YOUR VIEWS: Far North Line train times, Wick health care and Donald Trump’s White House challenge

Far North Line must offer faster travel times

I read with great interest the proposals by the Far North Line Community Rail Partnership to create the post of a part-time development officer to promote the Far North Line to local communities along its length (John O'Groat Journal, July 26).

The scenery is certainly world class, and I'll leave it to others to comment (if they feel the need to) on the rail service currently provided thereon.

However, the successful applicant for this position needs to understand that the line must be useful to its communities in Caithness in order to survive in its current form.

It takes, on average, twice as long to travel by rail from Thurso/ Wick to Inverness as it does by road. This is not an issue for those travellers who are tourists, retired etc., but for those who have things to do, places to go to and people to see in a limited timeframe, this is a massive problem.

This is particularly the case if you have to go to medical appointments in Inverness or further as the rail travelling times constrain that opportunity. This would also apply to business travel.

The rail/road time differential has to be reduced, by speeding up train services to/ from Caithness and reducing the rail journey time to Inverness, to make rail travel more attractive to the local population and encourage greater use. This has been proven by two surveys undertaken in 2011 and 2016.

The FNLCRP and the development officer are advised to take note of this and progress appropriate action in order to achieve their aim of getting more people to use the train from Caithness and elsewhere.

Mark W Norton

Barrock

Thurso

Health care in Wick is ‘outstanding’

I would like to place on record the outstanding care I received from our local NHS staff.

Recently I was in the unfortunate situation to experience a sudden and devastating mental health crisis.

Everyone I came into contact with, starting at my local GP practice followed by paramedics and A&E staff at Caithness General Hospital, treated me with kindness, and non-judgmental understanding.

I have complex physical health needs. Such an approach was sadly not always present when I lived in England. This was mainly due to the crushing, stressful environment caused by austerity.

I would especially like to thank the staff on the Rosebank Ward. They face the usual strain of a busy environment but epitomised Hemmingway’s famous phrase of having “grace under pressure”.

Dermot Rathbone

Address Supplied

Only in America

Well it could only happen in America, the former President Donald Trump now masquerading as a modern day messiah!

To hear his inane ramblings claiming it was only the hand of God that saved him from the bullet, a line thrown out to ensnare some of the fanatical religious bodies that are rampant throughout the States, to pull them into the fold. It is, I would think, the “blind leading the blind”.

Then later, after he had made various speeches, how sickening it was to witness his sycophantic followers with bandages on their ears, aping the great one, the Donald. Or perhaps he was in his trickery reflecting, and conjuring up his bandaged pain in the image of one of the greatest artists that ever lived, one Vincent Van Gogh.

Their are no depths that this man would not sink to in order to gain further support.

The sad fact is that a huge amount of the American electorate accept him as their “chosen one”. The chosen one who has no less than 91 criminal charges currently against him, and who has conducted himself in previous campaigns with arrogance and ignorance, treating any would-be challenger with disdain and total disrespect.

In the present one, following the shooting, there was some meditative calm and reflection, which gave the optimistic hope that things may go differently and he may rethink his address.

This, however, was to be short lived, as he is now back true to form attacking the Democrat contender for the White House, Kamala Harris, calling her a mad leftist and anti-semite, which is quite bizarre considering she has Jewish friends. But without doubt he is sure to have many more insults stored in his arsenal to launch against her.

It was sad and unfortunate that President Joe Biden seemed to be failing in health, and ultimately, following much pressure as a consequence, decided to stand down. But he owned that decision with dignity, honour and respect, attributes that are quite alien to the Donald.

I wish Kamala Harris every success in her running for Presidency. Perhaps this is just what America needs, to heal the huge divisions that have long existed in that nation. The first woman, whom like one of her predecessors, one Barrack Obama, happens also to be black, to take up residency as President in the White House.

What an incredible historical achievement this would truly be.

John McLeod

Oakwood Court

Inverness

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