Letters: Winter can make city a hill of an attractive destination

For all the misery and disruption that the "Big Freeze" has brought with it this winter, perhaps we should try to remain upbeat and take the positives out of it.

Edinburgh and the surrounding area is quite stunning at the best of times.

But since the wintry weather has taken a grip, a "Winter Wonderland" has quite literally been created and the scenery is simply breathtaking.

Also, if such winters were to become the norm we would have no choice but to learn to live with them.

Who knows, we could even use them to our advantage in that Edinburgh could become an ideal location for winter sports enthusiasts.

Just think how popular a fully modernised and developed Hillend Ski Centre would be with skiers of all ages, abilities and nationalities.

And then there are the surrounding Pentland Hills. They could be used for anything from the fashionable and trendy snow boarding to the more traditional Nordic skiing events.

Difficult as it might be, we would be wise to adapt to these wintry conditions.

In doing so we may also learn to cope much better with them!

Angus McGregor, Albion Road, Edinburgh

Drivers deserve a reward for efforts

WE would like to agree with your readers who praised the Lothian Region bus drivers earlier this week.

In what can only be described as the most horrendous road conditions throughout the city over the last few weeks, they have maintained a superb service.

Although we lost our service to Baberton for more than a week and had to walk to Wester Hailes Plaza to pick up a bus, we were always met with patience and good humour by the drivers when clearly it was a very trying time for them dealing with the conditions and hordes of passengers who would normally travel by car and were thus "clueless"!

Full marks to the drivers and hopefully their bosses will reward them accordingly for their great service.

Mr and Mrs Rollo, Baberton Mains Edinburgh

Glad I'm not at the wheel now

DURING the cold spell much has been said about the poor pensioners.

Personally, my sympathy goes out to those who have to go out to work and earn a living.

I look out of the window now and give thanks that I no longer have to go out and drive a bus.

H MacDonald, 94-year-old former bus driver, Edinburgh

A much-needed boost for Gaelic

THE launch of BBC Alba on Freeview is to be greatly welcomed and has the potential to boost its viewing figures by 111,000.

For every one Gaelic speaker, the station has so far attracted four non-Gaelic speakers, watching the station for an average of more than an hour per week, evidence of its appeal across a wide range of audiences.

It is also a great boost to Scotland's independent producers, responsible for creating more than half of the content commissioned from this group, as well as creating jobs.

At such a critical point in the history of Gaelic, this move will prove a much-needed boost to the language.

Alex Orr, Leamington Terrace, Edinburgh

Thanks for sledge rescue after fall

CAN I take this opportunity to thank the nice couple and their two young sons with sledges who rescued me when I fell and broke my ankle at Napier's Craighouse campus on Sunday please?

They helped me on to a sledge and pulled me to the bus terminus where my husband collected me in the car and took me to A&E.

And thank-you to their son, James (I think), for the Yorkie bar! I really appreciated it.

Jackie Macadam, Craiglea Drive, Edinburgh