Readers' letters: Strikes made my senior rail card decision for me

Can I sincerely thank the rail unions for their advance notification of potential disruption.
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I have been considering moving my "retirement transport” to rail and investing in a senior rail card.

The union has saved many hours of deliberations as to whether costs and reliability of service were realistic compared with alternatives. The problem is solved – I'll stick to car and bus as already high costs will likely soar after a settlement and I suspect service will decline as it did after the last dispute many years ago. Thank you.

James Watson, Dunbar

The RMT union is taking strike action on June 21, 23 and 25The RMT union is taking strike action on June 21, 23 and 25
The RMT union is taking strike action on June 21, 23 and 25

Bus company more interested in visitors

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It is annoying to see that we now have no bus service in the Dumbiedykes area of Edinburgh, again. The number 35 service is moving back to serving the Royal Mile.

This council and Lothian Buses seem to be more focused on tourists rather than the people who live here. Is there any intention at all of giving the residents of Dumbiedykes a new bus service? It would be very much appreciated.

Stephanie Wint, Edinburgh

Charge tourists

Well said, Eric Melvin (Letters, 8 June). It is ridiculous that Edinburgh continues to ignore this form of revenue.

Has any one of your readers ever decided not to visit a country because it had a tourist tax?

Michael Grey, Edinburgh

Sturgeon can’t resist hogging limelight

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As social media criticism by dyed-in-the-wool nationalists slowly subsides over Nicola Sturgeon spending the jubilee weekend at the heart of the British establishment, one can only admire how effectively the UK government manipulated her.

Of course, had the SNP leader not been invited, she'd have loved trotting out her favourite faux-grievance: Scotland is ignored. Instead Westminster played to her love of the limelight. They realised she couldn't resist mingling with the great and the good of British society and the royal family.

Her London presence has confirmed to many that Sturgeon is more interested in self-aggrandising than fighting for a second independence referendum and UK break-up.

Martin Redfern, Melrose

A warning from the United States

Tragically, the USA is a victim of its own poorly worded constitution: a warning to all drafters of constitutions.

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The Second Amendment includes the phrase: 'A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed'. The framers of the clause adapted the wording of the amendment from nearly identical clauses in some of the original 13 state constitutions, who may have wanted to defend themselves against the federal government.

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The clause might have been intended to mean that the people could arrange to have Militias, like the modern National Guard, for their own protection and it might not have been intended to allow every citizen to have weapons of their own. But, unfortunately, that's how it has been interpreted.

During the Second World War in the UK there was a warning that "careless talk costs lives”; in this case, careless writing is costing lives. Constitutions must not be ambiguous or controversial.

Steuart Campbell, Edinburgh

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