SO the Calmac gravy train is to continue – for now ("Islanders call for ferries debate as Sturgeon rules out privatisation", The Herald, February 4). Spare a thought for our island communities that will have to endure more years of ferry misery as a result. The Labour Party and RMT blame the SNP for lack of investment. Hardly the case when one considers that the Calmac subsidy has increased from £5.8 million in 1991 to £150m today (probably a world record for a ferry company) and likely to double again in the next few years due to the inefficiencies embedded in planned ship and terminal investments.

It is true that the delivery of new ships has stalled over the last decade, but it seems much of this this is at the door of CMAL, a Labour Party construct. Repeatedly, CMAL has been offered, but turned down, efficient state-of-the-art tried and tested designs that could have been delivered quickly, at modest cost and in service now. Instead it has agonised over in-house concepts that if ever built, will not only be highly expensive in capital, but very costly to run, due in part to double the crew provision that would normally be acceptable and will simply replicate the same old sub-standard service. Other operators do it so much better and for much less, if any, draw on public funds. So why prop up CalMac?

It is of course understandable that the RMT seeks to protect the exceptionally generous terms and conditions their members enjoy, but the losers are other public services – education, health and the like – who are starved of the funds that are diverted to this expensive dysfunctional sacred cow and of course the island communities that suffer from its inefficiencies.

Roy Pedersen, Inverness.

SPARE US THE GREEN LECTURES

WITH the recent announcement that ScotRail is cutting 250 services we can only hope that Nicola Sturgeon, Patrick Harvie et al will spare us the sanctimonious lectures about giving up our cars when it's clear they have no intention of delivering the necessary post-Covid public transport alternatives.

Having scared the public witless there is very little chance of getting the travelling public back to playing sardines on ScotRail. Cutting services flies in the face of post-Covid travel requirements.

They recently announced an ambitious – by their own verdict – transport strategy, but with their current credibility stretched when they cannot maintain current service levels, far less improve them, we have to seriously doubt their long-term ambitions.

The Scottish Government tells us that it is focused on Covid recovery but its actions tell you otherwise.

Meantime, please spare us the green virtue-signalling lectures that are rendered totally meaningless by its own inaction.

Ian McNair, Cellardyke.

ADOPTION AGONY MUST BE ADDRESSED

KIRSTY Strickland rightly draws attention to the appalling treatment and the continuing suffering of unmarried women who were forced to give up their babies and the suffering of their children (“They took my son from my arms – It’s time for an apology on adoption scandal”, The Herald February 3).

It’s impossible to overestimate the pain, both physical and psychological, they have to deal with. However, another group of women who suffered greatly as a result of society’s attitude to unmarried mothers are those who in their desperation to avoid bringing “shame” on their families and themselves turned to back-street abortionists. They often suffered pain, irreversible damage and on occasion death. The numbers remain uncounted but is likely to be tens of thousands.

As far as I’m aware there was no specific legislation that compelled women to give up their babies, but there were huge societal pressures driven by churches of all denominations. Nor was this confined to the UK, but was seen in all western countries. Indeed, in more religiously conservative countries such as the Irish Republic and Franco’s Spain the treatment of this group of women and their babies was even more horrific, treatment which was kept secret for many decades.

It goes without saying that the Scottish Government (which didn’t exist until 1999) should acknowledge the plight of these people – women and now-adult children – and support them appropriately. Apologies are needed and must be heartfelt. The churches must recognise the pivotal role they played in engendering a totally sanctimonious attitude to women who needed care, support and understanding. Instead all the churches offered was stigmatisation and exclusion. An apology would help.

Jim MacRitchie, Paisley.

NEANDERTHALS GET A BAD PRESS

IAIN Macwhirter ("Warning: there is no escape from web", The Herald, February 4) may wish to reconsider his understanding of Neanderthals, a highly successful hominid group of gifted foragers and experienced hunters, living between half a million years ago and 24,000 years ago. As developers of Mousterian and Chatelperronian technologies they utilised highly-adapted tools and weapons in stone as well as art and jewellery. Clive Findlayson, a well-established authority, described them as “resourceful, knew their climate well ... and were probably the best naturalists the world has ever known”.

Fifty thousand years ago, Neanderthals were spread over most of Eurasia, from the Middle East and right across to what is now Portugal. For 300,000 years, Neanderthals managed to live in an increasingly hostile world of rapid climatic changes: much more than our own time on this Earth.

What caused their demise was not lack of intelligence but that in a rapidly unstable climate they were unable to change quickly in their physical make-up or to adapt to dramatic ecological alteration in food location and supply. There are lessons for us there.

Elizabeth Allen, Glasgow.

JUST CAN IT

IN response to M Carr's observations (Letters, February 3) that "not fit for purpose" is overused, may I propose an alternative?

If the number of cans which have been kicked down the road recently came to fruition, the street would indeed be in some state.

Brendan J Keenan, Glasgow.

BACK PAIN

PERHAPS Tom Rodger, in quoting the original palindromic chat- up line in the Garden of Eden, "Madam, I'm Adam" (Letters, February 5), should remember that sex at noon taxes.

David Miller, Milngavie.

AMBULANCE? HELP!

I’VE just spent a couple of pleasant days on staycation in the north-east of England. On the roads, I kept seeing these lime green vehicles with blue lights on the roof. Because they didn’t have Ambaileans written prominently all over their bodywork, it took me a couple of days to work out what they were.

Stuart Brennan, Glasgow.