A Poem For Valentine’s Day.

A Glasgow Wooing.

I’ve garage flowers in my hand
Like that guy’s red red rose
Bound up in an elastic band
In your tenement close

Our night won’t start on a low key
We’ll shine as two bright stars
In duets at the karaoke
Upstairs at the Horseshoe Bar

Then down but not on our uppers
Beneath the Clydeside moon
We’ll dine on the best fish suppers
Straight from the Blue Lagoon

When we’ve had our thirteenth round
Of Buckie and Irn Bru
And midnight has come Glasgow town
It’s then I’ll swear to you

I’ll love your body and your brain –
Serve your Weegee desires:
Take me home on that shoogly train
– I’ll be your chip pan fire.

Herald letter: Sturgeon and Mackay.

I RECALL that during the recent General Election campaign, Nicola Sturgeon was keen to lecture us on who was and who was not fit to hold office.

As the disgraced now ex-Finance Secretary Derek Mackay rose to his former prominence entirely under the auspices of Ms Sturgeon (without apparent qualifications, experience or aptitude), it is clear that her judgment and recommendations are not to be taken seriously.

Peter A Russell, Glasgow G13.

Herald letter: Johnson; Whose PM? and Let’s Co-Exist and Co-operate*

(*Fat chance.)

WILLIE Maclean (Letters, Febuary 3) kindly asks me what adjectives I would apply to Boris Johnson and I am pleased to oblige: from my observations, he is vain, entitled, mendacious and opportunistic. (Incidentally, other politicians with these qualities are also available at all levels and in all parties.) In addition, however, Mr Johnson has become Prime Minster with a large majority, and was successful in getting elected and re-elected as Mayor of London. So he is also obviously not to be under-estimated.

Mr Maclean also refers to Boris Johnson as “[my] leader”. I did not vote for him to be PM, and nor would I, but of course Mr Maclean is correct. Mr Johnson is the Prime Minster of the United Kingdom, so he is my PM just as he is Mr MacLean’s PM and indeed Nicola Sturgeon’s PM and every other member of the SNP’s PM.

I also make no apology for pointing out the divisive and bitter nature of the Scottish Nationalists’ politics. The Brexit referendum has caused deep divisions between Leavers and Remainers: surely we do not need on top of it a big helping of Holyrood vs Westminster, Nats vs Unionists, Yessers vs Yoons, Bravehearts vs Quislings? It would be far better to accept the outcomes of two free and fair democratic referendums. Then we could devote our energies to co-operation and co-existence within the bounds of devolution, rather than wasting them on a perpetual (and pointless) culture war.

Peter A Russell, Glasgow G13.

Herald letter (last week): for healing and vs division.

NEIL Mackay’s commentary (“Why Scotland has a few home truths to learn this Brexit Day”, The Herald, January 30) should give us all much food for thought. However, there is at least one very important issue which he neglects to explore. This the fact that in the two respective referendums No voters were the winners and Remain voters were the losers.

There is a significant difference between being an ousted majority (if the SNP were to overturn the 2014 result) and being a minority which is naturally disappointed at the outcome of the 2016 vote. By extension, allowing the normal outcome of referendums is a simple and logical remedy for both sets of voters: the majority view prevails and the minority accepts that in a democracy, you sometimes lose the vote even if you sincerely believe you won the argument.

Moreover, it would also surely have been better to seek consensus around the outcomes of both referendums. It is mark of the failure of our leaders of all parties and at both Westminster and Holyrood that there is no such progress over the past five years. But even Boris Johnson has now declared “let the healing begin,” and although he may not succeed, surely that intention is preferable to the position of Nicola Sturgeon, who has wilfully led Scotland further and further down the road of division and bitterness.

Peter A Russell, Glasgow G13.