Your letters to the Helensburgh Advertiser: August 24, 2017

To have your say on any local issue, just email your views to editorial@helensburghadvertiser.co.uk, with your name, address and a contact phone number, and including 'Letter' in the subject line. We'll publish the pick of the bunch in our August 31 issue. Happy writing!

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I am writing in support of the carers employed by the recently-failed company of M and J Carers.

How sad it is that these employees have been let down so badly by the company which employed them when they have worked tirelessly in the service of the sick and vulnerable.

I was helped to look after my husband in his final days by a small group of these carers and I can say that they were superb.

They were kind and very caring and went above and beyond what they needed to do.

I shall forever be grateful for their help.

Kathleen Gorrie, via email

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On behalf of those residents of the district blessed with a sense of humour can I please express our grateful thanks to a man who has sat astride local artistic creativity like a colossus.

I refer, of course, to the editor of that marvellous satirical comic magazine, The Clyper.

The 2013 publication of issue 1 of The Clyper heralded a comedic dawn the likes of which we had never witnessed, when the editor took his pen and pricked the balloon of pomposity that had, for so long, blotted out our sun.

Together with his talented team of cartoonists he tackled those issues of which we ordinary mortals dare not speak; malfunctioning nuclear reactors, submarine strandings, traffic obsessed polis, bodged bin collections, “cooncil” controversies and, of course, dastardly doggy doo-doos.

And now that wonderful man has replaced the cap on his pen and shuffled off to a well deserved retirement, shaking his head in mystification.

“How,” he asked of one of his carers, “could residents of this burgh believe that Hill House is due to be demolished when the article appeared not only in cartoon form but on the same page as another item informing readers that a talking sheep has been discovered on moorland above Garelochhead?"

In light of what I understand to be inordinately large sums of public funds being poured into the Submarine Museum (due to open 2014), would it be possible for a fraction of this amount to be allocated for the erection of a statue in Colquhoun Square depicting one of The Clyper’s favourite characters, Gordon the Gull?

I am sure that, as a community, we can look to your publication to help in promoting a public petition.

As to the editor I understand that he is, perhaps, not lost to us, for have I not heard a whisper that he may be about to begin a Burgh blog.

Joe McIntyre via email

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Every year, 3,700 people in Scotland are diagnosed with bowel cancer.

Luckily, when my mum was diagnosed with the disease it was spotted early when survival rates are higher and she has now recovered.

Physical activity plays an important part in stacking the odds against a bowel cancer diagnosis and as a keen walker myself, I’m delighted to support Bowel Cancer UK’s Walk Together.

Walk Together is a sponsored five mile walk to bring people together so that they can show their support for those undergoing treatment, remember loved ones we have lost and raise funds to help stop bowel cancer. It’s for people of all ages and abilities.

Sign up to Walk Together in Edinburgh on Saturday 23 September 2017 or to receive a fundraising pack with everything you need to hold your own memorable walk.

Visit: bowelcanceruk.org.uk/walktogether

Julia Bradbury, TV presenter and Bowel Cancer UK patron

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The school summer holiday in Scotland has sadly come to an end, and now that children are back in school it’s important that parents of children with asthma keep an eye out for the early warning signs of an asthma attack.

Children are at a much greater risk of having an asthma attack when they’re back at school, partly due to exposure to triggers such as cold and flu viruses. In fact, the latest hospital admissions data showed that children in Scotland were 68 per cent more likely to be rushed to hospital following an asthma attack in August than in July.

Every 10 seconds someone has a potentially life-threatening asthma attack in the UK, and three people die from asthma every day, so it’s important for parents to spot the signs of an asthma attack early.

You should book an urgent appointment with the GP or asthma nurse if your child is: using their reliever inhaler (usually blue) more than three times a week; coughing or wheezing at night; feeling out of breath and struggling to keep up with their friends.

Parents who have any concerns about their child’s asthma can speak to our expert nurses by calling the Asthma UK Helpline on 0300 222 5800 (Mon-Fri; 9am-5pm), and can find more information on how to protect their child when they’re back in school this August by visiting https://www.asthma.org.uk/back-to-school

Sonia Munde, Head of Helpline and Nurse Manager at Asthma UK

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Dyed-in-the-wool nationalists are airing their republican sympathies online by demanding ‘Queen Nicola’ (I jest not) should open the new Forth crossing, not the Queen (Elizabeth, that is).

That the Queen is head of state and that she will perform the Queensferry Crossing opening ceremony 53 years to the day since she opened the Forth Road Bridge count for little.

If you’re a passionate separatist your focus is division, as represented by the SNP and its leader, not continuity and heritage.

The majority in Scotland are more circumspect: Ms Sturgeon’s personal popularity has nose-dived on the back of her UK break-up obsession combined with the SNP’s lacklustre management of Scotland’s public services.

Martin Redfern, via email

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Over 250,000 people in Scotland are living with Type 2 diabetes. It’s a serious condition which can lead to life-limiting complications if people are not supported to manage it well.

Diabetes is complex and it requires careful management every day in order to stay healthy.

If you are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, you will undoubtedly have a lot of questions and may feel overwhelmed by all the information that is out there.

At Diabetes Scotland, with support from Scottish Government, we are developing a Type 2 diabetes education pack which is currently being trialled in a number of GP practices.

Our aim is to provide all the information you need in an easy-to-read guide that can be kept and used as you require.

We’re looking for people who are living with Type 2 diabetes to advise on the content of our Type 2 education pack and help make sure it meets the needs of people who are newly diagnosed. If any readers are living with Type 2 diabetes and would like to be involved, please email me at chloe.duffus@diabetes.org.uk or call 0141 245 6380.

Chloe Duffus, Type 2 Education Project Manger, Diabetes Scotland

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Did your readers know that there are 6.8 million carers in the UK and every day another 6,000 people take on a caring responsibility?

Unpaid carers face huge challenges providing care for disabled or older loved ones.

For instance, according to our own research, a third of carers have never had any significant time off since they started caring. Would you like to do something about that?

I work for a fantastic charity called Revitalise. We provide much-needed respite holidays for disabled people and carers at three accessible UK centres, and this month we have been appealing to the nation on BBC Radio 4 to ask for more support for the nation’s unsung army of carers.

Our Appeal will be presented by our good friend, the writer and comedian Arthur Smith, who is a vice-president of Revitalise.

Arthur talks about his own experience as a carer for his mother Hazel, then goes on tell the story of Mavis and Colin, who recently benefitted from a respite break with Revitalise, which helped sustain their relationship.

Mavis and Colin have been married for 56 years.

When Mavis developed MS in her 20s, Colin gave up work to care for her, but was himself diagnosed with dementia in 2002 and Mavis is now his carer.

To find out more about our Appeal, visit our website: www.revitalise.org.uk Please help.

Colin Brook, Revitalise