Letters: Don't be chumps at the zoo, give people reason to visit

As a long-time member of the zoo along with my wife, we thought we would do our bit to show our support at the weekend, and so we took our grandchildren on what is one of their favourite days out.

As always, they wanted to make a beeline for their favourite exhibit, Rainbow Landings, where not only have they enjoyed feeding the birds, but also meeting the staff, who they have come to know well and who always have the time to talk to them and answer their questions.

Imagine their distress and our shock to find that this also seems to have become a victim of the cutbacks and is closed.

I find it strange that the zoo has shut what is probably the most popular attraction there, especially with the children.

If they do away with the only interactive exhibit in the zoo then I am sure they will lose even more valuable revenue, and where then will they be with their efforts to bring in Giant Pandas?

It seems the management at the zoo have their own ideas of what they want to do and pay little heed to what the public want to see – what is therefore popular and brings in money so the zoo can carry on the vital preservation work it is rightly proud of. It is the visiting public who enable the zoo to keep going, and they will only continue to visit if there is something for them to see.

Gordon Docherty, Edinburgh

Glasgow is king of grabbing cash

IT has been reported that the King's Theatre in Glasgow has been granted 51,000 for restoration work, with a possible 2 million to follow.

This has been provided by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

What is wrong with the King's Theatre in Edinburgh receiving a similar amount? It is just as iconic a theatre as its Glasgow counterpart, maybe more so as it attracts thousands of visitors to Scotland during the Festival.

Edinburgh needs millions of pounds to bring the King's up to scratch but it is the same old story – when money is dished out, Edinburgh is an also-ran.

J Munro, Priestfield Road, Edinburgh

Service that's just too good to last

I WAS interested to read the article in which Councillor Paul Edie stated how proud he was about the Reablement service and the difference it is making to elderly people's lives (News, September 29).

While this is true, it saddens me that his Department of Health and Social Care appears to have forgotten that its Crisis Care service has been doing this and more for years.

Crisis Care is a dedicated team of highly professional workers who provide an emergency support and assessment service for the people of Edinburgh.

They encourage and promote independence where at all possible and strive to prevent unnecessary hospital admission.

Unfortunately this first-class service is now under threat and is slowly being watered down and destroyed.

Crisis Care is held in high regard, especially by GPs who knew they could rely on the service for first-class support. To quote my own GP when he heard about the changes that are planned: "The trouble with Crisis Care was that it was just too perfect!"

Shirley Macpherson, Dalziel Place, Edinburgh

Dog owner whose attitude stinks

THE only thing I can say about Louise Kennedy's letter to the News (October 12) about letting her dogs urinate right in front of a restaurant is that she is advertising her poor attitude just as much as those who think they have a right to invade other people's lives with their cigarette smoke and other personal bad habits.

The restaurant owner she mentions had the good sense to object to yet another fouling of the pavement, but Louise shows no common sense at all, even if she is proud of collecting rogue dog 'poo'.

If that restaurant owner were to urinate directly in front of her premises, the police would be very quickly summoned.

J Addison, Waverley Park, Edinburgh