Letters: Attempts to close footpath are on road to nowhere

The council went to the bother of having a postal ballot, the outcome of which was 87 per cent in favour of the footpath being closed. It is still open!

I was in discussions with a couple of councillors last year but whilst they tried to help, they got nowhere.

The biggest laugh is that supposedly the local police said that there was a very low crime rate in Baberton Mains so didn't think it was necessary to close the footpath. Low crime rate compared to where?

I believe this is typical of the levels of buffoonery that only our council can achieve!

John Deans, Baberton Mains

Edinburgh people are the very best

MY HUSBAND and I (both senior citizens) travelled from Minnesota, USA, via Paris, to Edinburgh to attend a wedding on 1 May.

We got off the train at Haymarket Station with our large, heavy suitcases.

We looked for a lift but realised that the way out of the station was up a large flight of stairs.

My husband went up first and as I was starting up, a woman asked if I needed help.

Knowing my suitcase was very heavy, I thanked her, but said I would manage.

She said she could do it and carried my suitcase to the top of the stairs.

All I could say was: "Thank you so much. That was very kind of you," and she was gone.

At the top of the stairs were two young women who witnessed this act of kindness and said: "There are some nice people in this world." To which I replied: "Yes, there certainly are, and she was one of the best."

I have no doubt that either of those two young women would also have come to my aid.

I want to thank those lovely ladies who made my introduction to Edinburgh such a memorable one. Your city is great and your citizens are the best.

Margaret J Velky, Mahtomedi, Minnesota, United States

Noisy neighbours driving me mad

FOR more than five years I lived happily in my home. That was until last year when a young family moved in above me who took the step of removing the flooring and sanding the bare floorboards.

Whilst I appreciate the effect might be pleasing to the eye, I hope that people doing this consider the noise impact on the people living below.

Since my new neighbours removed their carpeting I have spent my days, evenings and nights listening to them burp, sneeze, talk, walk about their living room and even listen to them arguing! Their child spends its time running about and falling over.

All this noise impact can drive one insane!

The city council isn't geared up to deal with this type of noise and the police too are limited in what they can do.

After months of inconsiderate living I feel I am being driven from my home. The ongoing banging and thumping from 8am till past midnight means its rare to be able to relax with any kind of peace.

I hope that people with bare floorboards read this letter and consider what impact noise they are causing for their downstairs neighbours. Often the neighbour gets the brunt of the noise.

Name and address supplied

Job losses have been on the cards

YOU report that all council workers face a demand to agree to a series of new terms and conditions, or may lose their jobs (News, 5 May).

This is a problem that has been waiting to happen for years.

Local authorities have been overmanned and underworked for as long as I can remember – and I know, because that was where I started work.

Staff I worked with were either incompetent (a minority) or perfectly able but looking for an easy life (the majority).

It seems that the chickens have finally come home to roost. It took a while, but so does everything in the cosseted world of the public sector.

K Simpson, Linlithgow