Spoiled teachers need to be given a dose of reality

I AM writing with anger and horror at the length of this year's summer holidays for school children. Who on earth gets this in any other job?

I'm urging all parents to contact local councillors etc to push for holidays to be shortened.

It is difficult for children to learn when all they ever do is have longer and longer holidays.

Parents in all social groups are expected to find child care and cover the costs for all these holidays and even parents who may presently be out of work are being forced into work, but how can they realistically do this when the children have these amounts of holidays?

It's disgusting and outrageous. Teachers should not be paid for all these holidays. What a cushy number they have.

I don't ever want to hear them moaning how hard-worked they are because I have no sympathy.

I certainly work just as hard and don't get anywhere near these amount of holidays.

But for the sake of the children's education something really should be done.

There is no need for 7½ weeks summer break, October break, February break, Christmas break, Easter break plus all the public holidays and in-service days! And half days on Fridays!

Teachers are simply spoiled and need brought back in touch with reality. It's been going on for far too long.

Come on all you education gurus, help the parents please!

Jenni Marshall (mother-of-two), Abbeyhill, Edinburgh


Parking policy is driving shops out

THE council's policy on controlled parking zones leaves a great deal to be desired. As the council keeps extending the various zones, let's face it the real problem is what I would call the outside commuter, who merely moves to the next available area where they don't have to pay.

Has anyone noticed the large increase in the number of cars now parking in the Riselaw Crescent/Pentland Terrace area ie Anywhere outside the paying zone and near a bus stop. On the other hand my sense of fair play tells me, who can blame them?

Council parking policy is largely to blame for so many suburban shops lying empty, with small businesses going to the wall at a quite alarming rate.

James Fair, Maxwell Street, Edinburgh


Inefficiency of EU costing us billions

THE EU repeatedly told 27 countries that by 2020 ten per cent of all fuel put into vehicles would have to have been derived from plants – biofuels.

This Government has meekly complied and already has legislated for 2.5 per cent. This will soon go up to five per cent.

However, biofuels have been blamed for rising world food prices. Farmers have switched from food production to biofuel crops.

With 6.4 billion people in the world we need all the food production possible, not some "green vision" that will lead to starvation for millions.

Grain shortages and fuel prices are increasing the cost of animal feed and adding to food inflation. The World Bank recently blamed biofuels for the 75 per cent increase in the price of basic foods.

There is the possibility of millions starving as precious cropland is turned over to biofuels.

Deforestation is now rampant.

So biofuels are no longer flavour of the month. But it gets worse.

European Union energy ministers admitted that they were wrong and had been legislating for 18 months thinking that the EU climate change plan included an obligation to pursue biofuels for vehicles. Wrong.

They belatedly admitted misreading EU documents and "discovered" that "ten per cent of transport needs must come from renewables" not ten per cent from biofuels as they have preached.

So, can someone please tell me why we are paying billions to this inefficient, corrupt, unaccountable and unelected "parliament" in Brussels?

Clark Cross, Springfield Road, Linlithgow


Making mountains out of molehills

WHY are the London 2012 organisers building a mountain bike facility in Essex when Scotland and Wales have mountain facilities in abundance?

Something that taxpayers in Scotland and Wales will also wonder about.

Andrew J T Kerr, Castlegate, Jedburgh


US Tattoo troops weren't the first

I READ with great interest the article, about the former US cadets from Rutgers University, coming back to visit Edinburgh, and to see the Tattoo, which they had performed at in 1968. But they were not the first US troops to appear.

I was in the Tattoo in 1958, I was serving with the 1st Battalion of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, having just returned from Korea, Malaya and active service in Aden 1956-58. There were US Marines in our Tattoo who performed a drill display, we were stationed with them at Redford Barracks.

I have tried to obtain a copy as the Tattoo was filmed by BBC Scotland, but there had been a fire in the archives in Glasgow, and some films were destroyed.

John Dick, Abbey Mews, North Berwick