As someone of mixed Scottish and English heritage who was brought up in a town with a large population of people with a Scottish background, I found Rory Scothorne’s article interesting (An independent Scotland would need a national anthem – but what would it be?, 9 April). But he does not make clear enough the main problem with Flower of Scotland. It is about a battle that took place nearly 700 years ago, when the Scottish king beat the English one. It is blatantly anti-English. This is also one of the main problems with Scottish nationalism. It seems that the main desire of its proponents is to put one over the English. If Scotland and its people want to move forward as a nation, they should choose an anthem that looks forward, not back.
Gordon Glassford
Corby, Northamptonshire
• I’m sure I won’t be alone in advocating for Michael Marra’s Hermless to be the new national anthem. Marra’s advocacy of the virtues of quietism in part reflects his Dundonian background; in a city of independent wage-earner women, male partners could be relegated to the role of “kettle bilers”, while the women went out to work in the city’s mills. Being everything a national anthem shouldn’t be, Hermless’s advocacy of never causing “bother” is just perfect for a new day.
