It was a mighty fine weekend to remember

Sir – I recently retired and, thus, agreed to assist the family on one of the stands at HarbourFest and Wick RNLI Lifeboat Day festivities. I left Wick in 1966 to become a student but have always been proud of my roots and accent.

Wherever I have travelled and worked, someone picks up the very fact I am from the Far North because of the distinctive accent. I am proud to be a "Weeker" and I wanted to write to say how much I enjoyed being home right in the heart of the activities of HarbourFest selling home-made bakes and preserves for the good of the community.

I have spent more years out of Wick than in it, yet people remember you and blether like you have never been away.

It appears to me Wick is on the up with the development of the harbour. Wickers World is such a wonderful name for a local restaurant and makes me smile every time I visit it.

The memorial garden is a fine tribute to those who lost lives and it humbled me to see my name on the list of children who died.

I was the only Amy in Wick North and Wick High I recall and the name only became popular after Jimmy Carter, president, USA, named his daughter Amy. There was, however, another earlier Amy in Wick, not as fortunate as me.

The heritage centre is a wonder to behold and there are not many Scottish museums to match it. Well done you Wickers for not only getting it up and running but maintaining and developing it.

Old Pulteney whisky is on the map and lips of many, and the new community project looks very good with a stream of people coming and going last time I passed.

The cannon being moved and restored was inspirational; especially in front of the salt cellars. The seven gates are a great tribute to the schoolchildren, teachers, artists and craftspeople who designed and created this wonderful piece of artwork for the town.

There has always been a very strong tradition of music in the North. This reminds me of the old joke: what is utter madness to any Scotsman? Nail his toes to the floor and put on Jimmy Shand music.

We have the Harpers, Gunns and the young McPhee and a memory of dancing to the excellent bands in the 1960s in the Assembly Rooms every Friday. I also remember Mr Christie with Wick Girls’ Pipe Band and, yes, I still recognise a face from the past, still marching along so proudly. I have been away for so long I have lost track of the younger set, but the sea cadets also deserve a special mention and was there a band from Thurso? I was so busy selling lemon curd and cakes I missed a lot. Then there were the Salvation Army musicians who kept us in tune on Sunday.

It was miraculous all the stalls and litter were cleared by Sunday and there was so much dignity about the blessing of the flotilla service. I love "Will Your Anchor Hold" and it is a firm favourite at weddings in the family and recently in Edinburgh at Ian Sinclair’s funeral (of dentist father fame). And so I remembered friends not with us and being grateful to be alive and see the flotilla sail out.

The Thames did not have a look in as far as I was concerned. What could beat the brown sails of the Isabella Fortuna with our "royals" on board? We have our own Queen – dare I say, Mother – in the Lord-Lieutenant.

Anne is a fine tribute to Wick with her history. She is able and loyal. Our Queen is not only beautiful but she helped me with the intricacies of my new mobile phone. She speaks with eloquence and of course we also have our own Robert Burns in Jenny the poet, to help the flow of prose. The court looked very good to me and congratulations to mistress of the royal wardrobe.

Someone will read this and say "she missed me out" – I did not see it all but I am sure all the young talent on Friday and Saturday was brilliant and cool. All in all, it was a wonderful weekend with a lot of careful thought, planning, hard work, co-ordination and generosity. Standards of food, art, music and boats were high. Oh, there was even a helicopter.

The traditions live on and Wick works very weel as far as I can see. I am proud of my roots and you should all be proud of your efforts and dedication. It was a mighty fine weekend to remember.

Amy Miller,

Marybank,

Ross-shire.