Leader: 'These shops give the visitors what they want '

The constant skirl of bagpipe music might drive many of us to distraction whenever we visit tourist hotspots like the Royal Mile.

But can you imagine what it must be like working with the racket nine-to-five every day of the working week?

If it is annoying to walk past it or work nearby, it must feel like the ultimate endurance test to work right in the blare of the speakers every day.

The point that these shops do not pump out the music for their own enjoyment - they do it because it draws in the tourists to spend their money.

Many have pointed out before that the kind of kitsch souvenirs that are so readily derided in Edinburgh are simply the Scottish equivalent of what we bring home ourselves from our European jaunts.

The tourist shops which flourish in the historic Old Town do so because they are giving visitors what they want.

There comes a time, though, when competition between the stores pushes the Royal Mile into becoming something that no-one really wants.

Ever louder music, ever larger and more garish displays of goods on the pavements have passed the point where they diminish the appeal of the famous street's fantastic historical appeal.

A balance has to be struck between the shopkeepers' need to sell their undoubtedly popular wares and maintaining the traditional appeal of what remains one of the world's great thoroughfares.

That can only be achieved through compromise and consensus.

The council's ongoing efforts to strike the correct balance by working with the traders deserve a chance to show that they can succeed in bringing about an improvement.

The wrong target

scotland's famous Tartan Army always follow our national football team with passion, they always hit the bars - and they always sing "stand up if you hate England".

Genuine anti-English abuse is a blight on our nation and should be stamped out wherever it occurs.

But the behaviour of the Tartan Army bears absolutely no resemblance to the damaging sectarianism in our club game. No-one is supposed to take it too seriously.

Midlothian Provost Adam Montgomery no doubt has the best of intentions in calling for a crackdown, but he has missed the target on this occasion.