The wetter climate of recent years in Scotland means bracken is spreading and
Posted in General on 07. Sep, 2010
“The wetter climate of recent years in Scotland means bracken is spreading and there are bits of pine woodland which are being completely overtaken, which stops the pine forests regenerating under that kind of shade,” said Liz Balharry, who is running the pilot project and wanted to find a non-chemical way of controlling the bracken. Once a common sight in the natural woodlands of Scotland, the wild boar are to be returned as part of a tree conservation scheme.
The boars have been farm-reared and are not aggressive to humans. Two large enclosures have been set aside in Glen Affric near Inverness to allow animals to roam freely in an attempt to restore part of the ancient Caledonian pine forest. A pilot project aims to achieve natural regeneration of the landscape as the boars reduce the dominance of choking bracken, churn up the soil and provide a fertile seed bed for pine, rowan and birch trees. Why can’t they leave our brave sailors alone?BILL HUNTST MONANS, FIFE. Eight sows, 40 young and a boar called Boris are to be introduced to the Highlands as a “ground disturbance force” more than 300 years after they were hunted to extinction in Scotland. She has obviously never watched the public channel Art?which plays subtitled foreign films constantly, or she has never connected to the great Canal+ channels which offer foreign films (with choice of languages and subtitles) 24 hours a day.SIMON TRIQUETBRIGHTON Desperate Tories Sir: On Saturday Andrew Grice reported: “Backers of Mr Clarke say that he is the candidate Labour fears most, the one best-placed to exploit the economic storm clouds the Tories hope will gather before the next election.” Would anyone want to vote for a party which hoped for disaster in order to facilitate their return to power? Would we not think that they are now at rock-bottom and desperate because they know it?DAVID M BISHOPGUISBOROUGH, CLEVELANDSir: We must be grateful to Michael Brown (Opinion, 26 August) for drawing attention to yet another Tory failing He reveals that they are indulging in “naval-gazing”.
My friend Phil Thomas was the principal of an international school in Geneva, where two of the pupils were the children of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. One day Phil’s secretary brought him a cablegram saying “This seems to be in code.” It turned out to be a message to those two children from their father, saying that he and their mother were to be remarried. The code was Welsh (Phil being a Welshman too).JOHN HAWGOODDURHAM Subtitles on French TV Sir: Debra Hart, from Marseille (letter, 29 August), complains that French TV does not offer English programmes with subtitles. Is it possible to conclude that this generation of young women is under rather too much pressure?KATE GREENHALGHLONDON SW19 Welsh family code Sir: Gwyn Davies suggests that MI5 conduct its business exclusively in Welsh as a means of encoding (letter, 24 August). Our Year 6 were incensed at the triviality of the tasks which gave them no opportunity to display their excellent writing skills.Still, it gives all these chaps something to fret about when the real worry (which is never mentioned) is the difference in achievement between the social classes.JANE LAWSONLONDON SE7 Poor reward for cricket fans Sir: Like many, many others, I watched a thrilling game of cricket on television on Sunday and celebrated the England team’s deserved victory. We have had a feast of three close-run matches in four weeks, with another to come in two weeks’ time.Over the next few years live television coverage of similar events will be denied to millions as transmission is switched to satellite, with only highlights on terrestrial television. This is scant reward for the support that cricket is now receiving as the ECB pursues the shy millions.RODNEY ALLENLONG EATON, DERBYSHIRE Teenage stress Sir: The same week which brings news of higher than ever exam performance by teenagers, particularly girls, also brings us news of higher than ever alcohol consumption by teenagers, particularly girls.
I wonder if those who are so free with their condemnations of teachers have any idea of the inane tasks which were set for this year’s SATs.These poor children had 20 minutes to describe “My Favourite Meal” (somewhat tricky even for seasoned restaurant critics), and 40 minutes to write a script persuading their parents to let them stay up to watch a TV programme.In many homes, I am happy to say, the conversation would be: “Please can I watch Friends?” – “No, and don’t argue, I’m your mother”. He sleeps in a car park, goes to the Methodist church for breakfast and the Salvation Army for clothes. “I hate living like this!” he exclaimed, “I really hate it.”Is it acceptable that in our wealthy society some have more than one home while others shiver under the stars?THE REVD SUE NORTONYORK Boys fail to shine in inane tests Sir: Once again we have the annual wringing of hands over the state of boys’ writing (report, 24 August). He has been homeless for a year, would like to work but cannot get a job because he has no address and cannot afford an address because without a job he has no money.
But in any case, my strong impression is that, while there’s been a lot of such extraneous applause during this Prom season, most of it has come not from those of us who are “Prommers”, standing in the Arena or Gallery, but from the people in the seats.ANTHONY BURTONEAST BARNET, HERTFORDSHIRE Two homes? Some don’t even have one Sir: In Jonathan Brown’s piece on the boom in second homes (25 August) he quotes a researcher saying, “We are becoming better off and people throughout the UK are beginning to realise that they need more than one home to reflect their lifestyle and meet their needs.”The other day I was talking to a man sitting on the pavement outside our church. The high levels of confidence the British police enjoys domestically and internationally depend on its ability to have a truthful relationship with the public, particularly at a moment when discretionary powers are being put into their hands in the name of national security.HUMBERTO MAFRALONDON W9 Unwanted applause at the Proms Sir: In her review of Prom 55 (29 August) Annette Morreau says the conductor went straight into the slow movement of the Beethoven symphony “before any Prommer even thought of applauding”.Opinions may differ about applause between movements: after all, it happened all the time until the early 20th century; and these days it can be a welcome sign that an audience includes some newcomers to the concert hall, and that they’re enjoying themselves. If they knew the earning power of a systems consultant or the annual travel expenses of a translator, they might think twice about rejecting a course in IT or a language A-Level.It’s true we should encourage our children to pursue the subjects they like, as enjoyment breeds success. But perhaps perceived “hard subjects” would be more attractive if the doors they open up were better signposted.ROBERT CHAPMANLONDON W1 Brazil is right to demand the truth Sir: I was appalled by what Howard Jacobson wrote (Opinion, 27 August) pertaining to the Brazilian government advocating on behalf of a Brazilian citizen victim of a tragedy abroad.What the Brazilian government is doing in the Menezes case is completely within the framework of international law; the British government does it all the time whenever a British national is the victim of a misfortune abroad; this dreadful incident hasn’t caused any diplomatic problem between Brazil and the UK, whose relationship is excellent.What have the Brazilian government’s difficulties with domestic rates of crime and human rights issues got to do with the need to have a trustworthy inquiry about what really happened at Stockwell Tube station and their efforts to clarify and correct the purposefully misleading information distributed about the incident?It is in the interest of the British people to clarify what went wrong. Like it or not, the decisions they make now will have life-changing consequences. This sort of old-fashion romantic vision of the UK economy does nobody any favours. The growth in our economy relies on new skills in IT and services.As an employer I am regularly confronted by graduates clutching qualifications in subjects which bear little relevance to the jobs they seek.
Admittedly, for 60 per cent of graduate jobs that’s not an issue, but it’s the jobs that demand knowledge of a particular subject that are lacking in applicants.What we need is better careers advice for all those determining their next move this week. They have been flogging off Iraq’s assets as if on eBay, imposing a form of neo-liberalism that has caused unemployment to hit 70 per cent. For the past two weeks, my brother and I have been collecting up the past and dispersing it in different directions – to our places, to the auction, to the skip. Nothing quite prepares one for the business of clearing the parental home, an experience that combines the stressed-out upheaval of moving house with the aching sadness of bereavement. While the practical requirements of preparing a house for change of ownership are attended to, there are emotionally charged decisions to be made about what to do with items of real or, equally difficult, emotional value in a manner that is fair to both the living and the dead.
It would be comfortable to think that, just as when life leaves a person’s body and only a physical husk remains, then the same process would take place to a house and its contents. In fact, the imprint of the departed remains on the place where they lived.