We walked up a track from the village pub and the turbines slowly came into view. There were horses and crops in the fields all around the turbines.

It didn't feel like you were right in the middle of a power station at all. In fact, it was really pleasant on the hillside . . . just a bit breezy (funnily enough).

You couldn't hear anything at all until you got really close (and I mean a few feet away) and then all you heard was a whining noise, like a washing machine on spin cycle but it was less noisy than standing in the street with cars going by, and quite easy to hold a conversation without raising your voice.

The turbine we saw was tucked in the corner of a wheat field and the farmer was still productively using 98 per cent of his land for farming.

The two per cent of the field used consisted of the turbine and a shed near it, about the size of a double garage, housing the inverter converting DC to AC (which was completely silent) and the gravel track leading to it.

The turbine produces no pollution at all, so it is safe to use the farmland and, despite having a power station built on it, the land remains designated farm land, so no-one can come along later and use the turbines as a precedent to get planning permission to build on the land.

The turbines were very majestic and the blades were huge and spinning round at over 100 miles per hour (or was it km/h?). A very impressive sight.

I've always loved windmills since spotting them on those coach trips to Skeggy as a kid. This new generation of windmills are just as beautiful but the public's perception of them hasn't caught up yet.

I've just had a look on this website (www.daventrywindfarm.com/) and registered my support for the proposed wind farm near Daventry.

There is more information on there, please have a look.
Julie Hawkins, Colwyn Road, Northampton.

Why we fast for the holy month
WE would like to take this opportunity to wish all our fellow Muslims in the county a blessed month of Ramadaan.

Thousands of Muslim people across Northamptonshire have begun their annual fast.

This move comes as part of Ramadaan, which is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar as well as the holiest, because it is when Muslims believe that their holy book, the Quran, was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed.

The Quran ordains Ramadaan and reads: "O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint . . .Ramadaan is the (month) in which was sent down the Quran, as a guide to mankind, also clear (signs) for guidance and judgment (between right and wrong). So every one of you who is present (at his home) during that month should spend it in fasting . . ." (Chapter 2, verses 183 and 185).

During this month, Muslims around the world spend 30 days observing the fast that includes abstaining from all food, drink, chewing gum, any kind of tobacco use and sexual contact during the hours between dawn and sunset.

Muslims are advised to have a meal called Sahoor before sunrise and then break the fast with a meal called Iftaar, which should not be a feast but a meal which is normally eaten. As a result of observing the fast, Muslims are able to reflect spiritually on their lives and make commitments or resolutions to better their character once the month is over. The fast is only observed by people who are physically and mentally healthy; therefore people who are seriously ill and chronically ill are exempted from fasting, as well as elderly people, expectant mothers and menstruating women.

The end of Ramadaan is marked with a three-day period known as Eid-ul-Fitr, the "festival of fast-breaking", when Muslims celebrate by socialising, festive meals and gift giving.
Khatija Barday-Wood, Northamptonshire Muslim Women's Network

Put care money back in budget
WHEN Brian Binley, Rosemary Bromwich and other councillors took £2.3 million away from the social care budget for disabled people, we were told this was unfortunate and that they had not taken the decision lightly.

At the time, Brian said he had taken great care to look into the matter. How come he is now "amazed" at how many people with disabilities and carers are in Northamptonshire? We can only assume that he didn't bother to find this out before recommending the rationing of care and the closing of valuable respite care centres, which benefited this deserving group of people.

Now he does know, can we have the money put back in the budget please?
Chris Kinsey, Challenge The Cuts, Carlow Street, Ringstead

Anna is missed
AS an ex-Chron journalist and author, I have been interviewed by Anna Murby on numerous occasions and I cannot begin to understand what possessed BBC Radio Northampton to let her go.

She is a superb broadcaster with those oh-too-rare qualities of compassion, which she is unafraid to display, self-awareness, of which she is rightly unashamed and the ability to hit the correct note, regardless of the seriousness or frivolity of her subject.

To let her go simply because she requested a more sociable slot is something, I am quite sure, the radio station will regret.

Let's hope that Radio 2, 4 or The One Show grab her while they've got the chance!

She will be sorely missed.
Rosie Rushton, Ridgeway, Weston Favell, Northampton

A great show . . .
THE Friends of Delapre Abbey (FoDA) want to thank all the volunteers, workers, exhibitors, animals and entertainers who helped make the first Delapre Family Show a great success. Thank you also to Northampton Allotment Network for all its partnership, support and assistance. FoDA could not have done it without you.

And finally, a big thank you to the residents of Northampton for attending this event and all the others, past and present, at Delapre Abbey.
Graham Walker, Chairman, The Friends of Delapre Abbey, Northampton

Wrong flag flying
WHY are we flying the Olympic flag from County Hall? Only national flags should be flown.
David T Dodd, Hammerstone Lane, Northampton