IT was rather distressing to see the UK Business Secretary, appropriately enough dressed in a business suit, when he arrived at a site in northern England for a photo opportunity and he described the recent power cuts as being “completely unacceptable”.

It’s also distressing to think of these poor folk without heat, light and cooking facilities for more than a week. We should, however bear in mind that storm Arwen has been described as three times more destructive than the “Beast from the East”.

What I find particularly distressing is the lack of recognition for the work our power workers do. They are slogging away day and night and must all be exhausted.

My grandson is missing his daddy. That too is distressing. He has not seen him for more than a week. One night he came in at 2am and was away by 6am working his socks off to reconnect power to people’s homes and businesses; 16-hour working days and weekend working are the norm right now.

I worry about the mental fatigue as he carries out extremely hazardous work, with danger not only from electricity but from further falling trees. I also worry about him driving home at the end of long, tiring shifts.

I suspect most of these guys will earn significantly less than many people in so called “important” 9-5 office jobs, such as the aforementioned Business Secretary.

These guys are working on whilst the politicians play the usual politician’s blame game. Every one of them deserves a medal and a significant pay rise. It’s galling to see fat cat bosses and shareholders benefitting.

Stewart Falconer, Alyth.

SURVEY FATUOUS AND DANGEROUS

WITH regard to the Scottish Government's questionnaire to school-aged young people, when will a child psychologist stand up and say that when you ask a young person a question, they tend to give the answer they think you expect? When this is a personal question they will give an answer which makes them look good in their own eyes or the eyes of their peers. If it is about behaviour or feelings there is often a tendency to make them behave or feel in a more extreme direction.

The questionnaire from the Scottish Government is both dangerous and fatuous. It will not achieve any meaningful results.

Christine McLachlan, Milton of Campsie.

THE PROMISE OF CHRIST

MAY I reply to James Martin's question, how could God allow this? (Letters, December 6), by quoting Jesus? "See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven."

Rev Dr Robert Anderson, Dundonald.

MORE TO MUSIC THAN POP

I WAS bemused by Mark Eadie’s suggestion that “perhaps we have reached saturation point in music and can’t consume any more” ("Will we ever see a new Beatles emerge?", The Herald, November 30), since by “music” he seems to mean pop, in which case he hasn’t even begun to investigate music.

I’m not dismissing popular art. I have a substantial collection of American comics and esteem them highly, but were I writing an article about any of them I would take care to avoid terminology suggesting that I’d never heard of Michaelangelo or Milton.

As Mr Eadie says, 19th century opera singers were “heroes”, but had as much to do with music, properly so called, as Brian Rix had to do with drama, since they were merely pop idols of the day.

Robin Dow, Rothesay.

RIGHTEOUS ANGER UNLEASHED

CONGRATULATIONS to Doug Marr for his column about the attitude of dog owners, especially the ones who allow their dogs to jump up at complete strangers – there’s an arrogance about these people who clearly can’t understand that even people who like dogs are apprehensive about a strange dog lunging at them ("It’s barking mad not to reintroduce dog licences", The Herald, December 6).

I now look forward to his column about cyclists – go for it, Doug, ruffle feathers, especially of those who cycle recklessly on the pavement, smugly weaving in and out of the pedestrians who own the pavement, not them.

Stuart Neville, Clydebank.

TWO DOORS DOWN, ONE UP

I CAN agree with Dennis Forbes Grattan (Letters, December 6) that Jack Docherty’s portrayal of Chief Constable Mickelson is a comic masterpiece, but not that Scot Squad is the funniest (Scottish?) programme on TV. He carries Scot Squad, which without him would hardly be worth watching.

Of course it is subjective, but to my mind the funniest (Scottish) programme on TV is Two Doors Down, which by happy coincidence is just reappearing on our screens to cheer us up in this pandemic-strewn lead-up to Christmas. It has my vote because it does not rely on just one character, however funny, but rather on the whole talented ensemble of interacting characters, particularly the neighbours from hell, which by good fortune I do not have.

Alan Fitzpatrick, Dunlop.

BARRA LODE

IT’S an ill wind that blows nobody any good. I’ve waited since the Met Office introduced the naming of storms in the UK in 2015 to be able to ask “will a wee cock sparra be blown away in Storm Barra?” (apologies to the late Glasgow-born comic actor Duncan Macrae, 1905-1967, who appeared on stage, films, and was a mainstay of television Hogmanay celebrations in the 1950s and 60s ).

Perhaps we’ll know ra morra.

R Russell Smith, Largs.