I APPRECIATE that Doug Maughan (an ex-colleague of mine), living in Dunblane, would be naturally attracted to Edinburgh Airport, but it seems to me that the infrastructure problems there that he describes (Letters, October 5) are substantially added to because in recent years everything and its dog has come to operate from Edinburgh Airport and, it seems, less and less from Glasgow.

In the past, transatlantic flights tended to use Glasgow (I have flown some of them), and there was a large choice of holiday destinations. It seems to me, living in Glasgow, that more and more often we have to travel to Edinburgh for a flight. I don’t know if this is because Edinburgh offers financial incentives to the airlines or whether there is behind the scenes government pressure to the effect that Holyrood is in Edinburgh, so it is naturally to be favoured over Glasgow? Perhaps some rebalancing would help Edinburgh Airport overcome its obvious current deficiencies?

Ian Szymanski, Glasgow.

An opportunity for change

DOUG Maughan's letter on the state of Edinburgh Airport should not come as a surprise to users and those of us who have been involved in aviation over many years.

In the early years of the 1970s, a brief was prepared to design and build a new terminal and apron facilities for the city airport to meet requirements centred around domestic and European air traffic levels.

In the mid 1980s, the government of the time, at the behest of a major airline, instigated an inquiry into the ownership of the UK's major airports. The outcome of this inquiry, led by the OFT and the Competition Commission, brought about the break-up of BAA's ownership, and the sale of various airports, including Edinburgh, to financial institutions which had no experience of the vagaries of the civil aviation market, and saw the acquisition of these facilities as financial assets, sometimes described as "cash cows". The outcome of this situation, plus the growth in aviation travel, led to poor investment in airport facilities, and what should be a window into a country's prosperity has led to the exact opposite.

Governments of the day continually tell us that the UK is the fifth-richest economy in the world, yet we own very little of the facilities that we should be proud of and which should be continuously monitored and updated.

Perhaps the Edinburgh Airport situation should be an example and opportunity for change?

Mike Dooley, Ayr.

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Food for thought for Dobbies

MARK Smith's ("The Dobbies crisis and the uncomfortable truth about nurseries", The Herald, October 5)covers a number of points as to why Dobbies might be in trouble, but misses the obvious one.

Its food offering is poor, being overpriced and mediocre. It is also still wedded to an archaic style of queueing for food in the manner of school dinners. By the time you get your food order, then queue for hot drinks, then queue again to pay, the food is lukewarm at best, and that is before you have found a table.

I should know, having taken my granddaughter there on a regular Friday morning basis when she was a student at Glasgow University. We used Dobbie's at Braehead. The place was quiet, but despite our best efforts, the breakfasts were lukewarm by the time we sat down.

People are not always looking for plants, flowers or other garden supplies, but to peruse the myriad other goods and and perhaps have something to eat.

Mr Smith mentions Gemmells, a good example of a garden centre out, some might say, in the middle of nowhere, in Ayrshire, yet customers flock in. The food is good and fairly priced. Non-gardening stock is refreshed and never stays the same for years, unlike Dobbie's.

I live in Glasgow, but an afternoon out to Gemmells is a pleasant experience. Similarly, another successful garden chain which has opened new branches or taken over flagging ones (at Erskine, Cumbernauld and Gartocharn) is an absolute pleasure to visit. Advance booking is essential, or else one runs the risk of being turned away. Again, these are places I will drive miles to visit.

Perhaps the owners of the hapless Dobbie's chain should visit their competitors and see how it is done.

Ann Ross-McCall, Glasgow.

Let's have less of Glasgow

I HAVE read The Herald for many years now, and remember the welcome given to the dropping of the word "Glasgow" from its title in 1992, no doubt because it wished to be seen as a newspaper covering the whole of central Scotland, and not just the city.

But now it seems to have become Glasgow-centric once more. Columnists write about the problems affecting the city every week, forgetting the fact that in central Scotland there are many towns with similar problems. Why are these towns - Ayr, Motherwell, East Kilbride, Kilmarnock, Paisley, Hamilton, Greenock, Clydebank and so on - not given space in your pages? It seems that they are of little consequence, even though they are of supreme importance to the people living there.

I realise that Glasgow is the largest settlement in central Scotland and therefore deserves rigorous scrutiny, but I was born and brought up in a sizeable town close to Glasgow, and its problems, albeit on a smaller scale, deserve that same investigation as those of the city. All have the same problem as Glasgow: ideas aplenty to correct things, but money is tight.

Will we see, I ask myself, if The Herald lives up to the dropping of the word "Glasgow" from its name?

James Gracie, Sanquhar.

Is free bus travel exacerbating child obesity?Is free bus travel exacerbating child obesity? (Image: PA)

Journey to obesity

IF the Scottish Government ever needed a demonstration of the law of unconsidered consequences, I can provide the perfect example.

The introduction of free bus travel for under 22-year-olds means that children from Knightswood school, who used to walk to Anniesland Cross to get their daily supply of junk food, now take the bus.

This results in buses at lunchtime being so crowded that other members of the public can't get on, and the limited exercise that the schoolchildren took has been removed.

Time for the SNP Government to try some joined-up thinking.

James McBryde, Glasgow.

A great Scottish event

GLASGOW should be proud. Scotland should be proud. The Great Scottish Run lived up to its name and reputation.

The youngsters kicked it off on Saturday and then on Sunday (I'll use a little journalistic licence here) it appeared to me from my window on Clyde Street that half of Scotland was taking part, either running or standing applauding and encouraging. Great atmosphere. The organisation was superb. The banter brilliant. And money going to good causes. Thank you all. You made me extremely proud to be Scottish.

Andy Stenton, Glasgow.