Letters: Tram project a folly that will connect with minority in city

THE trams project seems to make one thing clear to the people of Edinburgh. That is that elected politicians seem to think that because they have been elected, then any decisions they make are the right ones.

The vast majority of people in Edinburgh will never use the trams as they go nowhere near where they live.

If you look where the trams are proposed to go then it is plain for all to see that three-quarters of the city will either never use it or will use it once to see what the "saviour" of Edinburgh's transport system does or doesn't provide.

It's plain to see that a vote by the people of Edinburgh should have been taken and still should as we are the people who will have to foot the bill for a system that will never ever reach all the people of our city.

A complete folly to impress the visitors who will probably decrease in numbers due to crazy decisions like this one.

Brian Johnstone, Colinton Mains, Edinburgh

Leader should pay for chaos with job

I SUGGEST all those who contact the News regarding the trams fiasco also send their views to council leader Jenny Dawe. Then maybe, just maybe, the penny might finally drop and she will resign.

To have inflicted the disruption, the chaos, businesses going bust with the resultant job losses and the still to be ascertained financial burden on the public for years to come and remain as leader, is an absolute disgrace and speaks volumes for her disregard for the very people she is supposed to represent.

She should not disregard public opinion in such an arrogant manner.

Also, should the council not have had a legal obligation to consult the public before it voted in favour of the trams, due to the massive costs involved?

David Black, Kenmure Avenue, Edinburgh

What's happening on the buses?

NEVER mind the ongoing tram saga, what on earth is going on with Edinburgh's buses?

Twice this week I have been travelling on a 41 to Barnton when I have been asked to get off and board another bus, but my latest experience takes the biscuit.

I boarded a 41 near the Scott Monument in Princes Street, and when we got to Frederick Street an empty 41 was waiting at the stop. We were told to get on the empty bus. The bus we had just got off then passed us and drove in front of us to Queensferry Street, where it drew in to the first stop and began picking up passengers, while my new bus pulled in to the next stop and picked up passengers there. The two buses then drove in convoy to Main Street, Davidson's Mains, where people on my bus were told to get off and board the bus behind – the one I had originally got on in Princes Street.

At other times I have waited half an hour in town for a 41, which is notionally a 15-minute service.

Harry D Watson, Braehead Grove, Edinburgh

'Modern misses' scare the birds

A SMALL item recently caught my eye which reported that Brits abroad are the worst-dressed people in Europe (News, 4 June). Only when abroad?

I spent more than 23 years in the fashion trade – I ran my own ladies boutique in Tollcross and Newington Road.

Hopefully I know a bit about dress sense. In all the years I have been in the rag trade, I have never seen such walking disasters!

My husband once asked: "Do girls not enjoy looking like girls any more?" It's hard to tell male from female – sadly, femininity is stone dead.

You don't have to spend a lot of money to be well-groomed – shops have colourful and inexpensive clothes, with never-ending "sales" due to the recession.

And what do we see up and down the high streets? The dreaded, tatty, faded, torn, often dirty jeans, topped with vest-like T-shirts. They all look alike, no individuality, not forgetting the ugly black leggings. If I put a picture of the "modern miss" in my garden, it would frighten the birds – no need for a scarecrow these days!

Mrs Sylvia M DeLuca, Baberton Park Edinburgh