WHEN the Queen died on Thursday, our mum, who died aged 94 eight years ago, died all over again.

Born in 1920, six years older than the Queen and sharing her experience of living through the war, she also shared her sense of dignity, duty and service, and the great skill of listening. Rather than talking, really listening.

As I absorbed the news, I cried for my mum, for the Queen and for the loss of a generation from whom we have so much to learn.

Lesley Morrison, Peebles.

THE ENDURING VALUES OF THE QUEEN

QUEEN Elizabeth will be very much missed, not only as the longest-serving monarch but also as one who showed her unwavering sense of duty, nobility and graciousness in a time when these values were being eroded, notably in politicians and media.

I’ve occasionally said that if Churchill and Attlee came back now they’d probably be on the same side as each other.

As one of the world’s best-known and generally respected people the Queen helped give UK a kind of status probably not accorded had it only been about governments.

There is something to be said for having a head of state who isn’t much involved in petty political affairs and in Queen Elizabeth the country had an outstanding representative .

Michaela Holberg (via HeraldScotland).

A WONDERFUL MONARCH

WHAT a great decision [for the Queen’s coffin to lie in rest for 24 hours at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh].

It will allow the Scottish people to show their respects to a wonderful monarch. It might also be a good idea to unite her country by transporting her coffin to London by road, giving an enormous number of people the opportunity to do the same.

I’m sure that she would approve of that.

William Logan (via HeraldScotland).

HER STEADY, GUIDING HAND

I NEVER had the good fortune to meet the Queen but I admired her tremendously.

She really was the backbone of the country. The country like many others is divided and imperfect, but it will miss the Queen’s steady, guiding hand. She will be greatly missed, not just by those who knew her or worked with her, but by the millions who admired her from afar.

S Lewis, Glasgow.

A TERRIBLE LOSS FOR US ALL

THE Queen has been a constant presence in our lives – as familiar as a member of the family, yet one who has exercised a calm and steadying influence over our country. Most of us have never known a time when she was not there. Her death is not only a tragedy for the royal family, but a terrible loss for us all.

Igor Griffiths (via HeraldScotland).

A FANTASTIC AMBASSADOR

VERY sad. She was a very beautiful woman when she became Queen & remained beautiful inside and out all through her reign.

She not only exemplified the true British spirit but she was also as dedicated to the Commonwealth countries. She was a fantastic ambassador all around the world.

David McWilliam, via HeraldScotland.

CHARLES III: THE KING MAINLY OF ENGLAND?

I WISH to express my sincere sympathy and condolences, equally, to the Royal family and to all other families who have lost a loved one, many in tragic circumstances.

At a time when the constitutional future of Scotland is the subject of considerable debate and speculation, I note that the new monarch has adopted the regnal designation of King Charles III.

This indicates that he is regarded primarily as King of England where the regnal name Charles has been used twice before, at a time when there was no alleged “Union” of four equal nations.

Willie Maclean, Milngavie.

* OH, to be a fly on the wall when Charles, the romantic conservationist, meets Liz, the fundamentalist zealot of the free-market quasi-religion.

Wiliam Patterson, East Linton.

MEMORIES OF THE QUEEN’S REIGN

ONE has many memories other than personal ones of marriages, births, deaths, successes, losses and mistakes, and for this old codger the 1940s and 1950s were no exception.

I remember when Britain declared war on Germany in 1939, and I became “man of the house” when “the old man” was conscripted for 5 years.

I remember VE Day in 1945, the Suez Canal fiasco of 1956, the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, Rangers v Moscow Dynamo 1945, the Mighty Magyars Hungarian football team with legendary Ferenc Puskas, the Galloping Major, in the 1950s, and their Match of the Century against England in 1953.

I remember Roger Bannister’s four-minute mile in 1954 (pictured), the Czechoslovac exile Jaroslav Drobny as Wimbledon champion in 1954 at the advanced age of 32, and I remember the afternoon in February 1952 when our chemistry class was interrupted with the news that King George V1 had died.

Now comes the death of his successor, Queen Elizabeth. Long live the King.

R Russell Smith, Largs.

FM CARES NOT FOR SCOTS’ INTERESTS

NICOLA Sturgeon and her SNP colleagues have badgered Liz Truss to act over the energy crisis. Ms Truss has now imposed a billing cap to help customers, and announced the exploration of fracking in order to reduce the product costs going forward - both positive steps.

In response, Ms Sturgeon has still done nothing to ease the pressure on Scottish customers, despite having the immediate authority to reduce income tax (an authority seemingly forgotten this week by Mr Swinney)

But she has immediately announced that no fracking will be allowed in Scotland, denying the opportunity for a cheaper product while being quite happy that higher prices are paid for fracked gas to be shipped from the USA and imported through Grangemouth.

She quite clearly does not have the interests of Scots at heart. These inflammatory actions simply confirm that her every move is driven solely to “be different” from the rest of the UK, no matter the cost. Her lack of economic understanding is staggering.

Steph Johnson, Glasgow.

BLAME THE RAPACIOUS FOOD INDUSTRY

I MUST take issue with Sheila Duffy’s letter (September 8) on the subject of obesity.

Her comments regarding the new Health Secretary, Therese Coffey, are extremely ill-mannered and based on a lack of knowledge of the personal circumstances of Ms Coffey, or on the actions of the tobacco and food industries.

For years, the tobacco industry has deliberately added substances to make tobacco products more addictive, to keep their market, and when Western governments have brought in laws to reduce the incidence of diseases caused by smoking, the tobacco companies simply switched their marketing of such products to developing countries.

They actually concentrated on getting young people hooked. The global food industry did exactly the same thing, adding high fructose corn syrup to food and drink.

The effect of this is to suppress the hormone which carries a message to the brain that you are full and should stop eating or drinking. The food industry was promoting foods and drinks that were by-passing our natural appetite-control systems.

Because of this, society has been suffering from illnesses that were not seen before 1946. Cookery lessons in school have been discontinued, so from a young age, people think that healthy food comes from a take-away food outlet.

McDonald’s even have the nerve to call their food outlets ‘restaurants’.

I have several friends who weigh in the region of 30 stones, not due to their greed and inability to eat a normal diet, but due the fact that they suffer from neurological conditions, in most cases caused by the chemicals put into our food and drink by a parasitic global food industry.

The medication provided by health professionals to control their conditions also causes weight gain.

Professor Francesco Rubin of King’s College Hospital in London explains the complexity of body weight, how it Is tied in to hormones and genetics, and is not nearly so simple as ‘energy in and energy out’.

Forty per cent of the population has a serious disease called obesity, and anyone with a BMI over 40 will not be able to cure the disease by themselves.

So please, Ms Duffy, put the blame where it belongs, not on individuals, but on a rapacious food industry, which has done exactly the same as the tobacco industry, simply to make money out of our ill health, which has, in turn, overloaded our health service.

Margaret Forbes, Blanefield.

REFLECTIONS ON THE MINERS’ STRIKE

I REFER to the ‘Remember When’ article, “Miner turned on miner at Bilston Glen” (September 7).

The descriptions pictorial and in words, of miners fighting miners during the strike of 1984/85 provided an unfortunate commentary.

A variety of factors over many years led to mining communities being traditionally close.

The work the miners shared underground was demanding physically and often fraught with risk. They had to rely upon each other during their shifts , because any carelessness or lapse in concentration could cause death or serious injury.

Many considered themselves as representing a special group among the ranks of the working class, particularly when engaged politically in trying to secure improvements in employment conditions.

The picture referred to tells a story of a low point for the miners in the strike. It, and others like it, confirmed that, divided, they were never going to win a strike, which had been called at the wrong time of year; and they were facing a Conservative Government , which had in advance put in place plans for the stockpiling of coal at power stations.

There were many mining communities which paid a high price for the failure to act as one during the strike.

Moreover , the dialogue of the deaf , embracing Margaret Thatcher and Arthur Scargill, was never likely to bring about a mutually acceptable solution to the problems then associated with British coal.

Ian W Thomson, Lenzie.