In response to Kenneth Roy (25 April), I do indeed spell my forename ‘Quintin’ but very few other people do. It seems to inspire a curious form of name-blindness. I am routinely addressed as ‘Quentin’ by friends, foes and even on occasion by my publishers, although they have managed so far to use the correct version on all my printed works.
Therefore it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that the Kilmarnock quail was named after me. We have a dozen quail’s eggs in the fridge at this very moment. On that off-chance, I will ask Queenie to boil them in his honour.
Quintin Jardine
I thoroughly enjoyed the piece ‘Have we got no news for you’ (25 April). It did little to smooth the dent in my confidence in that fine institution which occurred in their recent report on the Italian electoral career of Beppe Grillo, and I (nearly) quote, ‘This demonstrates that to succeed politicians today have to master social media and other mediums’. Is there anybody there?
Colin McLean
Ladies and gentlemen, two items of immediate interest: (number one) I am a wee bit fed up with hearing/reading all the time about the tiresome sexual non-habits of the pandas. They may be an endangered species but there are now 1,500 or how many of them in the wild compared with only 200 Scottish wild cats. Can somebody from the media be persuaded to turn the nation’s attention to these lovely creatures instead of the blooming pandas?
Then (number two) the cludgie myth. I am glad that you informed me that this is actually a myth. Visits to other folk’s cludgies are actually non-existent anyway: I do not know much about this type of habit in say Glasgow or Dundee or Falkirk or Prestwick or wherever: in Edinburgh (or Leith) this type of business is often conducted behind other folk’s main door.
Paul Millar
Charles Allison
How I enjoyed Kenneth Roy’s article about Dalmellington (23
April). Having taught in Doon Academy for a spell and knowing some of the people to whom he refers, I can only add my best wishes for all of their futures. In response to his plea, ‘We need to think hard about how these villages – the former pit villages – are to be helped’, I can only add that many of us across the country are indeed thinking hard on that subject and keep arriving at the same solution. I wonder how long before Kenneth admits that he has too.
Bill Boyd
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