Those behind a bid to create a play park in Earlston have said they are ‘extremely disappointed’ that their lottery bid has been rejected.

Mags Powell of Earlston Community Development Trust said: “The Big Lottery Fund Scotland has assessed our application and has stated that Earlston is weak in terms of community cohesion and that the project could not bring the community together.

“The Big Lottery Fund Scotland’s decision is final and there is no right of appeal.”

She added: “Although we are extremely disappointed in the Big Lottery Fund Scotland’s ill-informed opinion of our community, we will nevertheless continue to strive to deliver the play experiences that our children and families truly deserve.

“Our cohesive community has a strong track record of voluntary sector delivery and funding success.”

The trust had applied for £250,000 of lottery funding towards the £300,000 overall cost of the project.

A stumbling block to the scheme emerged last month when it was revealed that the council, from whom the trust intended to lease a small part of the ‘Cauldie’ area from, was not in fact the owners.

It had in fact reverted to the Crown as the title had never been passed from the previous owners, Simpson and Fairburn Ltd, to what was then West District Council.

The council had indicated it would attempt to purchase the land, having maintained it for decades and been widely used by the public, although it was understood that other parties were also interested in the land once its true ownership was uncovered.

Following the refusal of the lottery bid, an SBC spokesman said: “The council shares the trust’s disappointment with the outcome of the lottery application.

“In relation to the land, there has been no change. A closing date has been fixed by the Crown for Friday, May 16 for bids for the title.

“The council has yet to determine what step it wishes to take in relation to the acquisition to regularise its land use.”

The Crown is not obliged to accept any bid for the land at Mill Meadow.

A coffee thief has been jailed for three months.

Paul Crowe, 38, of Glendinning Terrace, Galashiels, appeared from custody and admitted stealing coffee worth £4.64 from Home Bargains in the town’s Channel Street on January 20.

He was seen leaving the shop and the stolen coffee was recovered, the sheriff at Selkirk was told this week.

MADE FALSE 999 CALLS

A woman who repeatedly made silent emergency calls has been fined £150.

Michelle Cottington, 51, of Drumlanrig Square, Hawick, admitted dialling 999 and remaining silent at her home on May 5 last year.

The court heard how Cottington called the emergency services five times.

“She told police she was bored,” said prosecutor Tessa Bradley.

Defence solicitor Rory Bannerman said his client had been in poor health at the time and was drinking too much.

BENEFIT FRAUD DENIED

A woman accused of a £7,500 benefits fraud will stand trial on May 15.

Florence Davis, 60, formerly of Kelso and now living at Station Road, Norton, Doncaster, pleaded not guilty to receiving £7,574 in housing and council tax benefit to which she was not entitled at High Croft, Kelso, between October 2010 and August 2012.

TIP-OFF TO POLICE LEADS TO BAN

A driver who failed an impairment test was fined £300 and banned for 12 months.

John Simpson, 38, of Woodstock Avenue, Galashiels, admitted driving a car at the town’s Wilderhaugh on October 19 when unfit through drink or drugs.

Police acted on an anonymous call and he provided a negative roadside breath test for alcohol, but was unable to complete an impairment test.

Simpson also had his licence endorsed after he pleaded guilty to driving the car without holding a full licence, after his driving licence was revoked in 2008.

CLUBBER STRUCK WITH BOTTLE

A teenager struck another man with a bottle during a ruckus in a Galashiels nightclub.

First offender David Tait had been holding a bottle of vodka, watching a confrontation, when the victim bundled into him.

Tait’s solicitor, Mat Patrick, told the sheriff: “He thought he had done it deliberately, although he had been pushed into him, and instinctively punched him. It was not his intention to use the bottle as a weapon, but he punched him while holding it.”

Tait, 18, of Galashiels Road, Stow, admitted assaulting the man by striking him on the head with a bottle to his injury at the Indigo Rooms in Overhaugh Street on December 29.

Prosecutor Claire Bottomley said the offence happened during the early hours of the morning when the accused ended up in a tussle with the victim.

She added: “He had a bottle in his hand and struck him on the left side of his head, causing the bottle to smash.”

Both men were taken to Borders General Hospital, with the victim sustaining bruising and superficial scratches, while Tait had superficial cuts to his hand.

Mr Patrick said both men had been in separate groups, and one of Tait’s friends became involved in an argument with the complainer, who was a stranger to his client.

The solicitor went on: “He was holding a bottle of vodka they had bought to share and watching the confrontation. When the complainer bundled into him he instinctively punched him, while holding the bottle.”

Sheriff Ian Anderson sentenced Tait to a community bayback order with 60 hours of unpaid work, to be completed within three months, warning him the consequences of his actions could have been disastrous.

CHILD IMAGES ALLEGATIONS

A Selkirk man who denies having indecent images of children will stand trial on August 5, with an intermediate hearing on July 14.

William Brown, 34, of Bleachfield Road, pleaded not guilty to possession of indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children at his home on May 8 last year. He also denies taking or permitting to be taken, or making, indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children.

OFFENDER ON THE ROOF

A 25-year-old man who climbed onto a roof and stared into a relative’s bedroom has been sentenced to a community payback order, with 40 hours of unpaid work to be completed in three months.

Paul Kelly, of Broomhill Cottage, Melrose, admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner at his home on March 23.

PAYBACK TIME FOR DRUNK MAN

A drunken man who behaved aggressively towards police was sentenced to a community payback order, with 70 hours of unpaid work.

Scott Porteous, 39, of Woodstock Avenue, Galashiels, admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner at Maxmill Park, Kelso, on October 5 last year.

Co-accused – 36-year-old Nadine Robertson of Hawthorn Road, Galashiels – pleaded guilty to a similar charge and was fined £150.

Prosecutor Tessa Bradley told how both accused had been drinking at a birthday celebration when police attended a disturbance at the block of flats.

The court heard Robertson was very vocal when officers arrived and began shouting and swearing.

As police were standing on the landing, Porteous shouted: “What the f**k are you doing at my door?”

Defence solicitor Ross Dow said Porteous had been drinking and became belligerent.

Robertson’s lawyer, Rory Bannerman, said there had been a dispute with another resident and an argument ensued.

HAD KNIFE IN HIS POSSESSION

An Innerleithen man, found guilty after trial of having a lock knife, had sentence deferred for six months, until October 6, for good behaviour.

Ross Gilfillan, 33, of Buccleuch Street, denied having a lock knife on the A72 Peebles to Carnwath road, near Neidpath Castle, Peebles, on February 15 last year.

NOT-GUILTY PLEA TO FOX-HUNTING

A man accused of deliberately hunting a fox will stand trial on August 5.

Fifty-three-year-old John Cook, of Main House Lodge, Kelso, denies an offence under the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002.

It is said to have been committed on woodland at Rink Farm, near Galashiels, on November 19 last year.

He also pleads not guilty to two charges under the Animal Health and Welfare Act.

A pre-trial hearing was set for July 14.

ACCUSED IS BAILED

A Hawick man appeared in private, charged on petition with theft by housebreaking in the town.

Twenty-one-year-old Connor Sutherland made no plea or declaration when he appeared in private before Sheriff Peter Paterson at Jedburgh on Friday.

The case was continued and Sutherland released on bail.

SOLD DRUGS TO FUND OWN HABIT

A woman involved in drug dealing has been sentenced to a community payback order with 120 hours of unpaid work.

Twenty-three-year-old Katie Fleming, of Oxenrig Farm Cottages, Coldstream, admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis at Horsemarket, Kelso, on May 24 last year.

Fleming and another woman were stopped by police while travelling in a vehicle at around 8pm.

Procurator fiscal Tessa Bradley told the sheriff: “Herbal matter, weighing scales and a pot were found in the vehicle. Her phone was also recovered and some test pertaining to supply found on it.”

Three quantities of cannabis were found, with a total value of more than £400.

Defence solicitor Ross Dow said his client had been using cannabis daily at the time of the offence.

“She was selling it on an ad-hoc basis to fund her own habit,” he explained.

Mr Dow said the offence had cost Fleming her employment as a care worker.

He added: “Her family were devastated to find out about this, and it has been a great source of embarrassment.”

CRASH DRIVER’S THREE-YEAR BAN

A disqualified driver, said to be clearly impaired, crashed into a hedge before the car rebounded into the opposite carriageway.

Susanne McCulloch, 47, of Teviot Road, Roxburgh, was sentenced to a 12-month community payback order and banned from driving for three years.

McCulloch admitted driving while disqualified and without insurance on the A699 Kelso-St Boswells road near Roxburgh Barns on February 18. She also pleaded guilty to driving while unfit through drink or drugs.

Police attended the one-vehicle crash and found a white Fiat extensively damaged.

McCulloch confirmed she had been driving and told officers she was disqualified.

Prosecutor Tessa Bradley revealed: “It became apparent that her speech was very deliberate and slow, and her eyes were bloodshot.

“She was also unsteady on her feet and she fell asleep mid-sentence while speaking to the police.”

McCulloch provided a negative roadside breath test for alcohol, but was unable to complete an impairment test, the court was told.

Ms Bradley added: “She told police she was on a methadone programme and had taken her daily dose.”

Ross Dow, defending, said the car belonged to his client’s partner, adding: “They were in the process of selling it and she took a chance.”

BIKE THIEVES IN THE FRAME

Two teenagers who stole a bicycle from a Selkirk garden will be sentenced on May 12.

Thomas Culley, 18, of Arthur Street, Hawick, and 17-year-old Justin Deans, of Raeburn Meadow, Selkirk, admitted stealing a pedal cycle from Leslie Place on November 5.

Only the frame of the £350 bicycle was recovered.

Borders actor Jack Lowden has told The Southern that winning an Olivier Award on Sunday at the Royal Opera House is still sinking in.

The former Earlston High School pupil, from Oxton, beat former Father Ted star Ardal O’Hanlon, the League of Gentleman’s Mark Gatiss and theatre and television stalwart Ron Cook to the Best Actor in a Supporting Role award.

Jack, 23, told us: “It is obviously really cool, and it was so unexpected. To win is enormously flattering and surreal, but I am sure it will sink in soon.

“The three other guys in the category I have grown up watching and are considered geniuses and legends in their fields, and are a lot older than me and have been doing it for a lot longer too.

“I know it is a cliche, but just to be nominated alongside them was incredible in itself.”

Jack added: “When I was up on stage to collect the award was probably the most nerve-wracking bit. When I looked up there was 2,000 people in front of me, the great and the good of the industry: it was absolutely terrifying.”

The young star was given the award for his role as Oswald in Sir Richard Eyre’s adaptation of the Ibsen play ‘Ghosts’.

“Ghosts was my third job in theatre since I left drama school, and each have been very long, so now I want to concentrate on film and television,” Jack said.

“I have so much to learn in that field, but I am doing something for the BBC - Wolf Hall - and there are a couple of other things I want to try to get hold of.”

But by no means has Jack turned his back on theatre.

“I always wanted to do theatre. I did it when I was growing up and I will always want to do good quality theatre, but just now I want to concentrate on tv and film.

“It is a bit more alien to me, but I really want to be part of it because it is an exciting place to be right now.”

Commenting on his role in Ghosts, Jack said: “It was enormously challenging because it was the first piece of classical text I have done, which was quite hard, but it was brilliantly adapted by Richard Eyre to make it a bit more readable.

“I played a brash, drunk, angry young guy, so it was really good fun to play.”

Jack’s co-star Lesley Manville was awarded the best actress award at the Olivier Awards on Sunday, when Ghosts was also given the best revival gong.

“Working with someone like Lesley, one of the best actresses of her generation, was a bit nerve-wracking at first, but we got along really well,” said Jack.

Although based in London, Jack said he gets back to the Borders as much as possible.

“Whenever I get some free time I come straight home.

“I miss it, and I miss the space. London is rammed to the rafters, so coming home is lovely.

“You take it for granted when you grow up there how beautiful an area it is.”

Jack’s parents, Jacquie and Gordon, and girlfriend Vicky attended the awards.

A very proud Jacquie told us: “The fact Jack was nominated was just out of this world.”

She added that Jack was not the first of the family to appear on the Royal Opera House stage, with younger brother Calum having performed on the stage while part of the Royal Ballet School.

Calum is now part of the Royal Swedish Ballet, and although he caught up with Jack in the days before the ceremony he missed the big event itself as he had to fly back to Stockholm.

Asked whether she ever imagined Jack collecting such an accolade while watching him perform at school and in Galashiels Amateur Operatic Society, Jacquie said: “Never. But he was always determined from a very young age, as was his brother.”

On Jack’s part in Ghosts, Jacquie said: “It was a fantastic part, and just getting the chance to work with those people is so amazing.”

Jack’s acting career started when his parent took him to the Scottish Youth Theatre aged 10, and from that he landed a role in Peter Pan at the King’s Theatre in Edinburgh at 12.

The lead role in an Irn-Bru commercial followed in his late teens and while studying at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama Jack appeared in ‘Black Watch’ and played Eric Liddell in a long-running production of ‘Chariots of Fire’.

Coincidentally Jack has been shortlisted for the Ian Charleson Award, which is for actors under 30 playing a classical role.

The award is in memory of Charleson, who starred as Eric Liddell in the Chariots of Fire film.

The winner will be announced later this month.

A UK-wide cinema screening of Ghosts, starring Jack, will take place on June 26.

It will be shown in Edinburgh at Cineworld and the Odeon on Lothian Road.

Police found more than 1,000 indecent images of children after searching the home of a 37-year-old man, a court heard.

Martin Hendron claimed to have come across them while surfing the internet for adult pornography.

Hendron, now living at Cockholm Crescent, Stow, appeared on indictment and admitted possession of indecent images of children at his then home at Kittlegairy Road in Peebles between June 2007 and June 2013.

The majority of the images found on Hendron’s computer were level one, which depict pornographic posing with no sexual activity.

Prosecutor Tessa Bradley told an earlier hearing: “Intelligence was received by police in June 2013 that someone accessing the internet through a connection at the address had been accessing indecent images of child abuse.”

Police, armed with a search warrant, called at the accused’s Peebles home at 8.50am on June 11. Hendron and his wife were present, and a laptop and external hardrive were seized.

Ms Bradley went on: “In excess of 1,000 images of children were recovered, and also search terms indicative of actually looking for images of children. A number of images were found in the recycle bin, indicating he had tried to delete them.”

She said the search terms included “Lolita teen” and “nudist kids”.

During police interview, Hendron claimed to have seen some indecent images a number of years ago, but deleted them when he realised what they were.

He denied actually searching for them.

“He said he was unaware that ‘Lolita teen’ would bring back paedophilic material. He confirmed he owned the laptop and said that he came across these images while searching the internet for adult pornography.

The vast majority of the images were graded at level one, with five at level two, and three at level four,” concluded Ms Bradley.

Mat Patrick, defending, said his client had resigned from his employment.

At Selkirk Sheriff Court on Monday, Hendron was sentenced to a community payback order of two years and four months, with 200 hours of unpaid work to be completed within 12 months.

He was also placed on the sex offenders’ register for five years.

Music lover Angela Cochrane traded online in pirate DVDs and CDs – and a court heard the value of her illegal material topped £54,000.

She had her own website called Angie’s Bootleg DVDs, but was snared by the anti-piracy unit from BPI – the organisation representing the UK’s recorded music industry.

The first offender admitted three charges of infringing copyright by illegal trading from her home in Penman Place, Galashiels, between April 18, 2005, and January 6, 2011. She also pleaded guilty to making DVDs and CDs she knew were illicit recordings. Cochrane, 51, also admitted having two computer base units, three hard drives, two micro SD cards and a memory card specifically designed, or adapted, to make copies.

Her gear was confiscated and at Selkirk Sheriff Court on Monday she was fined £300.

Tessa Bradley, prosecuting, told an earlier hearing: “During October 2010, information was received by staff at the anti-piracy unit that the accused was distributing pirate discs and had a significant customer base.”

Cochrane admitted she was the website proprietor, but denied offering items for cash sale, saying she traded discs with others.

Ms Bradley said: “It is accepted by the Crown that she was not selling them, but that it was a trading site swopping with other users. She was either burning off DVDs and posting them, or downloading them. In excess of 3,000 productions were found. The bootleg material is valued in excess of £54,000 – based on what it would have cost if bought legitimately.”

Defending, Mat Patrick said some of the items recovered from his client’s home had been bought legitimately. Mr Patrick said the defence took no issue with the Crown assessment for forfeiture.

He said: “This was not a money-making enterprise. It was a swapping site. She is a music fan and invested a lot of time and money in that hobby. That is how she built up the site she was running.”

Sheriff Peter Paterson told Cochrane: “These issues are complex, but I accept this was a non-commercial operation. By the forfeiture recovered, you have already suffered a significant financial penalty.”

Galashiels centenarian Mrs Jean Scott celebrated her 100th birthday with family and friends at the King’s Arms Hotel in Melrose last Sunday.

And later in the afternoon, the Lord Lieutenant of Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale, Gerald Maitland-Carew, presented the great-great grandmother with her telegram from the Queen.

Police issued 12 parking tickets in Selkirk last week in their first surprise crackdown in Borders towns.

Local cops are now swooping on illegal parking on single and double-yellow lines after Police Scotland withdrew traffic wardens in cost-saving cuts.

“It will not be tolerated,” community PC Steve Sullivan warned the public at Selkirk’s Community Council meeting on Monday. “Just because we no longer have traffic wardens, it will not stop.”

He added that more “spontaneous” checks will follow, when police simply turn up in towns to “no set pattern”.

Councillor Gordon Edgar, Scottish Borders Council’s executive member for roads and infrastructure, feared a lack of traffic wardens was leading to “chaos on Selkirk High Street”. He said: “Buses cannot get past and I would hate to see what would happen if a fire engine needed to get past. People are parking on both sides of the road and it is causing a great deal of concern.”

PC Sullivan added a further warning to disabled blue badge holders: “Just because you are a blue badge holder, you cannot park wherever you like, however long you like. You will not be exempt if your parking’s judged to be dangerous.”

Hikers from near and far are expected to descend on Selkirk for the Royal Burgh’s walking weekend on Saturday and Sunday.

The festival was started in 2003 in memory of Provost Tom Henderson, who loved walking and died while on one of his favourite walks on the Minch Moor.

And after missing a year last year, organisers in the Chamber of Trade, have revived what was a three-day event into the weekend.

Chamber secretary Edith Scott said: “Tom loved walking and always thought there was huge potential to market Selkirk as a walking town.

“It didn’t take place last year and we thought we would just bring it back to life again. It’s to give any visitors in the town a chance to see what lovely walks we do have and hopefully entice them to come back again and try more of them.

“Over the years we’ve had people from all over take part because they were staying in the town and thought they would join in.

“We do get a lot of locals, too, and they are very welcome.”

Saturday’s short five-mile walk is led by Cath Henderson to and from the Battle of Philiphaugh site.

The day’s longer Three Lochs hike will see walk leaders Alan Hulme and Irene Strafford will take hikers to the Prisoners Bush, past Lindean Kirk before joining the Woodland Trust route and going past Faldonside Loch to Cauldshiels Loch, returning via a drove road to Lindean and on to Selkirk Hill and home.

Local businesswoman Viv Ross will lead Sunday’s short walk to The Haining, the Grade A-listed Palladian mansion, while hikers on the long walk, led by Alan Tait, are off to Yair via Philiphaugh and the Corbie Linn, the north side of Peat Law, through Yair Forest to the bridge and back via the old road next to Sunderland Hall.

For more information or to book, ring Edith Scott on 07718 786841.

Filmhouse Cafe Bar has pulled the plug on its Tower Mill operation without any warning, and left Scottish Borders Council to pick up the pieces.

The shock announcement was made to 12 members of staff during a hastily arranged meeting on Wednesday night, and the company was due to empty its premises today (Friday). They are blaming failed financial negotiations with the council for making the decision to leave Hawick, only six months after taking over from former tenants Beanscene.

The loss of a cafe bar from the unique Heart of Hawick project will be a huge blow for the many loyal customers and cinema-goers, and just ahead of the 2014 Common-Riding celebrations and tourist season, however, SBC has promised to make every effort to retain a service. A spokesperson told the Hawick News: “The Council recognises the important role the Heart of Hawick, and its café, play in the centre of the town as a vibrant community facility. Following discussions on Wednesday we were surprised and disappointed that, without further recourse, Filmhouse decided to cease trading and terminate the employment of its staff. But SBC is seeking to put interim measures in place to keep the café operational, and if at all possible will look to use the existing café staff in providing that service.”

Filmhouse’s sudden departure has been slammed by local offials, with Councillor George Turnbull angrily stating: “It is unacceptable that Filmhouse are blaming Scottish Borders Council for their decision, as their operating plan should have been altered to address trading conditions.”

But stressing that there is a strong desire to keep the facility open, he added: “An interim plan will be put in place to provide emergency cover. I would ask that the public show their support in these difficult times and would like to assure everyone that a longer term solution will be found. Scottish Borders Council are fully committed to all operational aspects of Tower Mill and further information will be made available as soon as possible. Our thoughts must be with the staff and we hope alternative employment will be found in the very near future.”

Fellow elected member Stuart Marshall added: “To hear that Filmhouse are pulling out of their catering contract is extremely disappointing to say the least. My main concern is for the employees who have been caught up in this mess. But we have been given assurances that SBC are pulling out all the stops to ensure that disruption caused by the loss of this service will be kept to a minimum, and that the Council are working hard behind the scenes.”

The Jim Clark Room in Duns is set to be expanded next month with the opening of a new room to display previously unseen photographs.

The Jim Clark Trust has announced that the new room will be open to the public on May 9.

Trustees say the expansion is part of their long-term ambition to establish a larger museum in memory of the 
motor racing legend.

Trustee Doug Niven, a relative of Clark, explained: “An independent options appraisal is to be done in the near future to determine where the new museum should be sited as there are currently two options.”

One of the options is to stay at 44 Newtown Street, and the other is to move to the old Berwickshire High School.

Mr Niven added: “At this stage no decisions have been made and this appraisal will consult with any interested person to sound out their views before making a recommendation.”

In the meantime, the extra room at the Jim Clark Room on Newtown Street is currently being prepared and will be used to show proposed plans for the future as well displaying the rare photographs.

The next big occasion for the trust is the celebration of Clark’s 50th anniversary of winning the British Saloon Car Championship in 1964 with Team Lotus Cortina.

The event will be held at Knockhill on the weekend of August 23/24 and will be preceded on the Thursday when the Forth Bridge will be closed specially to allow several of Jim Clark’s actual racing cars to be driven across.

Tickets are on sale now from Knockhill and the trust will receive a percentage of the entry fee which will go towards the new museum.

The Jim Clark project has come on a long way in a short time.

Mr Niven added: “The trust would like to thank all those who have helped with events to date and look forward to exciting times ahead as the project unfolds.”

The Shoogly Towers raised beds are ready for action. Gamford has been quietly, and relentlessly, filling them with compost lovingly barrowed across the vast acreage from our three doughty compost bins.

It is lovely, sweet-smelling stuff with the consistency of the crumbly bit of an apple crumble, only soft. So not like crumble at all, really. But just the job.

Next on the agenda was ruthless removal of the ground elder which had started to creep in. This involves lots of careful digging and eagle eyes, to spot every single teeny tiny length of root which, if left, will soon blossom into a new, vigorous plant.

I hate the stuff. I am sure I am not alone in this.

I have heard that when the leaves are very young and tender they make an excellent baby leaf-type salad, but please Google this before trying it, just in case I’m wrong and you end up in the BGH.

Our raspberry canes started off in the end of one bed, now they are in both.

I am not quite sure how that happened.

I now enjoy an annual race to see if I can actually pick any and eat them before the blackbirds, who last year enjoyed a fine diet of raspberries and blackcurrants, stealing as many almost-ripe raspberries as they could before I got to them and stripping the blackcurrant bush bare.

One day I checked my beautiful blackcurrant bush – as I often did, in anticipation of one day tasting its fruit - which I had lovingly raised from a bare twig.

Oh joy! It was heaving with blackcurrants and I made a mental note to return in a day or two with a bowl. A couple of days later, not a berry left. To mis-quote Sir Henry of Rawlinson’s End, I hope it gave them the liquorice for weeks.

And so back to the beds, and the meticulous prep. Today, Gamford decided to plant the first of the Potato Day tatties, the Early varieties ‘Winston’ and ‘Foremost’. Hopefully, Winston will do well, battling blight and defeating all insect enemies, and Foremost isn’t so named because all you get when you harvest them is four tatties at the most.

I am pleased to report that the Miami Vice poster anti-vermin campaign seems to have been a great success, as all mouse-nibbling of seedlings has stopped and I am now sowing vegetable seed with confidence.

Or maybe it was because I put the lids on the seed trays. But the pictures did give a nice 80s vibe and the pastel colours of Crockett and Tubbs wedge-shouldered suits did go well with the white-washed walls of the greenhouse. Coolio.

An online petition has attracted more than 120 signatures opposing the siting of Kelso’s first public artwork in The Square.

‘Kelsae’, a 20-tonne cobble-shaped block from India, was lowered into The Square in February when Maxton sculptor Jake Harvey, who won Sainsbury’s-funded £40,000 commission, started carving hand-written names of local places into it.

The petition describes Kelsae as a “severe detriment” and calls for it to be put elsewhere. Comments range from: “An absolute monstrosity” to “Good idea, but in the wrong place”. Some call it is a waste of money, others slam a lack of consultation and others suggest placing it at the roundabout near Sainbury’s.

Chairman of the Kelso Stakeholders’ Group, which chose the five finalists, Charlie Robertson, said: “The artwork is unfinished and there is a great deal of work going on in The Square at the moment. The time to judge it is when everything is finished, not just now.”

The designs went out to public consultation at the beginning of July for a mid-July winner announcement.

Community council vice-chairman Dean Weatherston said: “The consultation was flawed due to its short running period at the start of the school holidays, but once the work is completed I’m sure people will change their minds.”

Last week I was away from the Borders and even my – still – temporary office across the Tweed in Berwick. For a number of years now I have been sent – seconded sounds better – to assist on this title’s sister papers – The Galloway Gazette and The Carrick Gazette.

The Galloway has readership in, as you would expect, Galloway, although is quaintly but stubbornly split between the Machars and the Rhinns. The Machars is the kind of top end and the Rhinns the bottom and more easterly. That’s a bit simplified and not very geographically-correct.

The Carrick is based in the seaside town of Girvan and covers the southern bit of Ayrshire known, strangely enough, as Carrick.

Both areas are wonderful with some fantastic scenery – rolling hills, a few peaks, the wonderful Solway Firth and the bottom end of the Firth of Clyde from which sprouts Aisla Craig, sometimes known as Paddy’s Milestone.

Last year I spent two weeks working on The Carrick and my hotel’s website proclaimed that from my bedroom window I would have a fantastic view of this rock which has produced granite for the world’s curling stones. I could see Ailsa from my bedroom window. Well some of it.

For almost the entire two weeks the top was shrouded in mist. This peak – shaped not unlike the Maidens Paps between Hawick and Copshaw – refused to reveal to me her true beauty. On my second last day she did. And, although I had gazed in wonder before, the unveiling was worth the wait.

A few weeks after my stint in Girvan I returned with our skiffle band, The Bogie’s Close Stompers, for the Girvan Music Festival at which we had been booked – yes, booked – to play. The heavens opened and a fierce, storm-force wind blew in from the Irish Sea. Ailsa was in hiding once again – but the festival was grand. We’ll miss it this year because we are playing at the Galashiels wedding of my Southern colleague Kevin Janiak and his fiancé, June. We have been promised home-made hooch, so we are fair looking forward to it.

Newton Stewart stands by the banks of the River Cree. Now this is a river. It is tidal and sweeps down the edge of the Galloway Forest. It flows behind our office in Victoria Street and has, on occasion, lapped our back door. It is pretty awesome standing by the multi-arched bridge that links Newton Stewart with Minnigaff as this mighty waterway powers onwards to empty itself into the Solway just opposite Creetown.

Newton Stewart is an old market town – and the market still exists. A few Border herds and farmers have fallen foul of the hospitality in the three hotels in Queen Street opposite the sales ring. Eh, Dennis.

But I base myself at The Galloway Arms – directly opposite the office. It claims to be the oldest inhabited building in the town. Owner Gordon decrees it’s haunted (but secretly tells you he made it up), however, he is adamant that Burns never visited because he had a falling out with one of the Earls of Galloway who owned the hostelry.

It also has a picture house, saved by the one-time owner of The Galloway Gazette, one Ian Brown. The power of the press.

I’ll be back in the summer, not for work, but pleasure.

It was a pleasure to attend Selkirk High School’s fashion show at the end of last month.

Throughout the year the students involved have been working towards the event by up-cycling clothes to fit in with the chosen themes. Their preparation also included a trip to the Clothes Show Live in Birmingham, and it clearly inspired many of them as there was a complete array of different design ideas. Both designers and models did incredibly well, and they should rightly be proud of the show that they put on.

RBS CLOSURES

I recently met senior management from RBS to discuss the decision to close three branches in the Borders – Chirnside, Greenlaw and Newtown St Boswells – in June.

I stressed how much these branches are cherished by the customers who live in and around these communities. While it would obviously be preferable to keep all of the branches open, if they are to close then RBS needs to ensure that their customers do not experience a drop-off in service. Businesses and vulnerable customers need to be consulted about what alternatives will be agreed so that any new arrangements suit them.

It is also vital that if mobile banking vans are to be used, they serve not only the communities with branches shutting down, but also the surrounding areas where customers are based.

HEADWAY

I was pleased to support the Headway bacon butty morning held in Kelso – it is a great charity that supports those affected by brain injury and their carers.

It helps people understand more about brain injuries, and offers free information on the effects they can have and what can be done to help.

I know the charity does much great work in the Borders and it was great to get the chance to speak to some of the people they’ve helped at the bacon butty morning.

FARM INCOMES

I was concerned to read recent Scottish Government statistics showing that Scottish farm incomes dropped by 34 per cent in 2012.

They prove how tough a time it has been for our farmers. Not only are many of them faced with increased running costs, but they are also having to deal with drops in the value of the crops and livestock that they are producing.

They have had a tough enough time as it is without these extra hurdles, and I know many will be worried about the future viability of their farms.

Agriculture is a vital industry in regions such as ours, not only providing a lot of local jobs, but also affecting the vast majority of the landscape in the area. We cannot afford to see any farmers go out of business and it is imperative that the Scottish Government does all it can to support them.

The owner of a string of prestigious country house hotels has just added Ednam House Hotel to his collection.

The hotel has been acquired for an “undisclosed sum” by Guyzance Hall Ltd, which is owned by Rev Robert Parker.

Sister hotels include Dalhousie Castle, near Edinburgh and three north east England hotels, Guyzance Hall, Eshott Hall and Doxford Hall.

The Kelso hotel has been bought from the Brooks family, who have owned and operated it for over 80 years.

The former 18th century mansion has 32 guest bedrooms.

Eric Kortenbach, operations director for Guyzance Hall Ltd, said: “I am delighted to welcome Ednam House to our portfolio as it fits perfectly with our brand.

“As with our other properties, we intend to invest in both the hotel and staff.

“Our aim is to ensure that Ednam House becomes a truly luxury destination hotel, through attention to detail in every aspect of the property – whether it be dining, decor or service, or through the events we hold for guests and visitors.”

Mr Kortenbach added: “Our policy is to invest in the local economy, through buying locally, and providing opportunity and employment.”

Over the last five years the company has invested millions of pounds on its hotel properties, all of which are well-known wedding locations, and all but Guyzance Hall provide AA Rosette standard dining.

As part of the learning about the 1960s, all children in P4 at Tweedbank Primary School made a robot as part of their homework.

Teacher Lorna Stirling set the pupils a challenge: “Neil Armstrong’s challenge in the 1960s was to reach the moon. Your challenge is to make a robot.” The children rose to this creative and fun project– many of their creations played music, had flashing lights or were taller than their designer.

Made in a village hall in the Borders, a hot sauce with a Trinidadian background has been shortlisted for a top national award.

Ooft! Sauce is produced by Gabrielle and Tony Johnson in Smailholm village hall’s quality certified kitchen using the freshest ingredients, before being left to mature in for a year.

The family recipe has seen the product shortlisted for the Scottish Food and Drink Excellence Awards after it tickled the tastebuds of the judges.

Tony Johnson told The Southern: “We submitted it to the awards in the hope that we could get some guidance and feedback from the judges really, and we are delighted to be shortlisted. We are over the moon.”

The couple moved to the area in 2008, having fallen in love with the Borders while on holiday after moving back to the UK in 2006.

“My wife Gabrielle is Trinidadian and we lived there for a long time and have always eaten hot pepper sauce,” Tony said.

“Gabrielle’s father made a lot of pepper sauce and was well known for it in Trinidad, and he passed the recipe on to my wife.

“We started the company (Island Girl Ltd) in 2012, but the sauce requires a unique production process, a bit like wine.

“We make the sauce then put it in big glass jars and leave it for a year, as it takes a long time to reach flavour perfection, then we bottle and sell it.”

Tony added: “It is still early days - we only had the first product available at the end of last year, so it is only just beginning.”

The couple are tripling production to over 7,000 bottles this year due to demand and expect to be in a position to look for dedicated premises and a full time employee later this year.

“It is a big challenge, but it is fun and we love doing it,” Tony said.

Ooft! Sauce is on sale at Floors Castle, Teviot Smokery, Selkirk Deli and Mainstreet Trading in the Borders and in Edinburgh at Lupe Pintos, Cranachan and Crowdie and Herbie of Edinburgh. It is also available through the Hot Headz website.

The owner of the Longpark wind farm above Stow has applied to the Scottish Government to erect a further 10 turbines on the site.

This would take the total number of turbines in the scheme to 29. The new turbines would include eight 100m turbines and two 110m high.

EDF’s application also aims to ‘align’ the decommissioning timescale for the original turbines, which became operational in 2009, and the extension, should it be approved.

This would mean that the existing 19 turbines would remain until the extension’s 25-year operating period is up rather than being removed in 2034.

The Longpark scheme was refused in the first instance by Scottish Borders Council in 2005, but was given the go-ahead following an appeal to the Scottish Government.

John Williams, chairman of Heriot Community Council, is representing both Heriot and Stow councils in the appeal over the proposed Shaw Park wind farm, which would lie close to Longpark.

Mr Williams said that in his opinion the extension of time for the original turbines is not the greatest concern, rather the noise impact of the expanded wind farm.

“That is the real horror story,” he told The Southern.

The application documents reveal that 139 properties could be affected by turbine noise at the usual upper limit of 35dB.

However, Mr Williams says that the developers are aiming to have the noise limit raised to the maximum allowed under the guidelines, 40dB.

“It is a far greater number of properties affected by noise than I have seen with any other local application,” Mr Williams added, “and the reason for that is the turbines would be so close to Stow.”

He also said that the 2km radius from the closest proposed turbines to the village drew a line “right through the middle of Stow”.

Mr Williams said: “That is contrary to the council’s guidance on wind turbines, which says they should be at least 2km away from properties.

“This is quite a dramatic attempt to drive coach and horses right through local planning guidance.”

The developers are holding a public exhibition of their plans at Stow Village Hall on Tuesday, April 2, from 3pm to 7pm.

SIX of the seven candidates seeking election in Galashiels and District – the only Scottish Borders Council ward to return four members – heard about the concerns of local people with learning disabilities and their carers during an all-day information event in Langlee Community Centre on Monday, writes Andrew Keddie.

Organised by the Borders Voluntary Community Care Forum (BVCCF) and People First Borders to raise awareness of the local government elections, it afforded service users, during a morning session, to learn about the council and its responsibilities and how to complete the ballot paper on May 3.

Participants were able to ‘cast their votes’ using the new style ballot boxes and a polling booth, after hearing ‘party political broadcasts’ from the Smarty Party, the Hearty Party and the Party Party.

In the afternoon, the delegates were joined by the real candidates for lunch and later engaged in a question-and-answer session, during which a number of local issues were raised.

Kathleen Travers of BVCCF told us: “The day was a mix of fun and information, and was aimed at raising awareness of the election process and giving those attending the opportunity to raise their concerns with the local candidates. Most of the People First members and the carers who were there live in Galashiels, so this was a great opportunity for them to meet the candidates in person and hear about their policies as we head towards the election.

“We would like to thank the candidates for coming along and getting involved. We all had a great day and hope to repeat the event in Hawick, again with the support from local candidates.”

The only candidate not in attendance was Bill Herd (SNP), which was due to attendance being restricted to one hopeful per political party and the SNP was represented by John Mitchell.

The Peebles monitor farm hill flock have had the best scanning results in the history of the flock.

Hundleshope farmers, Ed and Kate Rowell, who are taking part in Quality Meat Scotland’s (QMS) programme to help farmers share, adopt and develop new ideas with support from a local group of farmers and expert advisors, are “absolutely thrilled” with the 113 per cent among their 364 Blackface ewes and gimmers.

We’ve never scanned over 100 per cent in the hill ewes before, “ said Kate.

The worst result was in 2010 when 167 sheep were barren and the scanning total was 67 per cent: last year the figures were 94 per cent, with 60 barren.

The flock run about 1,450 acres of the 1,800 acre farm, while the lowland flock of 450 mainly Scotch mules, were also up with a scanning result of 167 percent.

The Rowells are putting the good results among the hill sheep down to several changes they’ve made in the last year - buying in three performance Blackface shearling tups; focused liver fluke treatment; combining a delayed clipping with early weaning to allow ewes more time to catch the last of the good grass and build up condition pre-tupping, and replacing high energy blocks with feeding out ewe rolls at tupping time.

Kate said: “The tups were selected on their estimated breeding values (EBVs) which are good for the traits we need, for example, litter size, maternal ability, eight week weight and mature size.

“The hill flock are in lamb to these three tups and the scanning suggests the litter size EBV is right. Before 2012, the Hundleshope hill flock had never been treated for fluke.

Kate said: “Knowing we had a liver fluke problem in the lowland flock, we decided that there was a chance fluke may have been suppressing fertility in the hill flock so we dosed them with Triclabendazole at the end of 2012. Last year they were dosed at lambing and again in October and December, but as we suspect we have bought in Triclabendazole resistance into the lowland flock so we used different flukicides in 2013.”

And Ed explained the change of supplementation: “Instead of the blocks, last year we fed them ewe rolls which include trace elements, particularly selenium. With the blocks we felt that just some of the ewes hung around the blocks and we weren’t sure all the ewes benefitted. But by feeding out rolls with a snacker, we could see that all the ewes were feeding.”

Kate said: “Our hill ewes looked really good at tupping time. We said that if these didn’t go in lamb, we just didn’t know what else we could do!”

Some years the Rowells have struggled to breed enough ewe lambs for replacements.

“This year, all being well, we should have many more ewe lambs to choose from,” said Kate. “We need about 90 ewe lamb replacements, so with luck, we’ll be able to be more selective when choosing the retained females. We will target easily born, well grown ewe lambs, in the hope that they will have inherited easy lambing and good mothering traits from their dams.”