Send the Ferguson ferries to the Hebrides and give Arran Turkish pair

If proof were ever needed that the contract for the Clyde and Western Isles ferry services should be put out to a privately operated company, then this is it.

Cost savings could be achieved by assigning the first pair of Turkish-built ferries to the Arran service and the Ferguson white elephants to the Hebrides services where larger port facilities would not be required. This would eliminate the Ardrossan port upgrade that will cost nearer £60 million than the £25 million figure put in front of us. It would also eliminate the need to run the service from Troon which is 40% longer, saving time, increasing the number of daily crossings and reducing fuel costs and emissions.

Further savings could be achieved by dropping the Gourock Dunoon passenger-only service that absorbs eye-watering subsidies from the Scottish Government and could easily be accommodated on the already-efficient Western Ferries service. The subsidies saved could be better used elsewhere and to greater effect.

Finally, put the small ferry replacement out to commercial tender. Tt would save enormous amounts of money and reduce the waiting times for these lifeline ferries to enter service.

Peter Wright, West Kilbride.

Read more: Westminster must share ferries blame

Clutha: the big question

I NOTE with interest that a documentary is to be broadcast later this week looking back at the Clutha helicopter disaster, which took place 10 years ago ("New BBC documentary marks 10 years since the Clutha crash", The Herald, November 27). One of the surprising aspects of both the Air Accident Investigation Branch report and the Fatal Accident Inquiry was how little attention was paid to the operational circumstances of the flight.

The focus was almost exclusively on the procedures which were supposed to be followed by the pilot when low fuel warnings sounded in the cockpit of the aircraft. No questions were asked about the reasons for the flight being extended such that, even if the fuel transfer pumps had not been switched off, the aircraft would still have returned to base with less than the regulation minimum quantity of fuel. Neither the families of the police officers who were killed nor the Scottish Police Federation itself chose to be represented at the Fatal Accident Inquiry. One might have thought that the Federation would have wanted to assure its members, as well as the public, that the training of or the operational demands on police observers were not putting aircraft at risk. However no evidence was led about these aspects at the FAI and the AAIB report does not disclose what, if any, training the officers had received in terms of the Civil Aviation Authority Police Air Operations Manual.

Tom Marshall, Aberdour.

Should more supermarket checkouts be staffed? (Image: Getty)

Leave the checkouts alone

I USUALLY enjoy Catriona Stewart's articles but feel the one about self-service checkouts is very one-sided ("Unexpected item in bagging area? Perhaps it’s a human", The Herald, November 24). She says that we all need human contact and while I agree and know that some people may benefit from interacting with a checkout operator, perhaps that being the only person they speak to that day, there are still many of us who prefer the self-service machines. That does not make us anti-social or unfriendly.

Also if using a hand-held self-scanner the process is even quicker and easier as the need to load and then unload the conveyor belt is eliminated. So please leave the self-checkouts for those of us who prefer them.

Kathleen Ross, Glasgow.

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The joy of giving

SOME time ago - September 21 to be exact - Craig Williams wrote an article about a new addition to the One Hundred Acre Wood where Winnie the Pooh and his friends spend their time mostly doing nothing, which also involves having adventures such as getting stuck in rabbit-holes, discovering the North Pole and finding Eeyore the donkey's lost tail. And honey ... lots of honey. Great joy ensues for me when I read the AA Milne books and now little Carmen, Milne's First World War canine companion, has been added in Tales From The Forest by Jane Riordan and illustrated by Mark Burgess.

On November 18 Editor Catherine Salmond told how we can help children to find joy in owning and reading their own books as many of us have done in our own childhood. Many of us have probably gained our books after having to suffer the loss of unwanted teeth like Ms Salmond, but at least the rewards were good. Mine involved Enid Blyton's Nature Lovers Book which I still dip into today, going for walks with Uncle Merry, his dog and the children next door.

Many thanks to Ms Salmond for the information and I will certainly be making a donation as I hope that other Herald readers will too. Giving joy also brings back joy. The world needs as much as we can give.

Thelma Edwards, Kelso.

Read more: Doug Marr obituary: Teacher, education advisor and Herald columnist

The antithesis of dourness

WHEN I was responsible for the op-ed pages on The Herald, I asked Doug Marr to write an analysis of new Scottish Government proposals for school education ("A Tribute to Doug Marr", The Herald, November 7 & Obituary, The Herald, November 18).

He was delighted to take up the offer and, as was always the case, his copy was filed on time, to length and word-perfect.

The analysis did not have a byline but carried a sign-off at the copy's end. Unfortunately, sub-editing gremlins struck and the sign-off read Dour Marr in print.

Doug called the next morning and, laughing loudly, said he had finally been found out.

Doug was the antithesis of dourness. He was generous to a fault, warm-hearted, kind and had the gift of fellow feeling, a quality that enriched all who were fortunate to have known him.

Barclay McBain, Houston.