no nuclear weapons then, and didn’t get one till 1949.
Thus history shows that deterrence has worked - but in the exact opposite way we imagine. Had Russia not broken the American nuclear monopoly the US would have implemented war plan JIC 329/1, or one of the many others subsequently devised.
The USA started the nuclear arms race and made all the later developments.
Our hypocritical view of ourselves as being the innocent victims constantly threatened by the Evil Other is bunkum, and the whole demonology of deterrence is a delusion.
Brian Quail, Hyndland Avenue, Glasgow
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
READ MORE: Your letters to the Helensburgh Advertiser: June 25, 2020
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The 2020 National Lottery Awards are now open for entries.
This year the annual search for the UK’s favourite National Lottery funded projects will, for the first time, honour individuals who have made an extraordinary impact in their community – especially those who have adapted during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Thanks to National Lottery players, up to £600 million has been made available to support groups and organisations across the country amid the coronavirus crisis. People have been using this funding in amazing ways and we want to honour them for their selfless dedication and fantastic work as part of the National Lottery Awards.
Encompassing all areas of National Lottery funding, we are seeking to recognise outstanding individuals in the following sectors: arts, education, health, environment, sport, heritage and community/charity.
In addition, there will be a young hero award for someone under the age of 18.
Award winners will receive a National Lottery Awards trophy and £3,000 for their organisation.If your readers know of a ‘lockdown legend’ or a ‘hometown hero’, they can nominate them for a National Lottery Award by completing an entry form on our website - www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/awards.
All nominees must have been funded by The National Lottery or be associated with a National Lottery funded project. Entries must be received by midnight on August 19, 2020.
Jonathan Tuchner, National Lottery Awards
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Note from the Editor: In last week’s letters pages we printed a letter from Sephton MacQuire regarding Helensburgh pier.
Mr MacQuire has asked us to clarify that this submission was a personal view, and not that of Dunbritton Housing Association, of which he is the chair.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here