The scrap of paper pinned to the attic door is yellowed with age, but former German wartime prisoner Horst Hassold could still make out his name.

It was the first time in more than 60 years that the ex-German navy gunner had been back to see the room in which he had been billeted during the Second World War in what is now The Roxburghe Hotel, but back then was known as Sunlaws House.

It was at the weekend that the 87-year-old veteran, who lives in Augsburg near Munich, and was accompanied by his wife, four children and four grandchildren, was back in the Borders.

Sunlaws House had been used to house POWs who worked on nearby farms and the friends Mr Hassold made during this time were also among those who gathered at the Roxburghe Hotel to welcome him back.

“I have visited this place twice over the years, but I have never been up to the attic room where we all stayed,” said an emotional Mr Hassold.

“Looking back, I was very fortunate to end my military career as a prisoner of war and more than lucky that I came into British custody, and best of all was the time in Sunlaws,” added Mr Hassold.

Jean Hogg, 94, who ran a farm near Sunlaws while her husband was away fighting, and employed POW workers, had nothing but praise for Mr Hassold and his comrades.

“They used to come to the farm at Kerse Mains,” she said.

“But when I saw their rations they were just pitiful and I told the officers this was not good enough for a day’s work on a farm, so I got that changed.”

The organisation which manages air traffic control in the UK has said a wind farm near Hermitage Castle would have an unacceptable impact on radar.

The Windy Edge proposal by Infinis was submitted to the council on June 28.

NATS, responding to the council’s consultation on the plans, has said that the turbines, up to 121.5m high, would have an detrimental impact on the Great Dun Fell radar, with Prestwick air traffic control centre confirming that this would be ‘unacceptable’.The response states that the turbines would cause ‘false primary plots’ on the radar system.

However, the developer has anticipated this objection, and also believes the Ministry of Defence will also object as the turbines will cause ‘clutter’ on radar data from their Deadwater Fell equipment.

The developer also states within the planning application: “The impact on the setting of Hermitage Castle will be of minor significance.”

The Territorial Army’s Galashiels base needs you, after it survived a raft of cuts to units across Scotland, writes Kenny Paterson.

Seven TA facilities in Wick, Dunoon, Keith, Kirkcaldy, Dunfermline, Glasgow and Edinburgh will be closed as part of UK Government reforms.

The retention of the Galashiels base was welcomed by local MP Michael Moore, who wants Borderers to sign up as part-time soldiers in order to boost numbers.

As well as the reforms including the renaming of the volunteer force as the Army Reserve, there will also be an attempt to boost TA numbers in Scotland from around 2,200 to 3,700 reserve soldiers by 2018.

The UK Government hopes to achieve this by, among other ideas, giving small firms an additional £500 per month when staff are deployed with the reserves.

Mr Moore said: “I welcome that the paper set out a new, better deal for army reservists in the Borders as well as confirming the protection of the unit in Galashiels.

“The Reserves play a vital role in the UK defence forces and the £1.8billion committed by the Government over 10 years to deliver well-trained, well-equipped Reserves will be a huge boost to our local forces.

“This includes improved training, hundreds of pounds of financial incentives to employers and a £42million package of new kit for Reservists to put them on a par with Regular forces.

“These changes will offer Borders Reservists more training, kit and opportunities, while providing more support for their families and employers.

“As we increase the size of the Army Reserve force in Scotland from 2,200 to 3,700, the Army will launch a new recruitment drive in Scotland and I want to encourage Borderers to consider getting involved in the TA and look at the opportunities that are on offer.”

However, the news was not welcomed by the Scottish National Party, with the cutting of seven out of 38 TA centres being described as “disproportionate”.

Angus Robertson MP added: “The changes will arouse suspicion that it is another coalition cost-cutting move not really aimed at modernising the Army for the 21st century.”

But Major General Nick Eeles, who is head of the Army in Scotland, said the bases that were closing had few people attending them and that a new facility is due to be built in Kilmarnock.

Fears have been raised for the future of the Borders police stations as the new single force launches a review of opening hours.

Police Scotland say there has been a decrease in the amount of people who are attending station counters and as a result the most efficient opening times are being sought.

Also, in a letter to politicians, Police Scotland said it faced an “increasingly challenging financial climate”. Coupled with the selling of the police’s facilities in West Linton, Innerleithen and Newcastleton in 2011 – albeit a police post reopened in the latter village last month – there is concern stations could be shut altogether.

At Selkirk Community Council on Monday, doubts were expressed over the future of the town’s station.

Selkirkshire councillor Gordon Edgar said: “We can’t safely say this (closure) will not happen.

“We were assured by the police (that the station would not close) a few years ago, but we were sceptical then.

“We are fully aware of what could happen.”

Fellow member Michelle Ballantyne believes the service has become more centralised since the single force introduction. She said: “You phone Selkirk Police Station and get put through to someone in Edinburgh who doesn’t know where I am talking about. Rural locations are going to see a much more Strathclyde (Police) approach.”

Borders MSP John Lamont said: “The opening hours, and indeed the overall existence, of police stations – especially in rural areas – has long been a concern.

“Around one fifth have closed in recent years, and a significant number have had their hours slashed. This undermines the confidence people have in their local police.”

A campaign to make private renting more affordable has reached the streets of Galashiels, writes Jason Holland.

Shelter Scotland’s Debbie King and Murdo Mathison were in high spirits as they collected signatures for the charity’s crusade.

Mr Mathison said: “There has been a good response and we look forward to seeing even more people.

“We will try to get 150 signatures by the end of the day.”

Christine Graham MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, also turned up to see how things were going and aid their campaign.

The scheme is calling on the Scottish Goverment to positively reform of the private sector, which is now home to more than 290,000 families and individuals across Scotland.

Shelter Scotland’s hope is to make private renting affordable, safe, secure and fit for families.

Graeme Brown, director of Shelter Scotland, commented: “Too often we hear of people being moved on, evicted or rents increased unreasonably, forcing people into the destructive and unsettling cycle of having to move house – every six months in some cases – preventing them from ever being able ro put down strong roots or build a stable enviroment in which to live.”

The mystery around Selkirk’s Queen’s Head pub deepens, as an unidentified Facebook group vow it is opening in 
July.

Mr John Poletti, who last week refused to deny or confirm he was the owner of Selkirk’s empty West Port pub, told TheSouthern: “There are people wanting to go trading there at the end of the month.”

On June 26, five days after The Southern broke the story about Selkirk’s community buy-out proposal, a Facebook page was created called ‘Queen’s Head Selkirk’ (QHS), which keeps their identity and contact details secret, but promises: “Opening late July 2013”. Many ‘liking’ the page welcome the news: “luv that place,”; “so many people have fond memories”; “shame it’s turned into a bit of an eye sore over the years!”; “it will need a lot of work done to it as the building has been empty for a good few years.”

But others were more sceptical: “Are you sure it’s July this year?”; “bets on not even open by the end of the year,”; “is this just another pipe dream like so many others?”

One man said: “I’ve just had a look at your premises. End of July you say? I think you’ll need to get Ty Pennington and the extreme makeover guys in coz the place doesn’t look near ready to be open in time.”

He added: “Why are you not allowing posts from the people of Selkirk to appear on your page? I know of several that have been posted and none appear.” QHS hasn’t responded.

Another noticed the pub had “no licence applications pending on the Scottish Borders licencing website”.

But Scottish Borders Council has confirmed that once a premises has a liquor licence, the licence holder (normally the owner) can transfer it to another qualified person without a public ‘site notice’.

QHS then posted: “Recruitment – send cv’s to queensselkirk@hotmail.com” for a “chef (40 hours)” and “housekeeper (40 hours)” with “more vacancies coming soon.” One person responded: “Cutting it a bit fine on the recruitment given you open in 3-4 weeks.”

Some suspect a conspiracy: “This is a hoax!”; “Is the wee game going to stop now, is the truth going to come out? I have to say I’ve been sitting chuckling all week.”

One angrier post pled: “Can the new owners of this place stop playing cat and mouse with the general public. This cloak and dagger act does not indear (sic) yourself to your possible new customers. It’s all very confusing and suspicious. Show your hand and stop mucking the public about, or declare yourself out.” So, as one post asks: “Who is Queen’s Head Selkirk?”. QHS declared: “we will publically announce ourselves by the week’s end.”

TO ANY business, getting timely payment for work is vitally important, but keeping on top of invoicing and ensuring customers are paying within your credit terms can be a timeconsuming job.

Clearly, the sooner an invoice can be sent to a customer the better. Firstly, any queries can be dealt with whilst fresh in your mind, and the quicker the invoice is out, the quicker the money is in.

Waiting until the end of the month or when you have a minute is delaying your money and can lead to you being in overdraft at the bank, as you have to pay suppliers whilst waiting for customers’ cash.

Installing a computer program like Sage Instant Accounts may be the solution you need to keep ahead of the game, and top of the list of people your customers need to pay. It allows you to raise invoices simply, and with no prior knowledge of accounts.

The invoice layout can be set up to include both credit terms and, for example, bank details for direct payments. The invoices can then be printed or emailed directly to customer as a secure file.

Invoicing from Sage Instant Accounts also allows you to keep track of when you did a job and for whom, by creating a customer database, which records all work done for a client.

When payment is received, this is recorded, so an up-todate detail of who owes what is always available.

But what if you’ve done all of the above and you still haven’t been paid? Sage can generate letters, which you are able to customise, to chase for payments.

Of course, whilst you don’t want to hound customers and hurt your ongoing business relationship, it is equally important to remember that if work is done it is to be paid for in a prompt manner.

For more information contact 01573 224391 or gail.kristiansen@renniewelch.co.uk

The Kelso factory of Forbes has secured its first major order after the installation of new equipment.

The firm will supply six 80,000-litre tanks for a Manchester company who will use them for the storage of filtered water used during the manufacture of semi-conductors.

Forbes’ Kelso factory can now produce thermoplastic tanks of up to 100,000 litres capacity, thanks to the latest automated equipment.

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone etc etc. This week – sad news. Long-suffering readers of this column and its predecessor may remember tales of the Roadrunner.

She was one of our oldest chooks. You can always tell the oldest in any herd/flock/swarm because they have names. I find that once you get past about 10 of anything you cease to name them.

Roadie, as the Roadrunner was affectionately known, was a Cream Legbar Cross, with a floppy comb and feathery topknot, which gave her a wild look. She had kinda crazy eyes in a Mel Gibson (circa Lethal Weapon/Braveheart) way and the determination of Andy Murray to win Wimbledon (congrats, Andy!).

The first night she was here she leapt out of the run, deciding to roost in a tree.

“Hold the torch up here, I’ll get her,” says Mr E, pulling back the branch. Before I could oblige the branch slipped through his grasp and like a feathered Exocet, she pinged across the wood – straight into the side of the workshop. After sliding down cartoon-style and landing in a heap behind a laurel bush, she was an easy catch. Slightly stunned, she was definitely more manageable, but from that day she was a little bit, shall we say, more Frank Bruno than Sugar Ray Leonard.

She and Gamford developed a love-hate relationship.

In the pre-Patterdale days, when chickens sometimes hopped the fence and went walkabout around the garden, Roadie took to an afternoon stroll across the gravel to a favourite bush, where she would sit for a while and produce a lovely blue egg. As ‘laying away’ is one of the biggest crimes a chook can commit, this made her Gamford’s public enemy No 1.

The animosity intensified when the big fence went up and then Jock the Patterdale arrived. Roadie still felt it was her birthright to escape and lay away. At one stage Gamford observed her leaping on to a stone dyke, walking round on it and jumping down by the gate to then stroll up the drive and access her special bush.

This resulted in Gamford cutting enough hedging material to form a green buffer zone to foil her, creating something so large, green and bushy that it resembled the Normandy bocage. He was crestfallen when a few days later he found her strolling up the drive again, practically whistling the theme to The Great Escape.

Lately, she had mellowed quite a bit, becoming almost tame. Alarm bells rang. We discussed only the day before she met her end that she must be getting on a bit and due for the Big Coop in the Sky.

Then it happened, We were all sitting around enjoying the evening sun and a BBQ tea when suddenly a squawking and flapping. Around the corner, a puff of feathers and Jocky had claimed his latest victim. Poor Roadie. Like an old lady escaping the nursing home to swim naked in the river like she used to do as a wee girl, the Roadie had been having one last Hilts moment, over the wall and down the drive ... and into Jock’s jaws. RIP Roadrunner.

Beep beep.

I hesitate to say it, but the countryside is looking good in the sunshine. That tundra-like look as recently as late April of stunted crops and grass, bare soil and Arctic winds, seems a distant memory.

There are still patchy fields where growers can continue to repent at leisure for not ploughing out and re-sowing failed areas, but most fields now look moderately promising as growers begin a mental countdown to the start of harvest – wheat dark green and filling, winter barley starting to change colour, potato and vegetable crops solid masses of foliage.

It’s quite a transformation in a few weeks because for much of 2013 crops have been at least three weeks behind normal, if we can assume that there is still such a thing as a normal year.

For much of June fields of oilseed rape in flower and thick blossom on hawthorn hedges was the covering we usually associate with the month of May. Now crops and nature in general are racing through their growth stages to catch up. That has posed more problems than usual for chemical control of growth, pests and diseases, and lack of rain means irrigation is being used wherever possible – that is, any grower who can get water on to crops, mainly potatoes and vegetables, is doing so. Crops don’t look the way they do without a lot of care and attention, loving or otherwise.

When we think of the inexorable drive by supermarkets to commandeer 100 per cent of the food and drink market, it’s interesting to note that pockets of resistance remain, such as the quality high street butchers we’re lucky to have in the Borders. And, in the case of doorstep milk delivery, not only remain, but start to regain a little of lost territory, with personal service and often a range of other products. That’s encouraging when, for at least 20 years, doorstep deliveries declined steadily as more and more of us settled for four-pint plastic containers from supermarket shelves.

I first thought about a possible reversal of that trend when talking to one of the few East Lothian milk producers left. They now have more than a dozen doorstep delivery vans on the road servicing a wide area and are increasing the size of their dairy herd to at least 400 cows. That’s commitment and optimism.

That East Lothian business is not alone. The latest figures show that Britain’s milkmen deliver more than £300 million worth of dairy products to two million doorsteps each year with an average of 475 customers. They also offer an average of 245 other products and often, they say, play an important part in the local community, especially for the most vulnerable such as the elderly, infirm and disabled.

But it’s not easy, and reading those statistics I was reminded of a line from Hawick’s inimitable public performer Ian Landels that his first job was as tail-gunner on a milk float on a housing estate. He named the estate; I have, conveniently, forgotten.

The winners of a region-wide crop and grassland management competition were announced following a dinner in Kelso last week.

The awards ceremony for the winners of the Border Union Agricultural Society and Kelso and District Agricultural Discussion Society’s competition took place at the Ednam House Hotel when judges praised the entries.

Competition chairman Keith Thomson said: “We had a good competition with a few new entries. The judges were all very impressed with standard and quality of all the farms.”

The championship decision-makers saw different types of farms and said everybody was doing “a first-class job”.

“They enjoyed seeing so many active old farmers still playing a very useful part in the business,” said Keith.

The motto for the competition is ‘It’s no what ye hae, it’s what ye dae wi what ye hae’ and the judges were asked to take this into consideration when viewing the farms as they were all very different units, he said.

And for the second year running, judges commented on how well the crops and livestock were looking on all farms considering the weather and some admitted to being a little envious of what they had seen over the two days of judging. Producer Ron Shaw of GS Shaw & Co, Smailholm Mains, Kelso won the championship.

Keith said: “The winner impressed with attention to detail and the fact that it was a mixed farm with crops and livestock.”

The judges of the large lowground farms were impressed with the quality of crops considering the conditions over the winter.

“They were also impressed with the farms having ways of adding extra value to the business. They liked the winner because the crops all looked exceptionally well and liked their proactive relationship with their landlords.”

In the lowland small farm category Keith said the judges were very complimentary about all entrants. “Some were farming in fairly challenging farms. They were impressed with the runner-ups marketing of his crops and beef – working closely with the end user.

“They thought that the winner had very good even crops and was making a very good job.”

Keith reported the judges of the stock rearing units said all entires were “very impressive”

“But the top two were clear winners and had won this competition before.”

The conservation judge would have like to have given everyone a prize.

Keith said: “They were all doing great work, but she thought the winner had made a plan and was achieving good results from a blank canvas.”

He and his wife Susan, the competition’s secretary, added: “The committee is extremely grateful for the very generous support received from the businesses and organisations who provided sponsorship. Also huge thanks to this years’ entrants, without whom there would be no competition, and the judges and stewards for giving up their time.”

Everyone interested is invited to a farm walk at the championship class winning farm, Smailholm Mains, Kelso (TD5 7RT) on Tuesday (July 16) at 7pm.

Championship class judged by Mr Willie Porter, West Scryne, Carnoustie and Mr Ian Stirling, Arbroath

1st (F Jackson Cup) – GS Shaw & Co, Smailholm Mains, Kelso

2nd (Mackenzie Trophy) – Peter Tweedie, Buchtrig, Hownam

Best winter wheat (Matt Prentice Quaich) – WB Hamilton & Sons, Bee Edge, Coldingham

JT Carmichael Cup for livestock presented by John Swan & Sons – Peter Tweedie, Buchtrig, Hownam

Lowground Smaller class judged by Mr James Grant Suttie, Balgone Estate, North Berwick and Mr Carl Tuer, manager of Rock Estate, Alnwick

1st (Thomson Trophy) – Alan & Robert Lamont, Dunslaw, Duns

2nd – David Fuller Shapcott, Sweethope, Kelso

Enterprises :

Combinable crops 1st – David Fuller Shapcott, Sweethope, Kelso

Root/veg/pulses 1st – Clive Forster, Hassendean Bank, Denholm

Grassland/livestock 1st – David Fuller Shapcott, Sweethope, Kelso

2nd – Robert Brickell, Holydean, Bowden

2nd – Alan & Robert Lamont, Dunslaw, Duns

2nd – Ian & Jane Mitchell, Courthill, Hawick

Lowground Larger class judged by Mr Andrew Rampley, Southoe, Cambridgeshire and Mr James Thorp, manager for AG Wright, Cambridgeshire

1st (Moore Cup) – Andrew & Guy Warcup, Ford & Etal, Northumberland

2nd – Jamie Tweedie, Middlethird, Gordon Enterprise:

Combinable crops 1st – Andrew & Guy Warcup, Ford & Etal

Root/veg/pulses 1st – Graeme Murray, Redden, Kelso

Grassland/livestock 1st – Jamie Tweedie, Middlethird, Gordon

2nd – Graeme Murray, Redden, Kelso

2nd – Andrew & Guy Warcup, Ford & Etal, Northumberland

2nd – Bruce Martin, Galagate, Norham

Stockrearing class judged by Mr Tom Cockburn, Kingside Farm, West Linton.

1st (Hogg Cup) – John Mitchell & Co, Rumbletonrig, Greenlaw

2nd – BQ Farming & Eckford Farming, Bowhill, Selkirk

Enterprises – Crops: 1st – John Mitchell & Co, Rumbletonrig, Greenlaw

Grassland/sheep 1st – John Mitchell & Co, Rumbletonrig, Greenlaw

Grassland/cattle 1st – John Mitchell & Co, Rumbletonrig, Greenlaw

2nd – BQ Farming & Eckford Farming, Bowhill, Selkirk

2nd – CP Harrison, Halliburton Farm, Greenlaw; 2nd – BQ Farming & Eckford Farming, Bowhill, Selkirk

AJ Fleming Trophy for Best 
Commercial Beef Enterprise – John Mitchell & Co, Rumbletonrig, Greenlaw

Conservation class, judged by Ms Leonie Alexander, The Wildlife Partnership, West Linton

1st (Buccleuch Quaich) – Robert Brickell, Holydean, Bowden

2nd (Buccleuch Quaich) – Ian & Jane Mitchell, Courthill, Hawick

It is widely accepted that it is vital the public understand the importance of farming in Scotland.

That’s why Anna Davies started Scene & Herd PR and Marketing back in 2009, initially working part-time alongside her role as communications and marketing manager for industry leadership organisation Scotland Food & Drink.

Last year she moved to work full-time on Scene & Herd after a five-year stint working in communications for the National Farmers Union Scotland made Anna realise there were many farmers running diversified businesses, or businesses, selling to farmers, that needed help promoting their ventures.

In addition, Anna was also aware that many small and medium-sized food and drink businesses also needed somebody to help grow their profile.

“There are a number of very good city centre PR and marketing agencies, but they aren’t able to specialise in such a niche area, and so Scene & Herd is able to offer a specialised service run by people who really understand food, farming and the countryside,” she told The Southern.

Anna was recently joined at Scene & Herd by Ross Montague after ‘Monty’ came in as a shareholder.

Based near Haddington where the Scene & Herd office is located, Anna and her arable farmer husband, William Thomson, are expecting their first child next month.

Monty, a former director of the Scottish Countryside Alliance, is married to Moira and the couple live on her family farm outside Lauder and are also expecting their first baby shortly.

Originally from Northern Ireland, Gail’s family moved to County Sligo where she spent much of her childhood.

The 46-year-old did a degree in engineering, leaving university to go into the technical side of the pharmaceutical industry.

However, she decided to switch tack: “I liked the HR side and moved into training because I liked the people part of it”, and so she became a training manager.

She and her husband Dave, who works at ProStrakan in Galashiels, have two children, daughter Kaitlin, 15, and son Alex, 13, and live near Morebattle.

“Fitness is a major part of my life. Becoming a personal trainer has been a big change for me. We moved to the Borders for my husband’s job five years ago, but I couldn’t find work.

“I had gone to the gym and run for years so I decided I would retrain and did my qualification (with Lifetime). It’s blossomed from there and I have got really into it.

“I’m doing personal training and working for Curves (a women’s gym in Galashiels) part-time and it’s great as I can fit things around it. I get my exercise, I’m helping other people and I’ve got time for my family.

“I have been going to the gym and doing classes since I was in my early 20s, before I decided to try running and I really enjoy it. I’m not a long-distance runner, I’ve done a half-marathon, but I like being outdoors and you can run anywhere. And running’s free, you don’t have to join a gym to run.

“I’m aware of ageing and trying to keep my body healthy. I love food and I know that if I didn’t keep exercising I wouldn’t be able to enjoy life as much.

“I try to eat healthily. You can almost justify treats when you know you are going to burn it off.

“I’m not fanatical, I’m not one of these people who has to exercise every day. If I’m on holiday I can do something every other day. I’m aware of keeping my fitness levels up over a holiday though because of my work.”

For more information visit www.personaltraynor.co.uk

Gordon wheelchair racer Samantha Kinghorn returned from Stoke Mandeville, where it all began, with a new personal best for the 400 metres on Sunday night.

And the 17-year-old athlete is set to contest most distances at the DSE national junior athletics this weekend.

The competitor took time out last week to launch a nutrition guide booklet for athletes and young people, and says nutrition plays an important role in her training and recovery.

Samatha, who recently won the sports category at the Young Scot Awards, hopes to compete at Scotland’s 2014 Commonwealth Games. She said: “A healthy, balanced diet is essential for me to maintain my energy levels throughout the day so I can exercise and study.

“I have my sights set on competing at the Commonwealth Games and at the Paralympics in Rio. To do that, I know I need to train hard, focus and eat well.”

She eats three meals a day and snacks on the likes of nuts, yoghurt and Nutrigrain bars. She has a chocolate milk after training.

Breakfasts are either fruit and yoghurt or Weetabix, lunch will be a ham and salad sandwich, or, a favourite is tuna and pasta. And dinner is whatever Mum Elaine cooks, but will likely include meat, lots of vegetables and potatoes.

“If we have pizza, it’s all home-made and we don’t eat much bread or cakes because my Dad (Neil, who is gluten intolerant) can’t.

“It’s just about keeping your body well. It depends on how much I’m training as to how much I eat. I don’t want to put on weight because I’m having to push myself on the chair, but I eat a lot more than the average person because I train.”

She also drinks two litres of water a day and has a vitamin C drink too.

“Nutrition is very important, you can feel it. If you haven’t eaten so well, you don’t feel so good. If I have had fast food, I feel it when I’m sweating in training the next morning – you feel sluggish because of all the grease.”

She does admit though that eating breakfast was a new experience when she started training.

“I never used to eat in the morning. I was a typical teenager and went to school on an empty stomach.

“But now, having to get up and train before school, you have to eat.

“It improves my performance quite dramatically.”

The teenager was paralysed from the waist down in December 2010 after an accident while clearing snow near Gordon.

Her hospital physiotherapist noticed she was an active teenager and took her to Stoke Mandeville, the national centre for disability sports, where she tried everything and loved wheelchair racing – and she’s been taking that world by storm since.

“I love it. Now I’ve been in the sport for a year I know everybody.

“It’s good to see them all (at competitions). Everyone’s really nice.”

She will contest the 100, 200, 400, 800, 1,500 and 3,000 metres at the weekend championships.

New donors are needed for the Blood Transfusion Service visit to Selkirk next weekend.

BTS staff will be in the Victoria Halls on Sunday, July 21, from 10.15am-12.30pm and 2-4pm.

Anyone who is over 17 years old and healthy can donate blood.

A CALL has been made for community council elections to be more transparent, writes Kenny Paterson.

Last month saw only seven people put their names forward for the voluntary group, which is meant to have 12 members, meaning elections were not needed.

And at Monday’s meeting, only five members were present, with chairman Graham Easton and treasurer Tommy Combe unavailable.

Vice-chair Ian King took charge of the meeting – and he wants to boost numbers in coming months.

He told The Wee Paper: “We are under-strength at the moment and want to co-opt on some new members, otherwise there will be too much work for so few people.

“We have one or two people who have expressed an interest and would welcome more.

“In future, I would like candidates in an election to write a paragraph about their interests and what they wish to achieve on the community council, instead of just a name on a page. The process at the moment is not transparent.”

Mr King added: “We want people with the knowledge and skills to help the community.”

Last month, returning officer Gordon Edgar said he was disappointed with the response for nominations for the council.

A BYPASS for Selkirk has been labelled a “long-term aspiration” by Scottish Government ministers – but it does not have their support.

The bypass suggestion had been included in a strategic planning document put together by Scottish Borders Council and neighbouring authorities in Edinburgh and south-east Scotland.

However, although ministers approved the SESplan blueprint last month, they have amended it.

Instead of Selkirk bypass simply being listed alongside improvements to the A7, the final version will read that the bypass is a “long-term aspiration which does not have Government support”.

The plan also covers proposed developments along the A7 and A68 “corridors”.

Speaking at a meeting of Selkirk Community Council on Monday, SBC councillor Michelle Ballantyne said: “We are becoming a ‘corridor of Edinburgh’, as the Borders is described in the SESplan report. That is not why I came to the Borders.”

Discussing centralisation of some decisions and services, Mrs Ballantyne said: “Some of the things (decisions by government) we can’t do anything about, but we need to plan and mitigate for them. We are being steamrollered.”

Iain King, community council planning spokesman, agreed, adding: “Our voice is not being heard.”

Local butchers J. A. Waters and Sons have marked Andy Murray’s victory at Wimbledon by producing a special meat treat.

The High Street butchers say their Murray Burger consists of 100 per cent beef and has been created in recognition of the Dunblane tennis star’s achievements.

The Queen’s Head mystery appears a little less murky today, as Selkirk’s derelict but cherished pub is linked to a Fife-based company called Dolcas Ltd.

Scottish Borders Council’s licensing unit, according to its public records, disclosed the name of the Queen’s Head’s “present premises licence holder” to be Rosyth-based Dolcas Limited, to whom the licence was transferred in 2011 from the previous owners Punch Taverns.

The licensing unit told us that being named as the premises licence holder does not guarantee Dolcas Ltd owns the Queen’s Head, but “it is most common for the owner to retain the premises licence, and the tenant to become premises manager”.

A second source confirmed the link to Dolcas Ltd. Council assessors value all heritable properties for local taxation purposes, and its ‘valuation rolls’ are kept for public view at St Mary’s Mill in Selkirk and online at www.saa.gov.uk.

The latest valuation roll, up to March 31, also names the “occupier” of the Queen’s Head Inn at 28 West Port – who is liable to pay business rates – as Dolcas Limited in Rosyth.

The council explained that, again, while this does not guarantee Dolcas owns the Queen’s Head, “in most cases the occupier would be the owner”.

Dolcas, with a company registration number SC 389381, is registered to an address at Torridon House on Torridon Lane in Rosyth, which is also the address of an accountancy firm, and tens, if not hundreds, of other companies.

The free business “transparency” website www.companycheck.co.uk summarises Dolcas Ltd as an “active business” “incorporated in Scotland on 23rd November 2010”, “run by one current member”, with “one shareholder owning the total shares within the company”.

Elsewhere, the business information and intelligence website www.duedil.com adds: “Dolcas Ltd does not have any child companies”. Its page, it says, was last updated on March 12 of this year.

Dolcas Limited’s annual return, filed to Companies House on November 23, 2012, publically names the “officers of the company” – Dolcas’ single director and shareholder – as Louise Mair, and cites her address in Leith.

But there are still more mysteries to solve: who is behind the unidentified Facebook group ‘Queen’s Head Selkirk’, who claim to be a “rival buyer” to Selkirk’s proposed community buy-out?

Will they reveal their identity “by the week’s end”, and open the pub “by end of July 2013” as they promise? And, if so, will they need DIY SOS?

Watch this space.

A 47-year-old Kelso man has died following a collision between his motorcycle and a tractor in Cumbria on Sunday.

The man, who has not yet been named, was airlifted to hospital in Middlesbrough following the crash on the A683 at the Fat Lamb Hotel, Ravenstonedale, near Kirkby Stephen.

He later died as a result of his injuries.

A second motorcyclist who also collided with the tractor, a 45-year-old Berwick man, was taken to hospital in Carlisle with minor injuries.

The tractor driver escaped injury.