GEMMA Clark (Letters, October 10) laments the scourge of domestic violence in Scotland, and implies that surges in these crimes are the consequence of football matches between Celtic and Rangers. Seemingly oblivious to the distinction between correlation and causation, she goes on to invoke this post hoc ergo propter hoc phantom to argue that supporters of these clubs, and indeed 40 others, should be forbidden from consuming alcohol at matches.

According to Sky television, last season’s 3-3 draw at Ibrox drew a record television audience of 1.4 million viewers, compared to the mere 50,000 who were physically present inside the stadium. This would suggest that more than 96% of Ms Clark’s potentially intoxicated wife-beaters (and their victims) would be completely unaffected by stadium alcohol bans, because they watched the game either at home or on licensed premises, where no such restrictions exist.

Ms Clark claims it is “disingenuous” to claim that the alcohol ban is “class oppression”, and states that “it won’t kill anyone to wait 90 minutes until their next drink”. However, should she ever descend from her Calvinist pulpit and travel to a game, she will discover that football supporters are not only uniquely banned by law from having a drink at matches, the law also uniquely bans them from having a drink on supporters’ buses, or even attempting to enter a stadium while under the influence of a drink lawfully purchased elsewhere. Since ScotRail also bans everyone from drinking, all the time, a supporter going to an away match is infantilised to the level of a child, and effectively forbidden to drink for the whole day. If it is not class which warrants this particularised victimisation, perhaps Ms Clark might enlighten us as to what the common attribute of the modern football supporter is which deserves such special treatment? These are the same people who consistently behave impeccably when following the Scottish national team abroad. The 1980 Scottish Cup Final was nothing to do with me, as I only consumed baby milk at the time.

The popular imagination has it that Scotland is a free country. However, we increasingly exist in an austere, doctrinaire, penal state, directed by the intolerant prejudices of a conspiracy of snobbery. They harangue the state to remove simple pleasures from the masses because they disapprove of their choices, or extort sin-taxes from them in order to help subsidise the self-same kleptocracy. This has been done to death with smoking, is in the process of being done with drinking, and soon it will be done with vaping. When that day comes I think I will emigrate to some other land - to Iran perhaps - where puritanical despotism may be taken undiluted, without the base alloy of hypocrisy.

Christopher McLaughlin, Thornliebank.

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Give us a vote on national park

The proposal for a Galloway National Park (GNP) is an extremely contentious one locally. The reason for this stems from the way the whole campaign and process have been carried out. The two self-selected groups who set this idea in motion had their colourful websites and the like but made no real attempt to reach out to all Gallovidians. There was no proper effort made to inform everyone of the pros and cons of such an idea. Indeed, many of us knew nothing about this until the very last minute.

Now we are faced with a situation where answers to questions, information sought and pleas for real engagement and consultation with each citizen are met with obfuscation on the part of the Scottish Government and NatureScot, who are pushing the process forward. It seems to me that a proposal like this, which will affect tens of thousands of lives in Galloway, requires a fully informed, inclusive and open debate and the fullest expression of opinions. Such a fundamental right is surely the very essence of our idea of Scottish democracy. And, in fact, there is no reason why this cannot happen.

A referendum of the whole of Galloway would achieve this. The SNP Government and the Greens, who are both pushing hardest for this proposal from Edinburgh, have no difficulty demanding referenda for independence, re-entry into the EU etc and miss no opportunity to demand that the voice of all Scottish citizens should be heard; indeed they claim this as a core value of their much-lauded "progressive politics", presumably, therefore they support such a call?

As to the cost of doing this the answer is quite simple: the Holyrood election occurs in just over a year, the Galloway referendum could be piggy-backed on this (as PR was in a UK election some years back). The arbitrary timetable for the GNP decision could be moved (Mairi Gougeon was not adverse to this in Parliament), giving more time for informed debate and the answering of questions.

So I would like on behalf of people such as myself to ask "why can we not have a referendum?" and "what is the hurry?'

J Waterfield, Whithorn.

A sunny outlook

A REPORT by the Marine Accident Branch on a collision of two vessels concluded that "it was likely that unsafe practices had become routine over time, and leaving the controls unsupervised was considered unremarkable" ("Wheelhouse was left unattended before two trawlers collided at sea", The Herald, October 4.) That this unseemly practice wasn't wholly unknown in bygone days is suggested by an exchange between Para Handy and Sunny Jim, the latter having entered the fo'c'sle to put on a waistcoat: "Who's supposed to be at the wheel at this parteecular meenute?"

"Ye're gettin' awfu' pernickety wi' your wheel; it's no the Lusitania."

The captain seemed to acknowledge that all aspects had to be considered.

"Take your time, Jim. Would you no' give your hands a wash and put on a collar? It's always nice to be lookin' spruce if you're drooned in a collusion."

Robin Dow, Rothesay.

Should there be a referendum on the proposed national park for Galloway?Should there be a referendum on the proposed national park for Galloway? (Image: PA)

Currying favour

YOUR mention of the Reverend James Currie’s witty and irreverent sermons (“Remember when... Dancers and a church were snappy movers”, The Herald, October 9) reminds me of his fondness for the football team which plays at Ibrox.

The first part of a Grace delivered by Currie is unprintable today, but the second part was:

“Heap blessings on all gathered here

To absent friends and strangers

And if you’ve any blessings left

Then please God bless the Rangers!”

So be it.

David Miller, Milngavie.