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SOOTH-MOOTHER ON SHETLAND Your article on Shetland’s future [Norway or the Highway, March 2014] recalled my recent fi rst visit there. On collecting a rental car I’d asked what were the arrangements for returning it. I was told just to leave it in the public car park at Sumburgh airport, unlocked and with the keys inside. As a central belt dweller (ie: a ‘sooth-moother’) I was astonished that the islanders could be so trusting. A roadside sign read ‘eggs for sale’. Beside it was a box of


eggs, the price list and another box for money, but not a soul in sight. In Unst there was a bus shelter with chairs, cushions and other comforts. None of which, apparently, are ever disturbed. I had driven there along well-maintained roads blissfully bereft of pot-holes. Oil revenues wisely spent indeed. Yet the symbol of this wealth-generation, Sullom Voe’s


terminal, seemed remarkably well-integrated into the landscape. The locals whom I encountered were welcoming and relaxed, as befi ts a place that often tops ‘quality of life’ surveys. Not so much a straw, but a fl ag in the wind was the dearth of


Saltires in preference to Shetland’s own blue and white standard. If the islanders do choose their own path, should Scotland vote for independence, they may fi nd themselves being invaded again. This time from the south. John Samson, Edinburgh


THE NORTHERN VISIONARY I enjoyed Magnus Rendall’s piece on Shetland’s future, but was surprised that he failed to mention the role played by council offi cial Ian Clark who had the foresight to see that Shetland was in a position to benefi t long term from the 1970s oil bonanza. I was in Lerwick in 1976 when the whole place was buzzing with multinational companies, Sullom Voe being constructed, the roads collapsing under heavy traffi c. An undergraduate friend of mine was so impressed by Clark’s vision that he brass-necked an interview with the great man on the pretext of an economic geography study. He was even more impressed after meeting him, and noted the open Bible in his offi ce. Shetland has a lot to thank him for. Lorna Byrne, Locheilside, Fort William


A GOOD HEAD ON HER SHOULDERS Delighted to see the article ‘Mad as a Hatter’ on Pea Cooper and glad to see Scottish Field acknowledging and appreciating fresh new Scottish talent. I knew Paula (Pea) before she went south to study and she is now being rewarded for perseverance, hard work and no little talent. She deserves to succeed and I wish her every success in the future. Irene Campbell, Dunlop, Ayrshire


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