Letters to the editor

Scottish characters

Rosemary McClure’s Travel story on Scotland and Scotch [“A Toast to High Spirits,” July 11] brought back fond memories of my association with the late Rob Walker, heir to the Johnnie Walker Scotch fortune. The owner of a Formula 1 racing team whose drivers included Stirling Moss and Jo Siffert, Rob was the quintessential country gentleman who served as Road & Track magazine’s Formula 1 correspondent. Seldom seen at the track sans his blue blazer and ascot, Rob also loved American racing. As motorsports editor, I escorted him to numerous U.S. races, including the Indianapolis 500 and the Talladega 500, where this exchange (in Rob’s distinct accent) took place with the local Holiday Inn’s desk clerk:

“Where y’all from?” asked the clerk.

“In-glund,” replied Rob.

“Where ‘bouts?”

“I have a flaht in Lun-don and a cah-sul in Nunney.”

At Road & Track, some of us joked that Rob was the only English-speaking person in the world who could turn “no” into a two-syllable word. When questioning something incredulous, Rob would say, “Noo-oh?!”

Joe Rusz, Seal Beach

Spirit orbs! I’ve been investigating this phenomenon for a while now, and it’s wonderful that McClure paid homage to this photographic secret. I’ve been finding them all over the place, since purchasing my compact digital camera, but they are more pronounced in older buildings that have been heavily populated. My shots at the Louvre showed several orbs.

Thank you for sharing your story and validating what many are recognizing as a true portal to the “other side.”

Mary McGrath, Culver City

Scotland sounds great, but ghosts keep me from visiting — specifically, the ghosts of 270 people who were killed when Pan Am 747 was blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland. The Scottish government let the only man convicted of the bombing, Abdel Basset Ali Megrahi, go home to Libya on “compassionate leave.”

I wonder if the orbs of American college students and other innocents killed in the bombing appear on photographs. Someone else will have to find out. I don’t need to support Scotland’s misplaced “compassion” with my travel dollars.

Michael Goldstein, Encino

$38? Too good to be true

Over the last several years I have traveled to Scotland to play golf with several buddies. I have traveled to Scotland using RyanAir from Stanstead to Prestwick.

Recently one of my friends told me that the fares had become prohibitively expensive. So I checked the RyanAir website and a round-trip for about $38.

Further checking revealed the following: fare, $24.99; online check-in, $5; administrative fee, $10; check one bag, $50; check golf clubs, $80. Total: about $255

We’ll take the train. It’ll probably be quicker anyway.

Brian Halligan, Irvine