Sir,

It pleases me to say that the councillor for Ardersier and Culloden is speaking a load of nonsense when he perversely infers about the Inverness, Ness Bridge in your article by Iain Ramage in the wake of last week’s budget cuts - bridge lights as being a lot of nonsense - headlined
a “waste of money” – which is “to have a lighting display installed” on it as shown by the beautiful photograph (above) taken by Sandy McCook.

“The bridge isn’t going to operate any better or worse if it has these lights on it” - pontificates councillor Roddy Balfour as if advising against it, it being the City Partnership’s preventative, remedy rectification, because of an alleged positive identification of the likelihood that the Ness Bridge is about to collapse into the river for its second time.

I suggest that he re-reads the Marie Mackintosh eighty words last quote in the article about this wonderful, innovative Riverside lighting attraction being among the top priorities agreed for, for the Inverness City Vision, which to me shows a foresight of great clarity and sound wisdom, much to benefit both present and future generations of Inverness people - not persons, or any inanimate chair objects.

Now, here’s for a protest worthy of any Balfour councillor, one only needs to look at the two story unsightly Crofters Association building to the right hand side of the McCook picture, and so seek to have it obliterated from view, not to prevent it from falling into the restaurant below it, but, to have an advertising boarding put up on top of the restaurant/office structure in its place, it being all lit up showing the attributes of the city, not necessarily a show as grand as of Times Square or Piccadilly Circus but a sparkling impressive one, enough to complement the City Partnership new lighting dressage, which they will have hopefully created on our famous Ness Bridge.

Kings Jazz Review
February 2008