Scotland
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Tessa Ransford
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The Cafe
The Cafe is our readers’ forum. Send your contribution to islay@scottishreview.net
Today’s banner
Near Commonwealth House (HQ of the Games) – just in case anyone goes hungry
Photograph by
Islay McLeod
The bullet wound
in the back
of his head
I am puzzled by the comments of Andrew Hook (5 April) on the death of Willie McRae which he attributes to a car accident, and makes no mention of the bullet wound in the back of his head, or to the several strange circumstances of his death.
I personally interviewed a close friend of Willie’s – John McGill of Kilmarnock – whose car was shot at a few days before Willie’s death. He immediately called lawyer Willie, who seemed to have a good idea what was going on. That was just a minor incident, but together with several others it indicates that McRae’s death was extremely suspicious.
David Thomson
Bob Cant
I am appalled by Kenneth Roy’s article on Cornton Vale (5 April) and must thank him sincerely for its existence. I worked as a prison visitor for Polmont when it was a YOI and know the insides of jails. It was the prison staff that got me down. The same when I worked in the education department and as a one-to-one with a soon-to-leave lifer at Saughton. There were a few altruistic young prison staff but they had all the goodness beaten out of them as early as it could be done. It is the lack of education of the staff that prevents improvement. I have failed to get others in positions of authority to agree with me on this or even to do anything about it. As I left the service many years ago I assumed it was a bit better – I am very disappointed to read it is still as rotten.
Matilda Mutchell
Michael Elcock
Warning. Don’t get caught speeding in Effingham County, Georgia, (was there ever a place better named?) as did Jose Maria Olazabal Manterola, our Ryder Cup captain. If you do, they will fine you a significant amount of money, but much worse, they will take your mugshot and post it on their website, between someone done for public intoxication and another charged with, but not convicted of, five offences, including escape, burglary and public indecency. There it can be lifted and used by any newspaper in the world, including what used to be the Daily Telegraph and (inevitably) the Daily Mail. Another small example of what can happen when a nation declines to ratify international treaties on human rights.
Quintin Jardine
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