WELL, what shall we talk about now? Let me see … actually, there are no prizes for guessing what will be the hot topic of the next few days (and probably weeks and months, if not years).
Ever since the First Minister made her dramatic announcement on Monday, we have been deluged with letters on the prospect of a second independence referendum. The volume of mail has more than tripled, and shows no sign of abating – and I don’t expect it will for quite some time, especially after yesterday’s developments.
Regular readers will have noted that I have been running Letters Specials, in which the left-hand page is devoted to one subject, over the past few days. I have done this to try to accommodate as many views as possible on an issue on which everyone, quite rightly, wants his or her say. As always, I will try to publish as many new correspondents as I can.
The last time I occupied this slot, I mentioned that our space has increased. We are now publishing an extra 700 words a day, for which I am grateful. For one thing, it allows us to carry a good selection of letters on the political talking point of the day, but still permits ample space for letters on other topics.
Variety is key, and I am keen that the right-hand page (at least) will continue to see discussion on just about anything under the sun. One thing I have learned over the three-and-a-bit years I have been custodian of the Letters Pages is that while I might be able to work out what will be the big issues of the day, it is impossible to predict with any degree of confidence which topics will generate the most feedback. Take, for example, the case of the notorious 1930s killer Dr Buck Ruxton, who murdered his wife and their housemaid, and whose case was recalled in Ken Smith’s Those Were The Days feature. It sparked a spate of letters on gore-filled childhood rhymes, from Margaret Forrest of Banchory’s “Red sails in the sunset, Red blood on the knife, Oh Doctor Buck Ruxton, You’ve murdered your wife” to Russell Smith of Kilbirnie’s “Lizzie Borden got an axe, and gave her father 40 whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her mother 41.”
We also had eight days of talk about the correct pronunciation of the surname Menzies, begun by Kenneth Stanton of Dunbar, and memorably rounded off, limerick-style, by John Birkett of St Andrews, who gave us: “There once was a damsel named Menzies, Who asked ‘Do you know what this thing is?’ Her aunt, with a gasp, Replied “That’s a wasp, And you’re holding the end where the sting is!”
I will end, though, with a contribution I particularly enjoyed, from Alastair Patrick of Paisley: “I was both very impressed and very alarmed when I saw Neil MacGregor's Picture of the Day. Very impressed because it is a fine photograph of a beautiful mallard duck, and very alarmed, as with two daughters getting married within the next three months, the last thing I need to see at the moment is another big bill.”
Ouch. Fowl, ref.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here