Don't let this Lamb go to the slaughter

I NOTE from your article "Restoration of 300-year-old Lamb's House is on the cards" (News, February 11) that yet again a part of the noble history of Leith and Scotland is to become shuffled along with other relics into flats.

The National Trust seem proud that this much-loved building will come back into everyday use.

There are over 30,000 homes planned by Forth Ports and others to house incomers who decide to live near their work or think that living in Leith is now the in thing.

They know or care not a jot about this A-listed building, its heritage or history.

Newcomers and visitors will know of this, if the ancient fabric of the town continues to be commercialised.

I wonder how many of the newly domiciled Leith dwellers, have supported the Leith Museum petition, which returns to Parliament next week for another airing, or even know of its existence.

If the National Trust doesn't want it, or doesn't want to continue to pay for the upkeep of it, hand it over to those who do care who will gladly take that part of the Government cake enjoyed by the National Trust and put it to real use.

I presume that when the Town Chambers, now Leith police station, if you can pronounce that, will go the same way for more flats, not for affordable housing to be used by the hoi-polloi who elected the "decision makers" in the first place.
Steve Mitchell, West Granton Road, Edinburgh

Hard to keep up heavy workload
I REFER to the article in the Evening News of February 12 about my resignation from the Board of the Science Festival.

Despite not receiving notification of the Science Festival meetings, on checking I found that on the five dates it did meet, I had other meetings to attend on three of them, indeed on one of the dates I had four meetings, one of which was with your journalist, Alan Roden. For the record, the SNP business manager has informed me that since May, I have attended 588 meetings as a councillor.

My workload as leader of the SNP group and deputy leader of the council is greater than I anticipated as this is the first time the administration of the council has been run under coalition terms and it was uncharted waters. However, I and my fellow councillors (from whichever party) do indeed put in a great deal of time and effort into our work, sometimes meetings conflict with each other, that is inevitable, but I believe that we all try to do our best to live up to the demands of the office to which we were elected.
Councillor Steve Cardownie, Deputy Leader of the City of Edinburgh Council

Ca(i)re cut will be a false economy
I AM horrified to learn that funding for the Ca(i)re Project, an invaluable service, is to be cut by 66 per cent.

This is a false economy as the resulting distress caused to carers will manifest itself in greater demand for GP services and respite care for clients with complex needs. I have also learned that funding is to be cut for the Edinburgh Development Group, another invaluable resource for carers like myself, caring for an autistic brother.

Everyone wants and needs a bit out of the apple, but the ordinary people of Edinburgh are being scunnered by a money-centred approach by the council for our most under-represented group.
Anne Murray, The Glebe, Kirkliston, West Lothian

Give pupils school that they deserve
IT is great to see articulate and passionate pupils from Portobello High School arguing their case for a new school building via a DVD (News, February 11), but sad that they have to resort to that. Pupils learn better in high-quality buildings.

Last April, in an otherwise excellent report, school inspectors identified "important weaknesses" in the quality of the building and teaching space. Rebuilding Portobello High School is clearly necessary, justified and urgent.

The Lib Dem/SNP council must now allocate funds to start the work. The SNP Government cannot shirk its responsibilities and pretend not to know the scale of the problem – especially when one of its senior ministers is the local MSP. Local residents expect local politicians to stand up for their area. Mr MacAskill should start by lobbying his own SNP colleagues.
Rami Okasha, Dickson Street, Edinburgh

Setting the record straight on coach
HAVING been interviewed by your newspaper on the telephone about my time at Royal High School I have now read the resulting article and find myself utterly embarrassed.

Some inaccuracies are of little importance, but I wish to correct the travesty of what I said about rugby in the school.

In 1957 and for years afterwards we ran between 17 and 20 teams from a school roll of around 700 – a point I made to the interviewer. I was asked within an hour of arriving on my first day if I would help with the rugby and, having been coaching in my previous school, I readily agreed.

With so many teams to look after, we obviously had around a score of coaches and I played my small part.

At no point did I tell the interviewer that I was head coach, which would have been a lie and I paid tribute in my reminiscences to the real head coach, Douglas F Mitchell, who was highly regarded throughout Scotland for the outstanding teams he produced year on year and, even more, for the open, running, handling style of play he advocated.

Finally, I have not recently retired from coaching. I retired from my post of principal teacher of Classics at the Royal High School in the summer of 1987, and as the school was short of coaches I was asked if I would help out and I continued helping out for a number of years, but it is a long time now since I stopped.
Jock Dewar

Zoo has become embarrassment
THANK you to Hazel Mollison for highlighting my fears over Edinburgh Zoo. Since the article we have lost two types of antelope in the African Plain to the Wildlife Park at Aviemore.

Jenny Dawe's remark that it is better to have fewer animals in better enclosures misses the point completely. All these animals were in good enclosures. I suggest she visits as often as I do. The zoo should be honest – if they remove animals, tell us why and give a timetable for the replacement.

Does the gentleman who owns the ground at the park at Aviemore and is also a trustee at Edinburgh Zoo have too much influence?

Having been to Dublin, Vienna, Prague and Munich Zoos, I find Edinburgh Zoo very sad and embarrassing.
C J Kennedy, Broomhall Loan, Edinburgh