Sir - I am Simon Jamieson, from Helmsdale, and my partner is Jill Caunter, from Lairg. We now live in Livingston, West Lothian.

Sir – Ten years ago the East Sutherland communities were confronted with the Helmsdale wind farm applications, which were eventually turned down after a local referendum and a long, expensive public enquiry.

Sir – The politics of conservation are often hard to follow.

Sir – I would like to thank all those who took part in the planning and execution of the all-abilities path that circles the old skating pond at the Big Burn in Golspie.

Sir – I have just finished reading the full 19th April statement by the Scottish Government on the "Go Ahead for Gordonbush Wind Farm" and would like to congratulate Caroline McMorran on her outlining of it in the Northern Times (11th April).

Sir – I was delighted to read last week of the progress being made by the members at Royal Dornoch through the Clubgolf initiative which offers free tuition to young players and potential junior golfers throughout Scotland.

Sir – For a number of reasons, your report (11th April) that the Gordonbush wind farm has gained planning permission makes depressing reading.

Sir – When I was 14 years old my father took me on a fishing trip to the most beautiful place I had ever seen, the beautiful village of Bettyhill.

Sir – I was unfazed by being trapped in Drummuie's lift but I am fizzing at the inaccurate report of the event supplied to the Northern Times by Highland Council.

Sir – I hope you will forgive a further letter about Beachview Lodge. I must declare an interest: my daughter Lisa has enjoyed and continues to enjoy her time there. Before going to Beachview Lodge, she had been at Rhives House, Golspie, until it was closed for reasons that have never been given to us as her carers.

Sir – Most days I go through the industrial area in which the GREAN business is situated. It obviously cannot go unnoticed that the road surface is in a very dangerous condition not only to the young and not so young but also to the pedestrian users filling the bins provided for recycling.

Sir – Further to your previous correspondence regarding the RAF camp at Kirkton Farm, after the RAF left Kirkton the camp lay empty for a short period and then became a prisoner of war camp for Italian POWs.

Sir – On the opening day of the Scottish Labour Party conference in Aviemore it was reported that the Prime Minister recommends internationalism.

Sir – An articled headlined "New role envisaged for respite care unit" appeared in the Northern Times on 14th March, following a meeting of Highland Council's housing and social work committee in March.

Sir – I read with interest your article (NT last week) on the illegal use of quads and motorbikes on Sutherland Estate.

Sir – I regret that my reference to Timespan being the only public art gallery in Sutherland was taken to imply it was the only gallery in the county (NT 21st March, and Letters last week). In an effort to highlight the underfunding of all arts in the Highlands I placed my emphasis on the fact that, as an independent charity, Timespan has to work hard to deliver a public service with limited resources.

Sir – My name is Archie and I'm a golden retriever. Last September I attempted my second ascent of Ben Hope with my owners, Andrew and Bridget Archibald. I had successfully conquered this challenging climb when I was nine, but did not realise what a difference just one doggy year makes.

Sir – So it's that time again. I mean the artificial British Summer Time.

Sir – It was with some dismay that I read in the Northern Times last week that Penny Woodley, chair of Timespan in Helmsdale, claims Timespan has the only art gallery in Sutherland.

Sir – Penny Woodley, chairwoman of the art gallery in Helmsdale, said (NT last week) "Timespan's gallery is the only one in Sutherland so without it there would effectively be no public art access in the county at all." That is just not true.

Sir – Many thanks for bringing the latest plans for Dornoch Free Church to the wider public (Pulpit and pews to go as kirk gets 'fit for purpose', NT 22nd February).

Sir – As parents of a 36-year-old man with severe learning difficulties, who attends the Isobel Rhind Centre in Invergordon, we were astonished and appalled to read in the Northern Times of 14th March that the role of the Beachview Respite Care Centre in Brora is to change to that of a long-stay residential unit.

Sir – The results from publication of my letter in the Northern Times recently have been so terrific that I must ask you for some more assistance, please.

Sir – You do not seem to have had response to your query in your issue of the Northern Times dated January 25th 2008 regarding "tree graffiti at Kirkton Farm".

Sir – Mr Olson (Letters, 7th March) suggests that if I buy a new atlas in ten years' time then I will find that Wick is still in the county of Caithness.

Sir – As the 2008 tourist season approaches, with its inevitable convoys of sluggish caravans and motor homes, the inadequacy of single-track roads serving the far North-West corners of Sutherland, raised in your issue of 14th February by my brother David, and reinforced last week by our fellow-clansman James C Morrison, again looms large.

Sir – In your letters column of 15th February you published a wide-ranging and compelling criticism of the single-track roads system still passively in place in the 21st century in North-West Sutherland.

Sir – Ms Bush (letters last week) thinks that in setting new boundaries the Boundary Commission for Scotland are wrong, but she is their apologist by claiming her Caithness and my Sutherland are "defunct".

Sir – There has been a lot of press coverage relating to the issue of extended hours for GPs in recent days. Unfortunately, most of what has been written has missed many essential points.

Sir – I read with interest the comments regarding broadband availability and reliability in Durness in last week's Northern Times. I would like to voice my support for the comments offered by Durness Community Council.

Sir – I write in response to Miss MacGregor's comments in her letter last week ('Meetings too early, invitations too late').

Sir – I receive the Northern Times regularly and I have read with interest about the planning and then the building of the housing complex on the site of the old wool mills in Brora.

Sir – How right Karin Simon is (School library cuts damaging and ill-informed, Letters last week). What on earth do Highland councillors think they are doing?

Sir – In response to Mr Risk's letter published in last week's Northern Times, could I please ask you to clarify that there are indeed Brownies in Brora. The 1st Brora Brownies meet on Wednesday evenings and are a delightful (most of the time), enthusiastic and energetic (all of the time) bunch of girls.

Sir – Many thanks to Mark Norton (Letters, last week) for his detailed defence of the proposals to spend a minimum of £115,000,000 on diverting the railway which presently runs through the heart of Sutherland.

Sir – From time to time there appears in the Northern Times a sizeable, fairly prominent notice advertising a board meeting of the Crofters Commission to be held in the commission's conference room at 9.30am in Inverness, and members of the "community" are invited to attend.

Sir – Before the 1939-45 war, our fleet used to come up to Invergordon on exercises and they would often open one of the ships to the public on a Sunday.

Sir – As a retired NHS worker I read with disgust, but not shock, of the treatment of the 94-year-old lady being transferred from hospital in Inverness to Golspie (NT last week).

Sir – I was very interested in David Morgan's letter regarding the Duke of Sutherland's private steam engine, Dunrobin. This is a photograph of the Dunrobin taking in water at Tain Station on the day of its last journey south from Golspie (20th March 1950).

Sir – I was delighted to see the picture of the Scout and Guide Gang Show from the 1980s in last week's Raggie. What a happy and enthusiastic group of people.

Sir – It is reassuring to know that grass roots representation to local government is alive and well in Ardgay.

Sir – When, oh when, is someone going to do something about the roads in the North-West?

Sir – With regard to David Catto's letter concerning the Dornoch Rail Link published last week in the Northern Times, I should point out the following for the sake of clarity:

Sir – I write to ask if you and your readers think there is any way Brora Community Council and other community councils can and should help to prevent the Highland Council from passing its complete travesty of an undemocratic budget on 14th February.

Sir – Last June I wrote to the Northern Times condemning the "mad plan" of the Dornoch Rail Link proposal, which HITRANS deemed at the time to have "an unacceptably low benefit to cost ratio".

Sir – An ex-Brora resident and former employee of T M Hunter said to me: "Why have the new houses on the old mill site not got Hunter in their name?"

Sir – I would like through your column to highlight the situation with the education of pupils in Primary 2/3 of Brora Primary School.

Sir – The recent passing of a dear friend Bert (The Box) Sutherland was indeed a very sad day for dance bands, ceilidhs and music lovers in our rapidly changing county of Sutherland.

Sir – There is a lot of anecdotal evidence that locally-based small businesses find it hard to get contracts with the Highland Council.

Sir – The announcement that Highland Council rents are to increase, yet again, above the rate of inflation (NT 18th January) shows that the SNP control of both council and Scottish Government has brought little good news to tenants.

Sir – Robin Wilson's recent research into sporting activities over the years in Sutherland, along with his photograph of the Brora Barnie Shield winners, brought back to me many happy memories of the halcyon badminton days of the 1950s, 60s and 70s, both as an Ardgay and Sutherland county player and a past secretary and treasurer of both.

Sir – Your report that council house rents are to go up (NT last week) is revealing but not surprising. It can be almost guaranteed that rents rise every year.

Sir – It is clear that Sutherland has fared badly from the introduction of multi-member wards. Your weekly reports evidence the dissatisfaction, as does the significantly total lack of of reporting of local meetings of council business, meetings which are now much less accessible.

Sir – I was sitting in my car at Dornoch beach car park, enjoying the sun, the splendid view and my sandwiches on Monday afternoon, when a small, elderly red vehicle with two attractive young girls drew up alongside.

Sir – The Sutherland branch of the Scottish SPCA would like to thank everyone who contributed pet food to the "Give a Cat/Dog a Dinner" boxes recently placed in the Co-op in Brora and Golspie, and Grants and the pet shop in Dornoch.

Sir – The attached photomontage is how I believe the two-turbine industrial power installation proposed for Bettyhill will look, as seen from the tourist viewpoint at Kirtomy corner.

Sir – Installing kerbside drainage in Golspie Main Street – called with some exaggeration the A9 trunk road – will only solve the problem of noise caused by rattling manhole covers (NT last week).

Sir – It is a credit to East Sutherland and Edderton that we have such active community councils. They work hard to represent the people who live in their local areas.

Sir – I note a perception, represented in the Northern Times of 21st December under "Councillors under fire again over community council representation", that there is a simple relationship between the boundaries of six community council areas and those of the East Sutherland and Edderton ward.

Sir – I am sorry to be reading that George Donaldson will no longer be writing his Food For Thought. The Raggie was a better paper for it.

Sir – The chairman of Golspie Community Council justifies his criticism of the Scottish Co-op store in Golspie (NT 14th December) by saying he "did not wish to see the situation worsen".

Sir – I would like to take this opportunity to thank the folks of Rogart for organising a fantastic ceilidh for Red Cross funds on Saturday, 17th November. This event raised £890 for us, which is just amazing.

Sir – I am a pensioner, along with my neighbours, and live in a cottage on the west side of Brora.

Sir – Last Thursday, while on my way home from the rigs, I stopped at Tesco's in Inverness to pick up a few things. On passing through the checkout I realised I was using my old PIN number on my new bank card and could not remember the new one.

Sir – Christmas and New Year are traditionally extremely busy times for the hospitality sector in Scotland, with an expansion of venues and staff to cater for the increased demand.

Sir – I read with considerable interest your piece of 14th December on the meeting of the community council and the criticism of the Golspie Co-op.

Sir – After attending the storytelling evening in Dornoch Cathedral on Friday, three of us called into the Castle Hotel for a cup of tea and a biscuit.

Sir – As a resident of the former county of Caithness I sympathise with the concern for the future of democracy in the former county of Sutherland expressed by East Sutherland and Edderton councillors Deirdre Mackay and Ian Ross (NT 7th December).

Sir – I see that two of the three Highland Councillors for East Sutherland and Edderton have expressed reservations over the revised Highland Council boundaries which came into effect in May (NT, 7th December).

Sir – The Co-operative Pharmacy is giving away grants totalling up to £20,000 to local health projects, and time is running out for readers to claim their share.

Sir – Your story last week that "Sutherland has been politically emasculated" should perhaps read "Liberal Democrats and Labour emasculated" because it was their legislation that introduced proportional representation, that led to the multi-member ward and the present Highland Council set-up.

Sir – I enjoyed the story of "Sutherland no more" (NT last week), and as Councillor Rowantree might say, "nostalgia isn't what it used to be".

Sir – With reference to a letter of mine published in your newspaper last month (16th November), in which I speculated on whether a photograph of the car used between the wars to transport guests to Cape Wrath Lighthouse showed an Arrol-Johnston from the early 1920s.

Sir – We have to thank you and the readers of the Northern Times for your placement of our plea under the heading "Looking for information on the Logans from Airdens" on 12th October and the responses received from the readers.

Sir – It was interesting if poignant to read the account in your 75 Years Ago column (23rd November) of the fatal accident which killed Donald Morrison near Fanagmore crossroads.

Sir – I refer to Bruce Sandison's letter regarding escapes from the local fish farms (NT 23rd November).

Sir – While we must not condone the wholesale burning of toxic waste like tyres or carpets in this environmentally and politically correct age (NT 9th November), one cannot help but think that the complaints of new Scourie resident Janet Thornton about the items used to fuel the community's Guy Fawkes bonfire smacks just a little too strongly of colonialist missionary zeal by an incomer to mould the wayward and ignorant natives to her own mindset.

Sir – I was disappointed to read this unjustified complaint from a recent resident in Scourie concerning the Scourie bonfire and fireworks (NT 9th November).

Sir – I was the subject of the article in the Northern Times on 9th November about the Scourie bonfire, and I'm writing to make two corrections. It was not accurate, nor was it complete.

Sir – When is saying sorry not enough? This question could be usefully addressed to Mr Nick Joy, managing director of factory salmon farmers Loch Duart Ltd. Mr Joy has had a lot of practice in saying sorry because of the record of escapes from his farms.

Sir – David Hird's article about the Cape Wrath Hotel (NT last week) was most interesting and enjoyable, not least because the building played a part in my own younger life, especially the little bar at the rear, as a howff in which to have a pleasant dram or sing-song.

Sir – On behalf of the Royal British Legion and the Royal Naval Association, I would like to thank the pipe band and all who participated in the memorial parade in Golspie on Sunday.

Sir – Fuel prices in the Highlands are crippling, yet no one seems to care. Costs are rising on a weekly basis.

Sir – During the week of Remembrance Sunday and at a time when our service men and women are on active service, I am writing to remind your readers of the work of the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association – Forces Help (SSAFA – FH).

Sir – I would like to take this opportunity to thank the folks of Sutherland for raising a fantastic £6281.20 for Red Cross Appeal Week funds back in May).

Sir – After a recent visit to the Highlands, I would like to comment on a few things.

Sir – A belated comment on the Drummuie costs fiasco.

Sir – Further to your lead story in last week's Northern Times regarding Golspie Swimming Pool we would like to make several observations.

Sir – I am currently writing a book charting the connections of The Beatles to Scotland and am hoping your readers can help add a few pieces to a particular jigsaw,

Sir – Brilliant sunshine, golden sands, a spooky cave, the moon painting its reflection on the dark sea, Durness provided the breathtakingly spectacular setting for the John Lennon Northern Lights Festival.

Sir – My wife and I have just returned home "south of the border" having spent five nights in our camper van on the Sango Sands site in Durness, during which time we attended many of the events of the John Lennon Northern Lights Festival.

Sir – I write regarding proposed changes to visiting hours at Raigmore hospital and disabled parking there.

Sir – On Monday evening the post offices in Lochinver and Achiltibuie were burgled. This apparently brings the count to 11 in three months in Sutherland, Caithness and Wester Ross alone.

Sir – The report by HM Inspectors on Lochinver School (NT last week) gives a grossly inaccurate and misleading impression of the school – something which, as chair of the school board at the time the school was inspected, I wrote to the Inspectorate about. Needless to say the points I raised were ignored in the final report.

Sir – I would like to tell you of a touching moment which occurred when Brora Rangers football team were first accepted into the Highland League.

Sir – With regard to your front page article on wool prices (NT last week), the chairman of the wool marketing board stated that the Irish wool buyers were only paying 30p a kilo.

Sir – The Scottish Parliament’s environment and rural affairs committee has started a major inquiry into the growing incidence of flooding in Scotland.

Sir – I wish to pour more water on the duck's back. I refer to your report "Dornoch new housing could become 'future slum'" (NT 31st August) regarding the planning approval given by "our" planning committee to the 102-house development off Sutherland Road.

Sir – Having read Nina MacAulay's letter last week (Stop this insidious deer mayhem), I have my own ideas.

Sir – Last week (NT August 24) you published a report of the first meeting, held in Helmsdale, of the recently inaugurated East Sutherland and Edderton Forum and, having attended the meeting, I am prepared to reserve judgment on the future functioning of that body.

Sir – The whole of the North and West mourn for and send sympathy to the Corbett family's loss of their son in a road accident (NT August 17). The suspicion that a deer could have been involved compounds the grief because it might have been avoided.

Sir – Your account of the commemoration of the 105th anniversary of Melness Church (NT, 3rd August) was of great interest.

Sir – I was very interested to read both the item from your Old Files about Robert McBeath VC (NT, 3rd August) and the subsequent letter from Anna MacDonald of Scourie (Letters, 10th August) about what happened subsequently to his widow. I remember my late mother speaking of Barbara Mackay and her second marriage to Ms MacDonald's uncle.

Sir – I would like to thank Councillor Davidson for taking the time to respond to my recent article in the local and national press (Letters, last week).