Public outrage

Colin Valentine is right to be concerned about the insensitive “renovation” of traditional pubs (your report, 26 September).

It beggars belief that a gem of Edinburgh’s New Town such as Clark’s is apparently under threat.

In the 1990s there was an unfathomable trend for converting Scottish city centre pubs into faux-Irish hostelries. A venerable pub in Edinburgh’s Southside – the Greenmantle – was transformed into a “plastic Paddy” bar called Kildare’s. A few years ago its new owners gave it a revamp and renamed the Greenmantle.

Perhaps in future, traditional establishments recently rebranded as “gastropubs” or “style bars”, will be restored to their original state. While fashions come and go, genuine classics are timeless.

Martin Hetherington

Whitehaven, Cumbria