SIR, - For the umpteenth time our mean-minded killjoy government has rejected Sir Alan Beith’s (and everyone else’s) call for dualling the A1 throughout Northumberland; Minister Tom Harris (who?) lists four spurious criteria for doing nothing about it.
The fifth criterion, of course, is that the territory through which the A1 runs in its semi-rural state includes Berwickshire and nowhere in this area is represented by New Labour.
It is unfair that despite almost 35 years service Sir Alan is not rewarded in the same way as 28 years service by another MP/MSP with almost all the A1 in East Lothian being dualled - something to do with red being preferred to yellow maybe


is this weeks star letter in the Berwickshire News

Joy apparently equates with the ability to speed through Northumberland!With great respect to the writer (name available for the curious) I an not sure how Sir A Beith, a MP for a (still) English constituency has any standing in rural Berwickshire matters? Its good to see the reference to the Labour MP later MSP for East Lothian who was 'rewarded,says the writer, for years of devoted committment to the party by being awarded the 'duelling' of those parts of the A1 which went through his constituency. Alert bloggees will recognise this paragon to be the Laird, only recently retired from East Lothian after what amounted to Peerless service (Bad Pun Intended) It should be remembered that before going to EL the Laird was MP slightly closer home-including 'rural Berwickshire' but when the constituency was split in two he skedaddled up North to avoid having to take on the Lib Dems. Wisely as it proved. But while there as the incumbent MP, the A1 remained resolutely unduelled-Red being as useless as Yellow.

It seems

(The image is of a Scottish Road. Probably not the A! but could well be in 'rural Berwickshire')

Labels: A1, Berwickshire, Roads, the Laird

  ¶ 10:34 AM