I'M not surprised the Lighthouse has gone bust. Hidden away down a dark alley, any time I ventured in, it was near empty.

Add to that the fact that most of its exhibitions seemed poorly advertised, were aimed at a fairly specialised audience and cost big bucks to get in to, and it's no wonder they ran out of (our) cash.

It's a shame though, because the Mackintosh building is brilliant, offers some of the best rooftop views in the city and boasts a great cafe/restaurant.

What they should do is get rid of all the highly paid design gurus in their trendy specs, who appeared to run the place as a private club, and bring in some people with real marketing nous who can attract more people through the door.

If Glasgow's highly paid designers and architects want an exhibition space and clubhouse of their own, they should pay for it out of their own pocket and hand this beautiful building back to the people of Glasgow, who did after all fund its restoration and running costs. KEN WALKER, Garnethill No say on release

AMERICA, the land of the free. Scotland, the land of the freed terrorist.

No consultation carried out with the people of Scotland or our political representatives, one man, one mission and one big insult.

Welcome to the SNP led Scottish government.

Paddy Hill, Glasgow Arcade is an eyesore The city council should be ashamed to have let the old Embassy cinema in Shawlands be demolished for the monstrosity that is there now (Triple bid to brighten up high streets, August 28).

Shawlands Arcade also has structural problems as some areas of the car park cannot be accessed.

I say level the whole lot. A gap site would be better than the arcade! BIGDOGG, Glasgow Turn on, switch over

THIS is a shoot yourself in the foot strategy (STV gamble is a turn-off for viewers, August 28).

With literally hundreds of channels available, advertisers have to decide where to spend their budget, so inevitably, the slices of the cake get smaller.

Now having taken the bold step to cut networked ITV programmes, the STV bosses have made the advertiser's job easier. Don't bother with STV cos nobody's watching it. TSM, Glasgow Long wait for repair

AFTER months of passing a huge crater at the side of the road outside Cranstonhill Police Station in Finnieston, work is finally under way to repair it.

It's good to see there's so much urgency now-a-days to fix the roads in our city. SP, Glasgow Arlene waltzes off

I DISAGREE with One Show presenter Adrian Chiles who described the decision to drop Arlene Phillips as a judge on Strictly Come Dancing as "absolute nonsense" (Evening Times, August 28).

I think a change is what the show needs to keep it fresh.

Look at how much the X Factor benefited from the introduction of Cheryl Cole as a judge instead of Sharon Osbourne. Name and address supplied Blooming miracle

CONGRATULATIONS to Tollcross Park for the excellent' title it was awarded by members of the World Federation of Rose Societies (Evening Times, August 28).

It's a tremendous effort for staff and thoroughly deserved. D WRIGHT, Glasgow WRITE: Evening Times, 200 Renfield Street, Glasgow G2 3QB. Please include your name and address. E-MAIL: letters@eveningtimes.co.uk Please include postal address. TEXT: key in the word 'etletters', leave a space then send your comments to 88010. Max 160 characters. Please include your name or initials and where you're from. Texts cost 25p at all times. HOT TOPIC: Bill for rail link will spiral out of control

THE problems with this project is that the price tag will escalate.

If we have an agreement over the costs now, we must make every effort to ensure that the Government and Network Rail manage to keep to budget, without us taxpayers having to pick up a huge bill if and when the project spirals out of control. PEOPLE POWER, Glasgow Rail beats budget planes

IT'S far better travelling to London by train when compared to low cost airlines. It takes about the same time when you factor in check in times and getting a train into central London for a meeting from an outlying airport. STEVIE, Glasgow Today's trains are filthy

THIS is great news and major step forward for passengers.

However, it would be good if some of the money could be spent making sure the current trains run on time and the stock is kept clean.

I've been travelling to London for years and I still feel unclean after travelling on some trains. VICTOR, Milan Start both lines at once

I RECKON if the lines from London and Scotland are not started at the same time then we risk being ripped off, as we were with all the promises we were made about the Chunnel link. Why pay tax when we see no benefits?

Scotland should be allowed to borrow cash on the international money markets, the same as Westminster, to pay for our section of the line. SNOSNO, Glasgow It's all time saved

LET'S be sensible. If it's built to Preston then that still shaves an hour off the current journey time. ST MONAN, Glasgow We're left in the sidings

SCOTLAND will always be left out when it comes to railway connections north of Watford.

When the Channel Tunnel was being built we were promised direct, high-speed trains from Glasgow and Edinburgh to Paris. Where are they? We're still waiting! TJF, Glasgow Europe is on right track

CURRENTLY, you can travel all the way from southern Europe to London by fast, efficient high-speed train. Once you get there, it's back on to the dirty old boneshakers. So much for the 'age of the train'. MUMPER, Glasgow