Letters: Let’s make Edinburgh rock, even if The Boss can’t help

Edinburgh should and could be able to lure giants of the business such as “The Boss”. Glasgow and the west have probably dominated the Scottish music scene for the last few decades, but there are signs of change, with promising bands emerging, such as Bwani Junction, an Edinburgh band who look like they have a big future.

One of the most highly acclaimed British bands of the year, Django Django, met and formed in Edinburgh, and there is more good stuff on the way from acts such as the city-based Stagger Rats.

What’s more, Edinburgh is growing as a city while Glasgow is in decline. While the Capital had a population less than half that of Glasgow not so many years ago, it will overtake its western rival not too many years from now.

It’s already Scotland’s foremost cultural centre, and can overtake Glasgow as the venue for big names in Scotland if fitting venues can be found to match the enthusiasm and the talent this city is brimming with.

David Bryce, Royal Mile, Edinburgh

Probe needed for ashes scandal

IT is with shock that I have read of the scandal that has unfolded at Mortonhall  Crematorium.

I cannot begin to appreciate how traumatic it must be for the bereaved parents and  families.

They will have struggled over the years to recover from one of the most tragic events that can befall a family,  especially mothers, namely a stillborn child.

Now, they are having personal tragedies brought up again thanks to the shameful way the remains of these poor infants have been treated like nothing more than rubbish.

I would have thought that some of the qualities you would expect to exist in workers at a crematorium would be respect for the dead and compassion for the bereaved.

There must be a full inquiry into this scandal, which has brought shame upon Edinburgh’s good name.

William Marshall, Dalkeith Road, Edinburgh

Stop being nation of wasters please

Food waste is now a feature of Edinburgh City Council’s fortnightly waste collection, but are we throwing away something that could be reused outside of recycling for compost?

Scotland apparently has the highest percentage of food wasters in the UK. More deep thinking about food waste disposal has to be done.

More than half the world’s population is living in poverty and starvation and the food that is thrown out in the UK could re-processed and shipped to where it is needed. This would actually help our own economy.

Chas Dennis, Niddrie Marischal Road, Edinburgh

Flashy words will not win business

I CAN’T get too excited about how an agency has worked on branding Edinburgh Airport as “Where Scotland meets the World” (News, December 6). Would you decide to use an airport because it has a clever slogan?

Would it change your mind about the destination you were travelling to?

No. The simple answer is that people outside of marketing, advertising and design agencies are practical and decide which products they will use for simple reasons.

These include: is it convenient, will it cost me much money, will it save me time, and so on.

This is particularly so in the case off an airport. You don’t fly somewhere because somebody has coated its title with some clever, shiny words. You go there simply because it’s on your route.

If Edinburgh Airport really does want to drum up some more business, it could do with improving the facilities there at present. For example, be daft enough to consider using your own car as transport and you will pay for it. Oh yes, you really will.

So why not make the airport more appealing by making it more accessible to potential customers?

And while you’re at it, some of the food and drink on offer for those who have to wait could do with improvement.

Work on these basic principles and who knows, the customers may start flying in.

A Kemp, Meadowbank, Edinburgh