HAVING read the two depressing articles in the Sunday National concerning the shortage of staff for farms and hospitality venues I was heartened to hear an eyewitness to the fall of the Berlin Wall tell her story.

The moral was, of course, that the people took control of their destiny and took a risk that may have gone very wrong for some on them had the government of East Germany taken a stand. It also put me in mind of the early work of the Ramblers’ Association in opening up the countryside to the people, where thousands simply did what was apparently forbidden.

I wish to issue a challenge to our government at Holyrood and to the farmers and hoteliers and restaurateurs and recruitment agencies to find those who wish to come to work in Scotland and simply make it happen.

Refuse to countenance the work of the Border Force in the face of the needs of business and the culture of Scotland. Turn up at the Scottish airports and make sure the vans cannot take away the “detainees”; stand round the European workers and make sure they cannot be arrested and simply RISK being detained for interfering with the work of the UK Government.

Embrace the spirit of Kenmure Street and make the welcome to Scotland not just lip service but a reality.

We will not gain an inch from Westminster unless we take that inch, and then another and another til we have the whole mile. We are seeing a new determination to subsume our country into the UK and make us invisible. Now is the time to raise not only our voices, but our actions to a level that will accomplish de facto what will never be attained de jure.

David Neilson
Dumfries

THE point of my previous comment on Rory Bulloch’s letter about the Green Party of Scotland not having a popular mandate to form part of a government with the SNP was two-fold (Letters, June 4).

Firstly it was to calm the waters of debate and secondly to show that commonsense co-operation is not new. In his letter of June 7 Rory Bulloch shows that his storm of disgruntlement has not abated. He would like a more dramatic setting.

As World War Two got under way the Tories and Labour formed a coalition which lasted until VE Day. In Scotland we are in a similarly dark place. We must gain independence so that we can fight the war against climate chaos effectively. Surely, as then, alliances are necessary.

The sense of disappointment that Rory Bulloch expresses is that in this war the SNP have the troops but the Greens have the ideas. As Alan Turing said, “We will beat the fascists by having better ideas.” Many of the Green proposals are considered extreme but do not appear so to me.

My own thoughts are based on the times I have mentioned. We may have to have rationing, for example, which is just a fair way of sharing resources. As happened after the war we may have to build New Towns to house the immigrants who flee from flooding or drought in their own country. Lastly I am fond of open trams, buses and trains once all the traffic fumes have gone, as I am a fresh-air freak.

Iain WD Forde
Scotlandwell

OVER the last couple of weeks I have followed with interest the ongoing debate regarding the desirability or otherwise of retaining the “not proven” verdict as part of Scots law, in particular the long letter from Bill Craig (June 6).

It has all brought back to mind a conversation I “earwigged” on as a young teenager some 70 years ago, between my father and uncle, when they were discussing a case that had just gone through the court.

It concerned two brothers who were very well-known, prosperous farmers in Central Scotland. One was extremely well regarded and held in high esteem by all who knew him. The other had just been dragged through the court charged with some serious attempt at dishonesty. Apparently this did not come as a surprise to anyone who knew him and his way of life.

The case ended in a “not proven” verdict, which was greeted with approval by those who knew him, as it served as a timely warning to all concerned to be very wary in any dealings which they might in future have with him. In other words, “we know you did it but can’t quite prove it!”

Let us retain the status quo.

George M Mitchell
Dunblane

I’VE never heard such deflection and mealy-mouthed comments regarding fans booing football players taking the knee. A considered response to the Black Lives Matter political position? Really? Why can’t commentators come off the fence?

That the terracings should be portrayed as an open forum for discussing the finer points of social politics is, frankly, nonsensical. This is football, not Question Time! This is, purely, the racists’ response to open support for black people. Racists are among us and on the football terracings, too.

Peter Barjonas
Caithness