Edinburgh, the Lothians and south Fife are booming at the expense of towns and cities in the north and north-east of the country.

To the best of my knowledge the last major company to open a factory in Dundee was Michelin in 1972. Since then there has been nothing but closures and redundancies in the city. I fear that we are becoming a “rust belt” town like those in the northern states of the USA.

Like letter writer Kenneth Brannan, I feel that a boycott of Tesco could be counter-productive.

This company will think nothing of closing all its stores in Dundee, putting hundreds more on the dole.

I only hope Tesco has the decency to give the 432 workers the redundancy package to which they are entitled. — Dismayed Dundonian.

I don’t know if Tesco sells boots (it sells everything else), but if it does, it is getting too big for them.

It was good news to read recently that Waitrose (a subsidiary of the John Lewis partnership) was looking for sites in Scotland and mentioned Dundee. This is a good company, good value, clean shops, and good to their employees.

Until that happens, I will try to shop as often as I can at Sainsbury’s. It’s at the other side of town, but principles do count.

But there is a wider problem here.

It is that the Scottish Parliament is a £430 million pig-in-a-poke and about as much use as a glass hammer.

You will notice that Livingston, where Tesco will build this “superdepot”, is right in the backyard of Holyrood and pretty near that other metropolis, Glasgow.

But those of us who were not in favour of a Scottish Parliament will now remind you that this was predicted.

All moves will be towards the new “golden triangle” bounded by Edinburgh, Stirling and Glasgow.

Inside will be employment, big profits, huge house prices, congestion, and all the trappings of prosperity.

Outside will be massive unemployment as all the industries and distributors will want to be close to their big markets. — Interested Party.

I live next door to an ordinary working-class person who is still employed by Tesco in one of their four stores in Dundee.

While I have every sympathy with those in the distribution centre (I have friends who work there), I’m not sure what a mass boycott of the stores actually gains for them.

What I have done, though, is to cut up my Tesco credit card. I’m closing down by bank account with them and never again will I avail myself of their insurance or finance services. Nor will I be using any of the extra services provided via their web sites.

This to me is a much better way of protesting as an individual about their disregard for the people of Dundee. — Ian Fraser, Mericmuir Place, Dundee.

So we have turned our houses into “personal bars” and take turn about at each other’s “bar” every week. We have even named them. We have “Ellie’s Bar”, “Cher’s bar”, “J’s Bar”, and the list is growing.

And, before anyone complains, there are no young children in our “bars”.

We are all law-abiding citizens who just happen to smoke and enjoy it. Apologies to our former regular haunts, but we won’t be back. — Happy Homebird.

Nonsense, bookies and other businesses are in the same position as pubs.

If people want to drink, they could have a ciggie before they enter the bar, going outside if they need another. It’s simple enough. — Nosmo King.

Will the glass recycling centres across the country be overwhelmed, or will the hostelries simply declare an amnesty on ashtray theft?

Will all the smokers who swear they’ll never drink in pubs again take them home to puff away in solitude? — Happy Drinker, Dundee.

I suggest we can now expect to see a number of job loses in the Action on Smoking and Health organisation.

Ash has accomplished two of the main priorities on its list (a ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces, and a ban on tobacco advertising).

We must now assume this will mean their lobbying expertise is no longer required by the people of Scotland, as their other two main objectives, a clampdown on the sale of tobacco to under-16s and a reduction in tobacco smuggling, are matters for the police and customs.

Best of luck to you all in your new jobs. — Marlboro Man.

What Mr Young failed to mention was that of the 600 pubs closed, nearly 80% were sold off to property agents for large sums.

The property market in Dublin is booming and agents are always looking for more space for apartments.

Dublin is still booming and people are still going to pubs. Like Dublin, give Dundee 12 months and no-one will even notice having to go out of the pub to have a fag. — Teddy Ryce, formerly Balbeggie Street, Dundee.

Having a hit squad of 30 environmental health officers on standby strikes me as a tad over zealous. — Arthur Macdonald, Manama, Bahrain (where you can still smoke in a bar).

I can’t understand why this is being allowed to go on. The people in Scotland should demonstrate to keep what we have. — Outraged.

I appreciate different pubs have different overheads, but a price difference of 15% confounds me.

In last week’s Budget, the Chancellor added 1p to the duty payable on a pint of beer.

Readers who enjoy the occasional pint should look out for publicans who increase prices by far more than this.— Ever Watchful, Dundee.

I for one was not surprised to read this.

My children attend Clepington Primary School where the playground is small and the recent extension is grassed over and out of bounds on wet days.

The older kids have now got restrictions on the area they once played in, as they now share playtime with the younger children.

Football and other games are banned in the playground.

There are very few primary schools in Dundee these days that compete in sports such as football, athletics and netball.

Parents have to pay privately to sports clubs (Dundee City Council-run ones included) so their children can exercise in a safe environment.

What about the unemployed or the less fortunate who can’t afford this?

Come on, Dundee City Council, and waken up.

There would be less obesity and health problems if exercise was looked upon in primary schools as an important factor. — Concerned Mother.

After the success of our Scottish swimmers at the Commonwealth Games, could one of these sites not now be turned into a first-class, all-purpose swimming and leisure complex?

I’ve never believed swimming centres should be run for profit as I class them as health centres. Just look at the groups that use them, anti-natal, nursery and primary schools, disability and active-for-life groups plus swimmers, divers and water polo players.

Small education pools are being built in various parts of the city but I would like to see a 50-metre pool that would be a big attraction not only to the city but also tourists.

Again in the Press this week Dundee has been described as enjoyable and a first-class location in Scotland.

Before Olympia was built I was part of a delegation of swimmers who put a 50-metre proposal forward to the baths management but they turned down our suggestion and built a 331/3-yard pool when the rest of the world was moving towards metric.

And how many times has the main pool at the Olympia been altered and at what cost?

I see Dundee as a swimming city, as local clubs have produced many outstanding swimmers and water polo players.

When the Dundee Shore Baths were first opened it was classed one of the best in Britain, so let’s get that honour back.

I see the Government is to put money into sport to build a team for the 2012 London Olympics.

This is an opportunity for Dundee to get some of that backing for the youth of the city. — Frank Jordan.

If you could stick a silencer on a gun, I wonder if the same kind of silencer could be attached to a drill? The wee anvil in everyone’s inner ear must be going like the clappers. — Silence Is Golden.