After being found with two knives, Alex Skippon claimed he planned to stab his stepfather in the throat and laugh while he bled to death.

The 20-year-old, of Park Crescent, Newtown St Boswells, admitted having two utility knives on the A699 near Selkirk and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner on September 8.

At an earlier hearing, prosecutor Graham Fraser told how Skippon was heard shouting outside an address at about 2.15pm.

Mr Fraser said Skippon shouted: “Come on, let’s see if you get the better of me now”, adding: “I’ll see you in the ground.” He threatened to “batter” and “kill” his stepfather. The prosecutor went on: “He was handcuffed by police, but continued shouting, ‘I’m going to f*****g kill you’.”

When police searched Skippon, he was asked if he had anything in his pockets and replied: “Aye, a chib for that c**t.” A utility knife was found, along with a similar one in a rucksack he had left in a nearby lay-by.

Skippon continued to threaten his stepfather, adding: “You better watch your back, Barry. I’ll slit you like an envelope.”

Scott Mackenzie, defending, said his client had difficulties in his relationship with his mother and stepfather.

He added: “He had not attended at the address with any intention of seeking them out, but woke up at a friend’s house in Selkirk, bought alcohol and walked up the hill to consume it. There was no premeditated intention to attend at the house.

“He had one Valium tablet and then bought cider from a local shop, which he planned to drink on the hill and then return home. The route to where he was staying went past the house, and he was drunk.”

Sheriff Kevin Drummond had previously deferred sentence for a psychiatric report, commenting that the social enquiry report before him was “the most worrying” he had ever read. On Monday, Sheriff Peter Paterson deferred sentence until December 16 for a restriction-of-liberty assessment.

A drunken woman who behaved in a threatening or abusive manner at a hospital was fined £200.

Charmaine Miller was found barefoot in the street by police and told officers to “f**k off”.

A constable tried to get her to calm down, asking her to sit in the back of a police vehicle, but Miller began to gesticulate aggressively and shout. She was arrested for breach of the peace and taken to Galashiels police station where she became “increasingly volatile” and had to be handcuffed.

After complaining of stomach pains, Miller was taken to Borders General Hospital where she struggled with medical staff.

Miller, 42, of Cotgreen Road, Tweedbank, pleaded guilty to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner at Balmoral Avenue in Galashiels, the town’s police station and at the hospital on August 16.

Miller’s solicitor said his client had acted out of character and wished to apologise for her behaviour, adding: “She had far too much to drink and has very little recollection of the incident.”

A drunken Selkirk man who brandished two knives in the street outside his home was jailed for a year at the town’s sheriff court on Monday.

Sheriff Peter Paterson told 20-year-old Jordan Inglis, of Bridge Street, that the court had made it abundantly clear the dangers of carrying a weapon, and he considered there was no alternative to custody. Sentence was backdated to July 29.

Inglis appeared on indictment and pleaded guilty to having two knives in Bridge Street on July 28. He also admitted brandishing the knives, challenging others to fight and committing a breach of the peace.

Prosecutor Tessa Bradley told how the accused and another man, who had been out socialising had a “disagreement” in a pub. When the man left at 1.20am to head home, he was confronted by Inglis in the road, holding two kitchen knives.

A passing motorist saw the two men facing each other and noticed something “glinting” in the accused’s hands. “He looked in his rear-view mirror and saw that he (Inglis) was holding a knife in each hand,” explained Ms Bradley.

The driver tried to persuade the other man to get into his car – and also attempted to get the accused to calm down – before contacting police.

Ms Bradley said both men were heavily under the influence of alcohol, adding: “The accused appeared in the street, having changed his clothes. He was searched, but nothing found.”

Ross Dow, defending, said the man had been following Inglis home when he went into his house and returned to the front gate, brandishing two knives. He conceded his client had been in the street, outside his home.

Describing the offences as “an act of bravado”, the solicitor added: “He says he would never have used the knives and entirely regrets this.”

Inglis also received a six-month jail term – to run concurrently – on a summary complaint after he admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner at The Valley, Selkirk, on March 16.

A woman who threw a takeaway meal at her partner has been jailed.

Jedburgh Sheriff Court, pictured, heard on Friday that Kimberley Redpath contacted police because she was concerned about her partner’s whereabouts after he left by taxi and failed to return three hours later.

When he came back with a takeaway, Redpath accused him of having an affair and threw the food at him. Police had to call for assistance after Redpath struggled violently with officers.

The 28-year-old, of Orchard Park, Kelso, pleaded guilty to shouting, swearing and struggling with her partner at her home on October 18 and obstructing police at Kelso police station.

Both offences were committed while Redpath was on bail.

Prosecuting, Graham Fraser said the offence began as “a domestic matter, but spilled over”.

He told the hearing that the accused contacted police at about 7pm, expressing concern that her partner had left three hours earlier and not returned. Police made enquiries and the man returned to the house with a Chinese meal.

“She took the carrier bag from him and accused him of having an affair. She then tried to close the door and there was a struggle between them,” explained Mr Fraser.

The man managed to get inside and went to bed.

The prosecutor went on: “She took the Chinese takeaway and threw the food at him, covering the walls and the bed.

“He contacted the police, and the accused could be heard shouting and swearing, telling him to ‘get the f**k out’.

“The police attended and saw the mayhem, and she turned her aggression towards them. Two further officers attended as she was being so difficult, and she was increasingly angry at the police station, struggling with the officers and kicking out,” he concluded.

Redpath’s lawyer, Rory Bannerman, said his client had been drinking and had “learned from her misconduct, having been remanded in custody”.

Mr Bannerman added: “She has had a catalogue of difficulties to cope with, but custody has been a salutary lesson to her and she has no wish to return there.”

Redpath also admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner at her home on September 4.

Sheriff Derrick McIntyre told Redpath she had “reached the end of the line” and sentenced her to a total of 220 days’ imprisonment.

As she was led to the cells, a clearly-disgruntled Redpath shouted: “F*****g joke.”

I now know the feeling of missing a putt to win The Open by half an inch. When it comes to trapping moths, there are some you can do without, some which are of great interest and some you only dream about.

Falling into the last category is the Death’s Head Hawkmoth, a huge creature with a five-inch wingspan.

It only turns up occasionally in this country, being an irregular immigrant from warmer climes, and is usually seen on the south coast of England.

Not only does it have a skull on the back of its head, but it also squeaks. How cool is that!

One morning last week, I opened the back door to find a plastic box on the step containing what I thought at first was a dead bird.

On closer inspection, imagine my shock and amazement to see that it was in fact a recently deceased Death’s Head Hawkmoth.

With no indication as to where it had come from, I had to leave for work wondering who had left it and where it had originated.

When I got home, all was revealed. My neighbour had been tidying up her garden at the back of an outbuilding when she spotted the moth on the ground – obviously dead.

When I heard the exact location, I began to put things together.

The previous Friday I had my moth trap going for the last session of my weekly participation in the Garden Moth Survey, which runs from March until November.

I reckon the moth had been attracted by the light, but was too big to fly into the trap. That night there was a sharp frost which would have been too cold for the southerner to survive and it had probably keeled over in my neighbour’s garden.

Had it pegged out in my garden I could have claimed the record. As it was, it was found only around six feet from my property and a further 12 feet from my light trap.

According to those who monitor such things, there have been only a handful of records this year and those were mainly from Cornwall. How this one had managed so far north on its own, heaven knows, but the fact that I missed it by a whisker is hard to bear.

It is only the third record for the vice county of Selkirkshire, the last being in the 1960s when the late Arthur Smith had two sent to him by farmers.

Any way, here is its picture and it is an image which will haunt me for some considerable time!

You can get in touch with me by emailing corbie@homecall.co.uk

A 20-year-old punched and kicked a man he believed had stolen from him.

Alyxs Millar, of Burnhead Road, Hawick, admitted assaulting a man at Baguette Express, Sandbed, in the town on July 27.

Prosecutor Graham Fraser told how the accused “set about” the victim around 2.15pm and had to be pulled away by two others. The man sustained a cut head, swollen nose and swollen eye.

“He didn’t want the police contacted. The background is that he has a drug habit and had stolen from the accused to fund that addiction, and his behaviour seems to be some form of retribution. This simply is not acceptable behaviour,” concluded Mr Fraser.

Defence solicitor Rory Bannerman said his client saw the victim in the street.

The lawyer added: “He was angry and wanted to confront him and ask him to repay the money he believed he had stolen. He says the man struck him and ran off, and he pursued him and struck him twice.

“It all happened in the heat of the moment.”

Sheriff Derrick McIntyre observed: “There is clearly a background here.” He sentenced Millar to an 18-month community payback order with 160 hours of unpaid work, to be completed within six months.

He also warned the accused: “If you fail to comply, you are likely to face custody.”

BREACHED BAIL CONDITION

A drunken man who fell asleep on the stairwell outside his former home breached bail when his partner allowed him inside.

Greg Whiteley, 28, of Weensland Road, Hawick, had been granted bail on September 2 with a condition not to contact his partner or to enter Melrose Court in the town. He admitted breaching the condition 13 days later.

“Police found him asleep on the stairwell, under the influence of alcohol, when they were attending to another matter,” explained procurator fiscal Graham Fraser, adding: “He told police he lived there and had lost his key.”

Alison Marshall, defending, said officers had allowed him to go into the house, unaware of the bail conditions, but returned four hours later and found him in a bedroom.

Whiteley was sentenced to a 24-month community payback order, under supervision.

DISC JOCKEY DISQUALIFIED

When police stopped a suspected drink-driver, he handed them the keys and admitted: “I’m pissed”.

First offender Pries Carsane, of Springwood Rise, Kelso, pleaded guilty to driving a van at Bridge Street and Maxwellheugh in the town on October 20 with a breath/alcohol reading of 75mcg – more than twice the legal limit of 35mcg.

Graham Fraser, prosecuting, said officers had earlier seen the accused closing the rear door of the van and carrying a bottle of alcohol. At 1.40am they saw the vehicle being driven by Carsane and stopped him.

“As the police walked towards the van, he gave them the keys and said, ‘I’m pissed’,” explained Mr Fraser.

Defence solicitor Alison Marshall said 27-year-old Carsane would lose his employment as a driver as a result of the offence.

She explained: “He does some part-time work as a disc jockey and had been working that evening. He had a couple of drinks, but hadn’t eaten anything that day, and can’t explain why he decided to drive the short distance home.”

Carsane was fined £400 and banned from driving for 12 months.

PEEBLES MAN TO FACE JURY

A 29-year-old man alleged to have assaulted another to his severe injury and permanent impairment will stand trial by jury on December 3.

Neil Hogarth, of Cademuir Drive, Peebles, appeared on indictment and denied punching a man on the face and knocking him to the ground at School Brae in the town on May 18.

EX-PUBLICAN ON TRIAL

A former publican is due to stand trial today (Thursday) for allegedly being drunk in a bar.

Frank McFarlane, 64, of North Bridge Street, Hawick, denies, as a responsible person, being drunk at Frankie’s Bar in the town on August 26 last year.

ASSAULT ALLEGATION

EX-NATIONAL Hunt jockey Paul Robson will stand trial today (Thursday) after he denied assaulting a woman in Hawick.

Robson, 30, of Burnflat Brae, Hawick, pleaded not guilty to seizing a woman by the wrists, forcibly removing a ring from her finger, throwing her on to the floor, seizing her by the body and throwing her across a room on March 9/10 at a house at Weensland Road.

ACCUSED OF BENEFITS FIDDLE

A Hawick man accused of falsely obtaining more than £15,000 in benefits will stand trial on March 6.

Glen Miller, 54, of Allars Bank, denies receiving £15,161.78 Jobseeker’s Allowance and £712.77 council tax benefit to which he was not entitled between July 19, 2009, and December 2, 2012, at Falside Cottages, Southdean.

An intermediate hearing was set for February 7.

SENTENCE DEFERRED

A husband who assaulted his wife after she accused him of being untidy had sentence deferred for three months to be of good behaviour.

Mark McSorley, 30, of Ruberslaw Road, Hawick, admitted seizing his wife by the neck and pushing her, causing her to fall to her injury, at their home on July 12.

“They have been together for seven to eight years and married in June this year,” explained procurator fiscal Graham Fraser.

“There was an argument between them about his untidiness. He said he was going to leave and go back to his mother at Prestonpans, and went to her purse to take some money. She tried to stop him and he pushed her and she fell,” added Mr Fraser.

The woman sustained grazing to her knee and soreness to her wrist and ankle.

Defending, Rory Bannerman said McSorley’s wife had accompanied him to court, adding: “He appreciates that pushing her is not acceptable, but tempers were frayed.”

TRIO REMANDED IN CUSTODY

Three accused were remanded in custody after appearing in private.

Morr Mbye, 28, from Coventry; Muhammadu Jallow, 35, from Leeds; and Bamba Gaye, 31, from Rugby; are alleged to have been in possession of an illegal drug with intent to supply.

All made no plea or declaration and were fully committed.

COMMUNITY PAYBACK ORDER

A repeat offender who struggled and fought with his partner was sentenced to a 15-month community payback order, with supervision.

Michael Moffat, 38, of Longcroft Crescent. Hawick, admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner at Drumlanrig Place in the town on July 20.

Prosecutor Tessa Bradley said Moffat had been in a relationship with the woman for some six years, and both had been drinking prior to the offence.

Ms Bradley explained that the couple began arguing at 8.30pm and it “escalated to a physical altercation”, adding: “He grabbed her hair, causing her to scream in pain.”

Neighbours contacted police who found the woman in a distressed state.

Moffat told officers: “It was just an argument.”

BANNED FOR 22 MONTHS

A MOTORIST who drove when more than twice the alcohol limit was fined £400 and banned from driving for 22 months.

First offender Karen Redpath, 54, of Eildon Crescent, Melrose, admitted driving a car at St Dunstans Park and other roads in the town on September 30 with a breath/alcohol reading of 92 mcgs – the legal limit being 35.

Staff at the local medical centre noted Redpath was “clearly under the influence of alcohol, with red eyes and slurred speech”.

Concerned she may be driving, they watched her leave the building and get into the driver’s seat of a vehicle parked outside.

Police were contacted and Redpath’s reply to caution was: “Stupid.”

It was fitting that the music playing as mourners filed into Galashiels’s Trinity Church on Friday was a march well-known to followers of the town’s Braw Lads’ Gathering.

For the man to whom they had come to pay their respects and bid farewell was one of the Gathering’s greatest stalwarts and most passionate supporters.

Peter Keddie’s death at the age of 92 brought to an end a life filled with public service to the town he loved so dear.

The second of three children born to Harry and Mime Keddie, who lived in the town’s High Buckholmside, Peter remained a proud “fifth warder” all his life.

Sadly, Peter’s younger brother, John, only survived to the age of five. But for Peter, there was Glendinning Primary, followed by Galashiels Academy, and then an apprenticeship as a textile designer.

Wartime service brought great friendships, as well as hardship on the frontlines.

Peter served with the 6th Battalion, King’s Own Scottish Borderers, including the liberation of the Dutch city of Tilburg.

He joined former wartime comrades on several return visits to Holland, even being granted the freedom of the town at one point.

The result was that all future holidays with wife Isa were spent visiting war graves across north-western Europe.

He married Isa Forsyth in Ladhope Church on January 4, 1949. The couple’s married life saw them move home several times, including a stint in Kirkwall, Orkney, due to Peter’s job.

It was in Kirkwall that the couple’s first son, Stuart, was born. After the family’s return to Galashiels in the 1950s, Stuart was followed by Gordon and then Harry. Peter’s parents swapped homes with Peter and Isa, figuring a newly-built house in Glendinning was just the job for a family with three young boys.

Peter was by now working in Buckholm Mill. He then moved to Laidlaw & Fairgrieve, and finally to Kemp Blair’s as yarn store manager.

He was also making a name for himself as a rugby player, occupying the hooker’s berth for Gala Star, Gala Academy FPs and then Gala.

Despite this, his proudest moment in a rugby jersey was when his team won the army cup for the KOSB’s 6th Battalion.

And Peter was equally proud when his youngest son, Harry, also wore the maroon jersey of Gala, followed by grandsons, Craig and Dean.

Another great passion was of the feathered kind and the Keddies’ homes always had a big shed out back to house Peter’s pigeons.

Isa was working all this time as a cloth passer at the mill, but also did home work, and the memory of the smell of raw wool pervading the living room lingers with her children still.

But without doubt, outside family life, his biggest passion was his long involvement with the town’s Braw Lads’ Gathering.

He joined the Braw Lads’ Executive in 1959, as a representative of the Fifth Ward Community Group, and became chairman in 1965.

He was equally proud when Stuart served as an attendant in 1970 and two years later when Gordon was Braw Lad.

Peter’s service with the Braw Lads’ Gathering was crowned in 1991, when he was appointed president for three years.

Sadly, Isa did not live to share in the occasion, having passed away nine years previously. However, Peter was well supported in office by Nessie Amos.

Then, adding to the local history, in 2006, Gordon was installed as president of the Gathering – the first time a son had followed his father in the post.

Also a committed church-goer, Peter, a former elder, had walked to church every Sunday – a familiar figure making his way down the hill as the bells rang out.

But no matter the difficulties brought with advancing age and ill health, you never heard Peter complain, a hangover perhaps from enduring the hardship of war.

And perhaps it was witnessing that suffering that saw him always ready with small kindnesses.

Such as the fact that, although no longer a dog owner himself, Peter never left the house without a pocket full of biscuits to treat any canines he may bump into.

He is survived by his three sons, his daughters-in-law, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

They and his many friends are deeply saddened that this kind and generous soul will not pass their way again.

M.C.E.

Bobby’s back where he belongs. Michelle has returned from the day nursery. Tommy Lee never went away.

And then there are the kids - Dianna Agron from Glee and John D’Leo from New Jersey.

Great cast. What to do with them?

De Niro is best known for his gangster roles. Actually he’s known for a whole lot more, but public perception puts him with the Mob.

Pfeiffer retired from acting for a while to have babies. She can be Mom. Agron is the bitchy cheerleader from Glee, so let’s use her feisty beauty to pulverise French people.

D’Leo may be unknown, but that won’t last long. He’s like a teenage Mickey Rooney, with potential oozing out of every pore.

This is the Mazoni family. Dad was a Mafia don who spilled his guts in exchange for a place on the witness protection programme.

Naturally, elements of the Italian American community are hard on his heels. Revenge is not reserved solely for macho Sicilian murderers; it’s universal.

After numerous moves, the family ends up in a small Normandy town. Their new name is Blake and Dad, now Fred, announces that he is a writer of historical non-fiction, of which he knows nothing.

Their minders are three bored rigid FBI agents, led by a granite-faced T. L. Jones. What could possibly go wrong?

For starters, Fred wipes out anyone who displeases him, from corrupt industrialists to useless plumbers.

The kids are bullied at school and so retaliate in kind. Mom looks pretty and appears to be oblivious of the mayhem all around.

What might have been a fun idea, like We’re The Millers was, turns nasty, predictable and misjudged.

Once the heavy mob arrive from the States in their armoured cars and black overcoats, writer/director Luc Besson does what he likes to do best, blows the place to smithereens.

Such a waste.

No, it’s not French; it’s very English. A 30-year wedding anniversary in Paris. Memories and reconsideration (perhaps).

“Can I touch you?”

“What for?”

Meg (Lindsay Duncan) gets it. She feels the warmth of nostalgia.

Nick (Jim Broadbent) wants some action, but is more hung up about his life as a once promising writer who dropped the baton decades earlier (“I’m amazed how mediocre I became”). The sadness of broken dreams.

The film is a talkie. Hanif Kureishi has been a star in anyone’s firmament since My Beautiful Laundrette and Sammy & Rosie Get Laid.

He needs no introduction and requires no apology. His script is witty and as sharp as shattered glass, exposing the weakness of ever after (“I don’t believe in The One; there are so many Ones”) and the quicksand that is human relations.

Meg and Nick are not so much off the same page as living in parallel universes.

This makes for interesting repartee.

There’s talk of “the self I hide inside myself” and “falling out of a window forever” until they meet an ex-student of Nick’s (Jeff Goldblum) whose success is an insult to intellectual research and whose twentysomething new squeeze makes a mockery of marriage. Now they have someone to hit on rather than beating each other up with acute observations of hypocrisy and failed endeavour.

The performances are memorable and, in Duncan’s case, indelible. She was wasted in About Time. Here, she steals the show.

It is difficult to know who to blame, or where to start. Ridley Scott has always been good at making his movies look ravishing.

This isn’t rave material, but he tries. After that, he falls asleep.

The plot shouts for help under an avalanche of pompous dialogue, but is not heard. Its death is covered up with gratuitous violence and Cameron Diaz making love to a bright yellow Ferrari.

How many studs does it take to kill a star? Here we have a red carpet laid down across a muddled storyline for these stellar actors to meander casually from one side of the Mexican border to another.

Yes, here we are again, in the world of Traffic, drug smugglers and confusion, except, in this case, you need to add the words “pointless” and “boring.” What could have been a masterpiece, becomes a train wreck. No-one knows what is going on, especially the audience. You wait, like a teenager outside a West End premiere, for the appearance of Brad Pitt, or Penelope Cruz, or Javier Bardem, or Diaz in an animal suit, or Michael (who he?) Fassbender.

Even as a thriller, the film plays hard to get. Somehow, somewhere, the arty farts have taken over the asylum and neither Scott, nor his talented cast, can persuade them to stick to principles and stop spouting cod philosophical monologues.

Sadly the fault lies with Cormac McCarthy’s script. As a novelist (All The Pretty Horses, The Road) he is considered one of America’s finest.

The message after this tedious tank of trash is “Stick to the day job.”

Police are appealing for witnesses after £8,000 of ridiing equipment was stolen from a tackroom in West Linton.

The break-in happened between 4.30pm on Sunday (November 17) and 7.30am on Monday.

The robbery included eight saddles, plus various items of horse equipment.

PC Corrinne Bird from Police Scotland said: “A red Peugeot is believed to have been in the area at the time and we are keen to trace the driver or anyone who has any information that could assist us with our inquiries.”

Anyone with any information should contact Police Scotland on 101 or report it to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

A financial adviser who fraudulently obtained more than £158,000 from clients has been warned she is likely to face custody.

Forty-three-year-old first offender Angela Lauder of Victoria Crescent, Selkirk, appeared on indictment at the town’s sheriff court on Monday and admitted obtaining £158,666 by fraud from Friends Provident between May 2008 and October 2010 at Dunsdale Road, Selkirk.

Lauder was acting for a husband and wife when she repeatedly pretended to the company that the couple had signed documents authorising the withdrawal of sums from their investment fund, which were then paid into her own account.

“She was acting in her capacity as a financial adviser to the couple,” explained depute fiscal Tessa Bradley.

“In 2007, they sold land and had £1.7 million from that sale which they wished to invest.

“They were introduced to the accused, who was trading as an independent financial adviser, by their accountant.

“Over a period of time, they invested about £700,000 with her assistance,” added Ms Bradley.

“They were happy with the service provided by the accused and had no cause for concern,” continued Ms Bradley.

The court then heard that when the couple retired, they had a lump sum they wished to invest, which was placed in a high-interest account on Lauder’s advice.

When they checked the paperwork, they noted a 3 per cent commission to the accused.

“She said that was just an error, but in February 2013 when they met with their accountant, they voiced some dissatisfaction with the accused, particularly a general lack of contact,” said Ms Bradley.

The couple decided to change to a different financial adviser.

“One of the funds to be changed was the one with Friends Provident,” continued Ms Bradley.

When the new adviser contacted them, it was discovered that the bonds had been cashed, and queried this.

“The policy had been cashed in full, and the couple had not received any payment,” said Miss Bradley.

The matter was reported to police and investigations made.

Documentation showed a partial surrender of £20,000 in May 2008, with a letter purporting to be from the couple instructing any further correspondence to be sent to the accused at her business address.

A series of withdrawals were discovered to Lauder’s bank account.

Miss Bradley said Lauder had been “entirely co-operative” when interviewed by police, telling officers: “I’m no’ going to lie, I took the money from the account”.

“She didn’t give any explanation why,” concluded Ms Bradley.

Defence solicitor Mat Patrick reserved his plea in mitigation for reports to be obtained.

Sentence was deferred until December 16 for reports, with Lauder released on bail.

Sheriff Peter Paterson warned Lauder: “A sum of 
this amount will almost 
inevitably attract a custodial sentence.”

Scottish independence was the subject of debate at the NFU’s Mid and East Berwickshire branch annual general meeting in Duns.

Speakers at the meeting of about 20 producers in the Black Bull pub were the Conservative Borders MSP John Lamont and SNP MEP and member of the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee, Alyn Smith.

New chairman Alistair Hodge of Whitsome East Newton, Duns, said: “My personal impression was the meeting was generally against independence. There are too many ifs and buts and no guarantees on what is going to happen after the vote.

“It kept going back to the White Paper the SNP is still to publish and that giving all the answers.”

Farmers’ concern would centre on what would happen to European cash: “Most farms are dependant on the Single Farm Payment to keep things ticking over.

“If we were to miss a year (during any changeover) it would be catastrophic, it would put people in a tricky if not impossible situation,” said Alistair.

But under more immediate focus is how the reformed CAP will pan out and the wait for the Scottish Government to issue a consultation paper on allocating the money, expected at the end of this month, he said.

Alistair, whose 385-acre farm is currently an arable monitor farm, takes over from outgoing branch chairman, Neil White, stepping down after his two-year term and Alexander Home Robertston, Paxton South Mains, Berwick becomes vice chairman.

Still just a teenager when she set up her own beauty salon in Kelso, Laura Louvain Noon’s belief in her abilities has paid off with a national award.

On Sunday night, Laura picked up the Salon of the Year title at the Scottish Hair and Beauty Awards ceremony in Glasgow’s Crowne Plaza hotel.

The 22-year-old told The Southern: “It feels fantastic. I am really honoured.”

After being nominated for the award and that of Therapist of the Year by her clients, Laura had to submit a portfolio to the judges and was shortlisted in both categories.

“I am just amazed, it feels so good,” said Laura.

“I was the only one there from the Borders, which I was honoured about too.

“It is just a small salon compared to the big spas and salons, so I am really excited by this award.”

Despite competing against two Glasgow salons, one from Port Glasgow and another from Aberdeen, the Horsemarket business came out on top.

Laura set up the business three years ago, aged just 19, after studying at Borders College and working in a local salon full time for a year.

“I always loved beauty therapy and after college I dreamed of having my own salon, using the products I wanted and just having my own little place,” said Laura.

“It has been brilliant, and everything has gone so well - better than I expected - and I have been kept busy, which is good.”

Laura’s mum Teresa, a former nursery nurse, has even gone to college to re-train as a beauty therapist to enable her to work alongside her daughter, having worked on the reception for a period.

“I love it,” said Laura. “We get on really well, and it is really good because you can trust your mum!”

With a number of other beauty salons in Kelso, as well as across the Borders, Laura is particularly aware of the need to keep up the very high standard she has set across the range of services she offers.

“I do a bit of everything - facials, nails, massages and make-up. I do quite a range of things, but spray tanning is one of my big things.”

Borders MSP John Lamont, with volunteers Jill Freshwater, left, and Christine Tucker, tried his luck at Jill’s Amazing Tombola at the Kelso Charity Fair – and won a prize.

The tombola and stall sales raised nearly £200 for Borders Talking Newspapers, which provides weekly audio recordings of local papers to visually-impaired people and others who have difficulty reading.

Other charities were represented at the event, including Chest Heart and Stroke, RNLI, MS Society and Alzheimer Scotland.

The National Farmers’ Union recently held a debate on what the impact of independence would be on our agricultural industry – and I was invited to make the case for us being better together.

The 300-year-old Union between Scotland and the rest of the UK has resulted in deep economic integration, and as things stand, farms and businesses buy and sell to the whole of the UK, with no restrictions.

In the event of independence, trade will continue, but the introduction of an international border between Scotland and England would almost certainly have a negative impact. Just a one per cent reduction in exports by Scotland to the rest of the UK equates to £450million of sales.

KELSO CHARITIES FAIR

It was great to see such a big turnout at the Kelso Charities Fair.

Every year charities from the Borders Talking Newspaper to Alzheimer Scotland gather to put on a fair at the Tait Hall. It’s always a great occasion and I would recommend that anyone who hasn’t been before to give it a go in future years.

Each stall offers something different and the event managed to raise thousands of pounds for good causes in the area.

REMEMBRANCE PARADES

I’m sure many of us paid respects to those who have given their lives for our country on Remembrance Sunday.

It is always a special day and offers a much-needed opportunity to give a thought to those who have fought and are still fighting to protect our country and freedom. I know ceremonies took place across our region to mark the day, with poppy wreaths being laid at memorials.

I was pleased to once again participate with the ceremonies in my hometown of Coldstream. Many men and women from the Borders have given their lives for our country and we must always remember the sacrifice they have made.

TABLE TENNIS CUP

The inaugural Table Tennis Cup, organised by the Kelso Youth project, took place at a couple of weekends ago – and I was delighted to present the prizes to the winners.

Event organisers invited youngsters aged between nine and 18 years of age in the Kelso area along to the high school to take part in a series of coaching master classes overseen by former Scottish national table tennis coach David Fairholm.

In the afternoon a tournament was held between the players to see who would walk away with the individual trophies.

The standard of play in the final was of a very high level and just showed how far everyone had come along since the beginning of the day.

A parent has launched a scathing attack on the council for “inequalities” in the models of the Curriculum for Excellence in Borders high schools.

Chris Mowat, from Kelso, said his son is facing less choices at Kelso High School than equivalent S4 pupils at Earlston.

Mr Mowat told The Southern: “I feel it is very unequal to have different choices and opportunities afforded to children depending on what catchment area they live in.

“There has been no move to make it an equal playing field in all the secondary schools in the Borders, and it simply isn’t fair.”

Mr Mowat said in Kelso a 3+3 model has been implemented, meaning pupils study a large number of subjects across a broad area for three years, before selecting six subjects to study for a National 4/5 in S4 and then up to six subjects in S5 and S6.

However, he said that Earlston are using a 2+2+2 model, with pupils getting a broad general education for two years, then selecting eight subjects at S3 to study for two years for their National 4/5s, before again selecting up to six subjects in S5 and S6.

Mr Mowat, a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, said this afforded pupils a greater choice of Higher subjects to study in their last two years of school, crucial in gaining entry to university.

He added that he believed that “parent pressure” had prompted the school to run this model.

Mr Mowat said parents who were aware of the different models in use were worried about it, as well as a number of teachers.

He added that the council had “fobbed off” parents by saying that all schools would be brought into line with the 3+3, six-subject model, when this had “clearly not happened”.

Mr Mowat was keen to point out that he did not believe that Earlston or any other local school using the 2+2+2 model with eight subjects at S3/4 should be forced to change, rather that it was the preferred model and the other schools should move to that system.

He added that the 3+3 model led to a “rapid narrowing down of choices” for pupils.

Mr Mowat said: “While I, and many other parents that I have spoken to, believe that the senior phase model adopted by most SBC high schools is far from ideal, it is crucial that pupils are not disadvantaged by inconsistencies of delivery through our region that are not being addressed quickly enough.”

In response to the issues which Mr Mowat has raised, and which he himself failed to get a response from SBC on, a council spokesperson said: “All nine schools are working towards six choices, but we have allowed flexibility due to differing circumstances in each of the schools in terms of the timescale.

“We still have one school working towards six choices, but all others have made the transition.”

Garlic. The Marmite bulb veg. Personally, I love it. I have been hooked on garlic since my late teens when I loaded fluffy mash with it, stirred in peanuts and grated cheese, and served it with baked beans.

Hardly Cordon Bleu, but when you’re trying to live on about £15 a week it hits the spot.

The weekly budget may have grown, and so have the culinary skills (thank goodness, Mr E mutters in the background), but my love of garlic hasn’t waned.

My late Mum used to grow it and I have taken on the mantle, planting it out and lifting the succulent bulbs at the end of the year.

This year has seen a bumper crop, so much so that I have had to enlist child labour (the Young Master and Young Mistress) to get it lifted.

There’s nothing like fresh garlic, straight from the garden, trimmed and given a wash under the tap. No papery, dry skin and hard flesh, just juicy, pungent cloves. And no waste – no residue in the garlic press to scrape out and chuck.

Here at Shoogly Towers, we have another bumper crop of garlic – wild garlic. Every spring, in common with many other folk who have a shady border or a bit of woodland, we are over-run with wild garlic. Every child/dog/faithful old retainer who comes in the house when it’s growing in spring smells just like that mash of my teenage years. Mmmmmm.

Our whole acreage (well, erm, garden of one acre, that is) is covered with it, and it’s a welcome carpet of green after a dreich winter, sprinkled with white blooms as the spring progresses.

And I am not alone in my love of garlic. The Isle of Wight has its own festival. No, not that Isle of Wight Festival, recently revived and where the likes of Bob Dylan, The Who and the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah band played. No flares please, we’re foodies.

Yes, the Isle of Wight has its own Garlic Festival, which attracts around 20,000 garlic-lovers to wall-to-wall cookery demos featuring – yes, you guessed it – garlic, as well as the more usual festival fayre. No, that’s not sex, drugs ‘n’ rock ‘n’ roll. That’s Glastonbury.

Yes, there are bands, and a beer tent, and craft stalls. And lots of garlic. And at under £9 for the day (yes, it only lasts a day. Even a garlic-lover like me could see that a three-day fandango might be pushing it a bit), it’s a lot cheaper than the ‘proper’ Isle of Wight Festival which attracts around 60,000 music-lovers, lasts four days and costs almost £200. Bargain.

I can’t quite see anyone saying, as they probably did after the original grandaddy of all festivals, Woodstock: “Yeah man, Garlic Fest 2013, I was there”.

And I can’t see festival-goers making a list of the usual essentials – baby wipes, sun cream, tent, loo roll – and adding, at the bottom, Extra Strong Mints.

I once came home from Glastonbury (in the days I had money) on a plane (very un-Glasto). In the clothes I had worn for four days. The ones I had been sitting round the campfire in.

I can only apologise to anyone who might be reading this and who was on that same flight to Edinburgh Airport.

But at least my breath didn’t reek.

A parents group set up to protest planned cuts to education services is already more than 100 members strong after just a few days.

And a Facebook page set up by the campaigners on Monday had attracted 111 members in less than 24 hours.

Online petitions have also been organised by the group, calling itself simply, Scottish Borders Parents Regarding School Cuts.

The petition is in response to proposals by Scottish Borders Council to shave £11million off its education budget over the next five years.

Hundreds of school staff across the Borders were briefed last month about the start of the first Education and Lifelong Learning and Integrated Children’s Services Transformation Programme.

There are currently no specific proposals for budget or service reductions, but seven key areas are being reviewed.

However, the parents group is “deeply concerned” over what it sees as a lack of communication from the council.

Speaking from a statement drawn up by all the parents involved, group spokesman Craig McBeth said everyone was well aware of the tough financial challenges facing the council.

“However, it is deeply concerning the lack of communication, let alone consultation, that has taken place with parents, and indeed future parents, within the Borders,” said Mr 
McBeth. “The changes proposed are generational, and will impact on current and future school children in the Borders, disadvantaging them relative to other local authority areas in the country at present.

“The changes proposed include a reduction in teaching hours by 2.5 hours – this is different to other local authority areas.

“This is a fundamental change in the importance we place upon the education of our children.”

Mr McBeth said there were also worries about already stretched workloads being increased, with the added concern that this could see children with problems slipping through the cracks.

He continued: “We all accept cuts are happening, but some things should be sacred and that includes the length, breadth, depth and quality of education and the protection of those who need it most.

“Politics aside, this represents a generational change that would be set to impact the current and future parents and children of the Scottish Borders, one that we can assume will not be reversed once in place.”

Councillor Sandy Aitchison, executive member for education, pleaded for the council to be given time to carry out the reviews.

“There will be an engagement process so that any proposals will be fully put to parents - we’re not hiding anything,” he said.

“But we need to be allowed to look at these reviews and their implications. We could rightly be accused if we just turned up at parents meetings without all the necessary information.”

Principals and representatives of the 11 Borders common ridings and festivals gathered at Tower Mill at the Heart of Hawick on Monday for the official launch of Return to the Ridings, part of Homecoming Scotland 2014.

Following the success of last year’s Homecoming Scotland, Hawick, West Linton, Selkirk, Peebles, Melrose, Galashiels, Jedburgh, Duns, Kelso, Lauder and Coldstream will celebrate their historic festivals by collaborating with Homecoming Scotland and Scottish Borders Council (SBC) to increase the promotion of next year’s events.

2014 is of particular significance for Hawick, as it commemorates the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Hornshole. Only a year after Hawick lost most of its able-bodied men at Flodden in 1513, the youth of the town defeated a large English raiding party and captured their standard – symbolised throughout the years at Hawick Common Riding.

Frank Scott, Hawick Common Riding secretary, said: “2014 is a hugely-important year for the town and there will be a lot for visitors to see.

“On May 5 well over 1,500 children from Hawick will take part in a march from Hornshole to the centre of Hawick for the unveiling of a new 3m-high bronze statue commemorating the ‘Big Return’ from Hornshole.”