Sir, – I attended my first Royal Highland Show in 1960 at the age of 14 with three classmates, all of us 'plunked' school on that day and received appropriate reprimands from our teacher the day after.
Since then I have not missed many Highlands and like most of the Isle of Bute’s agricultural community, enjoy the annual day out to Ingliston on the Bute NFU-organised bus from Wemyss Bay.
The Highland Show catered for everyone, a day when you met old friends and made new ones, with my late, great friend Peter Howie, of Inverkip, describing it perfectly as 'this is what it’s all about.'
Sadly, I think the recent decision by the RHAS to go to 100% online ticketing and have no pay at the gate facilities will deter many people from attending this June’s Royal Highland Show. Crucially, it will have a negative effect on the attendance numbers from the vital audience for this showcase of Scottish food and farming, ie the general public.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Robert Macintyre, Isle of Bute
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