People go to gyms to stimulate rowing, so why not do the real thing instead? I think one of the problems is people have largely forgotten about the ponds and could do with reminding.

The council should find ways of promoting the ponds as a way for families to enjoy fresh air and exercise and to have fun.

Boats are available for hire from 11 am till 6 pm each day during the summer holidays and on Sundays until the end of the season. Have a go. — M. B. Kobylarska, Law Street, Dundee.

How is it possible to know if the people of Scotland do or do not want independence?

To date there has not been a referendum so it is impossible for either side to claim the people back their view.

What there has been, as I alluded to in my original letter, is a series of opinion polls. These suggest there is not a majority in favour of independence, nor is there a majority against.

There are a lot of people who have yet to decide which way they would vote. It is not being optimistic to suggest that should the SNP convince enough of them to vote for independence, then the SNP could win a referendum.

Perhaps that’s why Unionists prefer attacking those of us who want an honest debate on the issue. — Political Watcher.

ANYONE LIKE D. A. B., who supports Unionist parties, should be ashamed. They are allowing Westminster to speak for us on the world stage rather than doing it ourselves.

Why do 75% of Scots believe we should get independence but don’t back the party which will deliver on this issue?

So let’s stop being afraid and move to protect our own interests before there’s nothing left. — R. G., Dundee.

I REFER to the letter “No appetite for separation”.

Separatism:— a word beloved by both Old Tories and New Tories, sorry New Labour.

Separatism:— a word scattered throughout schoolboy history lessons — American War of Separatism, celebrated annually on 4th July, “Separatism Day”; Labour government grants separatism to India; Scotland’s historic Declaration of Separatism at Arbroath.

Separatism:— a word substitute for independence used by people afraid of taking decisions and who would rather have decisions taken for them. — Alba.

At last, a man who shortly could be the most powerful in the world seems to offer some hope for sanity.

Blair and his clones of Straw, Hoon, Reid, Blunkett and Brown, have only succeeded in making the world in general, and the Gulf in particular, as unstable as it’s ever been.

It’s not enough for Blair to say he genuinely believed his actions were right. Someone with his powers just can’t afford to be so wrong.

After all the committees of inquiries and whitewashes, Tony, it’s time to go. — W. W. McCormack, Symers Street, Dundee.

Most of the land has been sold off for building with the result the fallow deer that are occasionally seen amongst shrubs and trees are being pushed closer and closer to the road, where their fate ultimately lies.

Have the council no heart or is greed the motive? — M. Stewart, Kirkconnel Terrace, Dundee.

They simply will not believe my assertion that New Jersey, capital Trenton and West Virginia, capital Charleston, are states. — Reres Road.

[New Jersey was the third state, achieving that status in 1787. West Virginia became a state in 1863. Both capitals are correct.]