A gathering of like-minded women at the Borders General Hospital Chaplaincy Centre knitting pink panels to join together to form a seven-mile scarf to be stretched from Aldermaston to Burghfield on August 9 – but much more is needed.

It’s one huge woolly protest against the UK’s ongoing involvement with nuclear weapons.

There will be a pop-up shop in Selkirk High Street on May 17 (2-5pm). Members of the public are welcome to come along and pick up needles to start their own panel to knit a wee piece to contribute to a patchwork panel, or to knit part of the communal big section, where six knitters are working on the same piece simultaneously. Or one can just watch and view some of the completed panels.

For more information, visit www.woolagainstweapons.co.uk.

On a calm, bright and pleasantly warm day last week, I paid a visit to one of my favourite picnic spots in the Borders.

High on a hillside overlooking one of the most scenic parts of the Tweed Valley, is the Forest Enterprise picnic site at Thornylee.

With its picnic tables and network of way marked walks, from the easy to more strenuous, it as an ideal location to spend an afternoon in the great outdoors. The hillside is peppered with red-berried elder trees which were just coming into flower – much earlier than the common variety. The path was erupting with the vigorous growth of spring flowers – mainly forget-me-nots – while dog violets were beginning to appear along the verges.

Sitting quietly on one of the many seats, I tried to pick out the many birds which were singing, above the traffic noise from the busy road at the foot of the hill. Most numerous were the willow warblers, but I could also hear long-tailed tits, blackcap, chiffchaff, and chaffinch, and from the opposite side of the valley I could just make out a singing mistle thrush.

Closer at hand, a newcomer suddenly burst forth with a scratchy, melodic song, followed by a series of drawn-out descending notes. It took me some time to track it down to the top of a nearby red-berried elder. Once I managed to focus in on it with my binoculars, I could see a little brown bird with a streaky breast.

Suddenly, it took off, but instead of flying away, it went straight up, singing as it went.

When it reached its zenith, it plummeted downward with wings outstretched, giving out the aforementioned descending notes, before settling once more on the same treetop.

There was no doubt about it, I was looking at a tree pipit. They are the arboreal version of the much commoner meadow pipit, but are much rarer here in the Borders as their habit requirements are so precise.

They must have hillside birch woodland, which is not as common here as in the Highlands, where they are much more numerous. I sat for ages watching this amazing song flight, from a seldom seen little brown bird,

thoroughly enjoying the performance.

Coincidentally, on my way home, I stopped off for another walk along the Tweed below Ashiestiel Bridge and I saw another tree pipit, also in full song. Are they becoming more common in the Borders?

I would be interested to hear from readers if they have encountered them in other areas. Drop me an e-mail to corbie@homecall.co.uk

The National Beef Association (NBA) Beef Expo 2014 is set to eclipse previous years’ events, thanks to the sheer amount of animals on display, and record numbers of exhibitors and entries expected to attend.

The event at Hexham Mart brings together the cream of pedigree and commercial animals from across the country from breed associations, the prestigious National Spring Spectacular Show, farm tours, demonstrations and commercial trade stands.

With a prize fund of £6,000, The National Spring Spectacular Show has attracted 140 head of beef cattle, including young handlers and novice exhibitors. In addition there are 22 breed societies from Aberdeen Angus through to Welsh Black Cattle.

Chris Mallon, NBA director, said: “The calibre of breeding in the British beef industry is phenomenal and we’re delighted to be displaying the very best at this year’s NBA Beef Expo.

“This event really is a shop window for everyone involved in the British beef industry and we are covering every aspect of the sector, with something for everyone – from the professional farmer to interested members of the public.

“We’re looking forward to welcoming a huge crowd and our international missions from Norway and Canada, and Northern Ireland to Hexham Mart to join in our festival of British beef.”

Visitors will be able to find out more about preparing and cooking beef-based meals in a fun Ready, Steady, Cook-style contest pitting auctioneers from the region’s top marts against each other.

Peelham Farm, near Foulden, is no stranger to plaudits, having been recognised by numerous industry experts.

This time it’s the pigs which have brought home the bacon.

Peelham picked up the accolade for Pig Producer of the Year at the e 2014 Pig and Poultry Marketing Awards, held in London last week.

The awards body declared the Borders business as very worthy winners of its category with a press release stating: “Peelham Farm’s unique ‘adopt-a-pork’ scheme and consumer engagement is what made this entry truly outstanding for our judges.

“They go the extra mile by investing in knowledge and feeding techniques, recently getting involved in research with the University of Newcastle.

“This means that they can continue teaching consumers about the benefits of al-fresco farming.”

The award win was the perfect boost for owners Chris and Denise Walton before they went on holiday.

Speaking from France she was justifiably thrilled and said it was a great reward for the hard work she, Chris, partner Amanda Cayley and their staff had put in.

“It was the organisers themselves who approached us to enter,” she explained.

“They were quite persistent. We weren’t sure if we were considered a big enough firm to enter, but they said they were looking at smaller producers.

“We sent them some information over with how we’ve invested in our infrastructure and the investments we’ve made in getting specialist advice.

“We never expected to win, so we’re delighted and it’s testament to the effort we’ve all put in.

“We always take great pride in our product.”

Denise believes one of the deciding factors in Peelham’s win was the lengths it goes to improve the consumer engagement side of the business.

“Our customers can engage with process right from the beginning to the making and tasting of the sausages.

“It helps them to fully understand what’s involved in pig farming.”

Peelham’s collaboration with Newcastle University has been concerned with the benefits of feeding pigs protein induced silage.

“There is a misconception that fat is a bad thing,” Denise continued.

“Fat can be good and have health benefits for human health.”

She was keen to emphasise: “We ensure that the fat we use in our products is of the highest quality.”

The research has also examined the differences in pure-bred and half-bred pigs, with Peelham continuing to put their faith in the Tamworth breed, which are mostly fed on crimped barley and beans grown on site.

Other awards in the Peelham cabinet are a BBC2 Countryfile Local Hero accolade in 2008 and a Future Farmer Award in 2009. It has also been a finalist in the UK Quality Food Awards, the Regional Business Excellence Awards for Innovation and the RSPB Nature of Farming Awards.

Peelham Farm’s philsophy is “sustainable self-reliance” and their motto, “Love the land, love the animal, love their meat”.

wooler

At their fortnightly store sale last Tuesday John Swan Ltd had forward and sold 147 cattle.

A slightly plainer show and with deflating beef market all classes a touch harder to cash.

Leading prices per head - Steers- Sim.x:- £1070 Alnham. Lim.x:- £1050 Ladykirk, £940, £930 Brockley Hall, £910 Wandon. A.A.x:- £1000, £990, £980 South Lyham, £960 Birchwood Hall, £950 Whitemire, £930, £900 (2) South Lyham.

Leading prices per head - Heifers- A.A.x:- £1080 South Lyham, £890 South Lyham and Doxford Dairy, £870 Birchwood Hall, £860 South Lyham. Char:- £950 Birchwood Hall, £950, £920, £900, £890, £860 Elilaw. Lim.x:- £930 Wandon, £870 Brockley Hall, £865 Birchwood Hall.

Leading prices per kilo - Steers- Lim.x:- 249.3p Brockley Hall and Wandon, 238.7p Shotton. Sim.x:- 249.3p, 246.8p Shotton. A.A.x:- 246.2p Wandon, 237p Birchwood Hall. Char.x:- 235.1p Fawdon Farms.

Leading prices per kilo - Heifers- Lim.x:- 238.5p Wandon, 232p Shotton, 223.5p Fawdon Farms. Char.x:- 229p, 223.8p Fawdon Farms, 226p, 223.3p 221.3p, 220p Elilaw.

At their weekly sale of primestock last Wednesday John Swan Ltd had forward and sold 73 hoggs and 40 ewes.

Less numbers available with less flesh on show.

Leading prices per head:- Tex.x:- £98.50 East Fleetham, £89 West Newbiggin Farm Cottages, £80 Kimmerston and Craigshouse (2). Suff.x:- £94, £92 East Fleetham, £82 West Newbiggin Farm Cottages. Char:- £87.50 East Fleetham, £82 Craigshouse.

Ewes – strong show of ewes with similar returns achieved.

Leading prices:- Suff.x:- £104 South Farm, Belford, £100 East Fleetham, £99 South farm, Belford, £92 Fenham Hill, £89 West Newbiggin Farm Cottages. Suff.x:- £101 West Newbiggin Farm Cottages. Tex.x:- £96 Bewick Folly, £94 South Farm, Belford, £84 West Newbiggin Farm Cottages. Mule:- £87 Castlelaw, £83 Shotton, Chm:- £87 Bewick Folly. Chev:- £73, £72 Bewick Folly, Bf:- £60.50 Ladykirk.

Rams:- BFL:- £96 Ladykirk.

st boswells

At their weekly primestock sale on Monday John Swan Ltd sold 83 clean cattle, 56 OTM cattle, 80 new season lambs, 1,131 old season SQQ hoggs and 472 ewes.

Bullocks (24) averaged 208.7p per kg and sold to 230p (+17.3p on week), heifers (52) averaged 208.8p per kg and sold to 237p (-7.8p on week) and 56 beef-type OTM cattle averaged 119.4p per kg and sold to 141p (+0.4p on the week).

New season lambs averaged 250.5p per kg (-17.5p on the week) and sold to £121, old season SQQ hoggs averaged 218.8p per kg (+7p on week) and sold to £110 and ewes averaged £72.57, and sold to £117 (heavy ewes £82.18, light ewes £63.25).

Principal prices per head: Upper Nisbet £1467.40; Bee Edge £1459.92, £1366.20, £1357; Longnewton £1449.92, £1394.82.

Principal prices per kg: Bee Edge 2.37, 2.30 M/s Black and Sons, 2.33 Robert Wilson Edin, 2.30 M/s Moor, 2.24 Malone of Edinburgh, 2.24 Malone of Edinburgh; Dunslaw 2.31 Malone of Edinburgh; Upper Nisbet 2.30 M/s JA Waters and Sons, 2.28 Malone of Edinburgh; Wester Ulston 2.30 M/s WTS Forsyth and Sons, 2.29 Robert Pringle, 2.25 M/s J Saunderson; Longnewton 2.29 Denholm Meats; Thirlestane 2.29 Malone of Edinburgh; Caverton Mill 2.28 M/s WTS Forsyth and Sons; Lurdenlaw 2.24 M/s ATS Forsyth and Sons.

Cows per head: Thirlestane £1204.98, £1113.90, £1043.94; Meigle £1060.38; Honeyburn £1021.44, £942.30, £928.86; Northhouse £995.88; Bee Edge £964.16; Penston £962.50; Shidlaw £960.40; Queenscairn £952.02; Angelraw £931.60; Nisbet Mill £931.12; Marvingston £927.50; Mosstower 3909.06.

Cows per kg: Meigle 1.41; Thirlestane 1.41, 1.37, 1.33; Shidlaw 1.40; Mosstower 1.39; Angelraw 1.37; Honeyburn 1.37, 1.35, 1.33; West Deloraine 1.31(3); Nisbet Mill 1.31; Northhouse 1.31; Bee Edge 1.31.

New season lambs per head: Tex;- £121 Lochside, £115 (2) Thornington, £110 (2) Thornington and Lochside, £107 Smailholm Mains and Craighouse, Suff.x;- £114(2), £107 (2) Smailholm Mains, £103 Lochside, Suff;- £108 Berrymoss.

New season lambs per kg:- Tex;- 281.4,261.9,258.5, 256.4 Lochside, 273.8 (2) Thornington, 261.9, 25, 256.4, 254.8 Smailholm Mains, 250 Craighouse and Thornington, Suff.x;- 287.5 Lochside, 253.3 (2), 248.8 (2) Smailholm Mains, Suff;- 225.6 Berrymoss.

longtown

The Cumberland and Dumfriesshire Farmers Mart plc had forward 25 prime cattle, 12 young bulls, 17 over 30 month cattle, 76 spring lambs, 3,747 prime hoggs and 3,342 cast ewes and rams at their weekly sale at Longtown last Thursday.

Best handy weight heifers continue to sell well with more required, although plainer types harder to cash. Top price of 233.5p for a Limousin heifer shown by Messrs Taylor, Dashwellgreen. In the OTM section more numbers are required. Top was 133.5p for Charolais from Messrs J. Magnay, Smallholms.

The annual prize show and sale of prime spring lambs was ably judged by Stephen Stoddart. An excellent show of both pairs and singles were forward, resulting in the following awards: Pairs - 1. J. Marshall, Hermitage for Texels 42kg £111 to M Lomax; Singles - G. Brough, Old Rectory, for Texels 40kg £114 to M. Lomax.

All good quality handyweight lambs sold to extreme rates, producers are advised not to allow their lambs to become too heavy to achieve premium prices. Top price £114 for Texels from Old Rectory with top price per kilo being 285p from the same home.

Another large show of 3,747 prime hoggs sold to extreme rates, being the trade of the season. All best quality, well-fleshed export weight hoggs regularly achieved 240 – 260p per kilo. Heavyweight hoggs surpassed all other centres, topping at £118 for Beltex from Messrs Anderson, Nether Stenries and to 276p for Beltex from W. Gribbon and Co., Waterside.

Jordian pianist Lyad Sughayer is the guest at the Borders Music and Arts Society’s concert at Mellerstain House on Thursday, May 22, at 7.30pm.

The young soloist will play works by Mozart, Haydn, Beetthoven and Liszt.

Born in 1993, he started playing when he was five and received early lessons from conductor and composer Mohammad Uthamn Sidiq in Amman. His first concert was aged eight with the National Music Conservatory Orchestra.

At the Chetham School of Music, he was in the class of Scottish pianist Murray McLachlan and now studies under him at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.

Supper must be pre-booked and call 01750 21687 for tickets.

As the countdown continued to Hawick Common Riding and the 500th anniversary of the victory at Hornshole, an interesting talk is on the cards.

Emma Elliot-Walker, a student of history at Edinburgh University, will present Sons of Heroes Slain at Flodden on Monday, May 26, at 6.30pm at the Hawick Heritage Hub.

In her talk she will examine the reasons why men were appointed to the role of Cornet and what this said about the way ‘manliness’ was viewed at the time.

A spokesman for organisers SBC commented: “She will also look at the way in which the common riding was reinvented by the town’s middle classes to demonstrate their power and loyalty within, and to, the nation.

She has conducted an in-depth social history study using primary resources.

Her research focused on the different way in which the common riding story was constructed and used over time to represent the shifting value of the community.”

It’s free, but places are limited – 01450 360699 or: archives@scotborders.gov.uk

Irish singer and flute player Nuala Kennedy’s band plays Midlem Village on Wednesday at 7.30pm.

Nuala’s line-up includes local fiddler Shona Murray and Troy McGillivray from Cape Breton. McGillivray holds a fiddle workshop in the hall at 5.30pm. The concert has been arranged by Riddell Fiddles.

Members of the council’s executive committee have approved Earlston as the site for a single complex needs unit.

The unit, to be built at the former high school, will bring together current provision for autistic children at three school units and will also provide services not currently available in the area.

It is hoped this will mean parents will chose to send their children to the new unit rather than outwith the area, which can cost SBC over £150,000 per pupil per year.

Over £1.5m has been set aside in the council’s capital plan for the creation of the unit, but Councillor Catriona Bhatia has called for a fundraising campaign to be started to help pay for its fitting out.

She said: “This is a facility that will require some really inspirational internal fittings for the children there.”

The unit will cater for cup to 40 children aged between three and eighteen with complex educational needs, both learning and physical, and will provide full and part time school places, assessments, training and outreach.

The closure of the school-based units will enable St Ronan’s Primary to use the vacated space as a classroom, and a nursery will be relocated at Wilton Primary.

Howdenburn Schoolhouse will be surplus to requirements and will be sold.

Two figures caught my eye recently - one was that average farm rents in Scotland rose 13% last year, to about £15 an acre and the second was that the average price of land sold in Scotland was more than £4,500 an acre.

Looked at together that would suggest that anyone buying land to let to someone else could expect a return of about 0.3%. Hardly a return to tempt the buy-to-let property brigade looking for annual returns of at least 5%, except in London and Edinburgh where the sky seems to be the limit for both property prices and rents.

In farming the position is much more complicated than that, not least that many of Scotland’s landowners have owned tens of thousands of acres for centuries and didn’t pay for it in the first place. But both the present price of land and its rental value suggests yet again that professional farmers committed to the business are more optimistic about the future than they, or the National Farmers’ Unions, ever admit in public. Several land sales in Scotland last year were for more than £10,000 an acre. More significantly, about 75% of open-market land purchases were by local or neighbouring farmers trying to expand, not the “outsiders” we’ve heard so much about in recent years.

Rents also vary widely within that £15 average, up from about £13 an acre the previous year. Rent for farms in the designated Less Favoured Area – hills, upland and moorland that accounts for much of Scotland – was about £10 an acre, up 24%. Rent for non-LFA land was about £52 an acre, up only 3%. Many farmers will be paying much more than that, others much less The report on rents by the Scottish Government also indicates that long-term tenancies are declining while seasonal lets, such as those for grazing, have increased. About 24% of Scottish farmland is still on full tenancy terms, about 14% seasonal.

It seems enough farmers are confident about the future to compete with each other to buy or rent land. The layman who has followed – not easy – the cascade of doom and gloom about the looming disaster of the European Union’s common agricultural policy (CAP) subsidy changes from next year must wonder why.

The problems of acquiring land by whatever means, hanging on to it, using it to make money and how to pass it on are never far below the surface in farming. More than anything else land disputes can divide families, and those are even more likely when land prices are high as at present. As farm consultant Peter Cook said recently the fact that a modest 200 acre farm can now be worth £1million and more can make decisions about its future more contentious.

He said: “Non-farming siblings who were often quite happy in the past for their farming sibling to inherit the farm, and the overdraft, are now looking for their share because of the value of the land.”

In April the council dealt with five incidents of flytipped garden waste, just a month after the removal of the kerbside collections.

The Southern has learnt of two further incidents this month, near Hawick and in St Boswells.

Councillor Michelle Ballantyne, Conservative group leader, said: “I cannot say I am surprised. It was talked about when the removal of the service was discussed.”

Mrs Ballantyne said she believed SBC had underestimated the cost impact of the removal of the service, particularly in terms of dealing with flytipping and also increased landfill costs associated with people putting garden waste in household waste bins.

However, she said the full impact of the removal of the service will not be known until the autumn, when the figures can be compared to last year.

Following a report of bagged garden waste being dumped in St Boswells, community council chairman Douglas Oliver told us: “What did the council expect? They cut the service and folk will get rid of it one way or another.”

An SBC spokesman said: “Flytipping in any form is unacceptable and anyone caught can face fines of up to £40,000 or six months imprisonment.”

He added that garden waste can be taken to any SBC recycling centre and free composters are available to households affected by the removal of the service.

Police Scotland has named the officer who died in a road accident while travelling to work on Friday as Constable Mark Murtagh, who was based at Galashiels Police Station.

Constable Murtagh’s motorcycle was in collision with a bus on the A6105 near Earlston, and traffic officers are continuing to investigate the accident and appealing for witnesses.

Chief Superintendent Gillian Imery, Divisional Commander for the Lothian and Scottish Borders Division of Police Scotland, said it was with the deepest regret that she confirmed Constable Murtagh’s death.

“Our sympathies are with his family, friends and colleagues at this very difficult time,” she continued.

“Road Policing Officers are continuing their investigation and I would urge any members of the public who witnessed the collision, or whom believe they can assist with this enquiry to contact Police Scotland immediately by calling 101 or anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

In a statement released through Police Scotland, Constable Murtagh’s family paid tribute to him, saying: “Mark was a caring and loving husband, a devoted father and will be greatly missed.

“We would ask that the media respect our privacy at this difficult time and allow us to grieve in private.”

The Prince of Wales has given his backing to a plan to preserve the Blainslie home of the late sculptor Tim Stead for public access.

In a proposal brochure drawn up by the newly-formed Tim Stead Trust, Prince Charles writes that Mr Stead, who died in 2000, aged 48, had created a place of extraordinary artistic interest at The Steading.

“He was a remarkable woodcraftsman; a true and gifted artist who created wonderful furniture and sculptures. He had a unique understanding of the sustainable management of woodlands and the use of indigenous hardwoods and he did so much to encourage local sourcing and to educate people about wood and woodcraftsmanship,” states Prince Charles.

The Tim Stead Trust Steering Group has been set up to save The Steading as a base for education in woodcraft and art, for the benefit of traditional woodcraft heritage and for the benefit of the local community. The group is now trying to establish a viable way of buying the property and its adjoining workshop. Mr Stead’s widow, Maggy Stead Lenert, said the trust’s proposals would be the biggest accolade to her late husband’s work and life.

She told the Southern: “This house is very much part of Tim’s legacy and it would be wonderful if it could be preserved, not as some dusty museum, but as a living, breathing space, that continues to inspire new generations of artists and craftspeople.”

Very soon Richard Curtis, feted director of Four Weddings and a Funeral, will have a bag of Hawick balls and haggis land on his doorstep.

And it’s all thanks to young readers from 10 local schools in the Hawick area who picked Curtis’ first foray in children’s picture books, The Empty Stocking, as one of their two overall winners in this year’s Heart of Hawick Children’s Book Award

A voluntary project which was created by local parents, teachers and librarians, the awards, held last week at the town’s Tower Mill, are aimed at encouraging reading 
for pleasure amongst children.

Around 600 children from nine local primary schools and the town’s secondary came together to vote for their favourite debut book by a new children’s author from a shortlist.

The shortlisted books are supplied to schools and special events organised to accompany the awards.

As well as Curtis – whose book was illustrated by Rebecca Cobb – the other overall winner from the shortlist of four picture books and four for junior fiction readers, was Wild Boy by Rob Lloyd Jones.

Youngsters also created a special animated short film about the awards and their favourite books to go with the event and there were appearances by several other children’s authors.

A film crew from ITV were in the town to record the youngsters working on their animation of a scene from the book Shrunk!, by Fleur Hitchcock.

The author and her husband flew up from Bristol for the event and also in attendance were Scots author, 
Daniella Saceradoti, Rachel Lyon, from Hale, and the illustrator Eva Katz, from London.

These authors each did a school visit to a Hawick primary school on the morning of the ceremony last Thursday..

One of those behind the awards, local primary teacher Julie Patterson, praised all those involved, including staff at Hawick Library for their help. She told us: 
“This year’s event went really well.

“Unfortunately, neither of the winners could be there, but they both sent messages saying how delighted they were to have won.

“And the winners get sent a goodie bag containing local produce like Hawick Balls and haggis.”

The National Beef Association (NBA) Beef Expo 2014 is set to eclipse previous years’ events thanks to the sheer number of animals on display and record numbers of exhibitors and entries expected to attend.

The event at Hexham Mart brings together the cream of pedigree and commercial animals from across the country from breed associations, the prestigious National Spring Spectacular Show, farm tours, demonstrations and commercial trade stands.

With a prize fund of £6,000, The National Spring Spectacular Show has attracted 140 head of beef cattle, including young handlers and novice exhibitors. In addition there are 22 breed societies from Aberdeen Angus through to Welsh Black Cattle.

Commenting in advance Chris Mallon, NBA director, said: “The calibre of breeding in the British Beef industry is phenomenal and we’re delighted to be displaying the very best at this year’s NBA Beef Expo”.

“This event really is a shop window for everyone involved in the British Beef industry and we are covering every aspect of the sector, with something for everyone from the professional farmer to interested members of the public. We’re looking forward to welcoming a huge crowd and our international missions from Norway and Canada and Northern Ireland to Hexham Mart to join in our festival of British Beef.”

Visitors will be able to find out more about preparing and cooking nutritious beef-based meals in a fun Ready, Steady, Cook-style contest pitting auctioneers from the region’s top marts against each other.

Melrose completed a remarkable run of sevens victories this weekend, when they notched up their eighth win from 10 tournaments.

At a sun-bathed Riverside Park on Saturday evening, the Greenyards outfit defeated the hosts 5-24 in the final of the 2014 Mainetti Jed-Forest Sevens.

Melrose looked sluggish in their first three ties, but improved as the afternoon wore on and booked their place in the final by defeating Edinburgh Accies 19-5 in the second semi-final.

Jed-Forest put Berwick and Selkirk to the sword in the early rounds, before disposing of a hard-working Gala side 17-14 in the semi final.

The final was a repeat of last year’s, which the hosts won 27-7. But Melrose were determined to avenge that loss and by half-time had built up a 0-19 lead.

Melrose’s first half tries came from Andrew Skeen, Callum Anderson and scampering scrum-half, Tommy Wilson.

Two minutes after the restart and the home side got their first points on the scoreboard with a try from Rory Marshall.

But that was all the scoring Jed was able to manage against an increasingly dominant Melrose seven and, forced to play the last two minutes a man down after a yellow card, proved too big a mountain to climb for the hosts.

The final nail in the coffin came when Melrose’s Lewis Mallin went over for the last touchdown of the day.

Watching his players lift not only the tournament trophy, but also the cup for the Kings of the Sevens title secured several weeks ago, Melrose head coach praised his squad’s incredible winning run: “It’s remarkable, a huge achievement,” Dalziel told The Southern.

“Eight out of 10 I think speaks for itself.”

I was one of hundreds of cyclists who took part in the Wooler Wheel Challenge Event recently run on roads on both sides of the border.

The event was non-competitive, but offered a great challenge to those participating as they could choose to ride for either 30km, 60km, 100km or 170km.

I took on the 170km course which went through some of the most beautiful countryside that the Borders has to offer – and it was all for a good cause, for many of those participating were raising money for Radio Borders Cash for Kids, which provides help to disabled and disadvantaged children around the Borders and north Northumberland.

garden WASTE

Official council figures show that nearly 1,000 tonnes of garden waste was recycled last year in the Cheviot area prior to the cancellation of the green waste collection service.

Of the 990 tonnes recycled, 690 came from Kelso.

These figures highlight just how much the service was used by Borderers before the council’s decision to scrap it. Instead, residents are now expected to take their garden waste to the nearest recycling centre in their cars, something which I believe is unrealistic considering the amounts involved.

Ever since the local authority announced that it was scrapping the service, I have been inundated with calls and letters from constituents to express their anger.

It was a highly-valued service that was a huge benefit to many people throughout the Borders, and it beggars belief that the SNP-led administration saw fit to get rid of it.

There is a distinct possibility that we might start to see more illegal dumping at the side of our roads this summer as Borderers struggle to deal with this excess garden waste.

ASSISTED AREA STATUS

The UK Government announced recently that several parts of the Borders were going to be given regional aid to help encourage business growth.

However, the proposals excluded towns such as Jedburgh, Kelso, Eyemouth and Duns, and local businesses have been voicing their disapproval at not being included. It means they will now be at a disadvantage compared to other areas of the Borders that are receiving assistance.

Receiving Assisted Area Status can provide a huge boost to the economy of the regions which receive it, helping businesses to invest in local towns and create jobs.

However, it is clear from these proposals that vast areas of the region have been left out – and I would like to know what the thinking was, if any, behind this

exclusion.

I can see no good reason why important towns such as Kelso and Jedburgh have been left out, and would hope to see the situation amended by the Business Secretary in the future.

The first of Scotland-wide workshops to boost lamb growth took place in the Borders on Tuesday.

The meeting aimed to help producers maximise lamb growth rates in the early season, through good grazing and flock health management, and achieve optimal selling weights.

Farmer Graham Lofthouse who runs 450 ewes and 120 ewe hoggs, along with 87 spring calving suckler cows, on approximately 300 acres (121 ha) at Bankhouse, Stow, near Galashiels hosted the event.

Prompted by the limited acreage, Mr Lofthouse, who farms with part time help from his parents Wilma and Bert, is keen to find systems that increase kilos of meat produced per hectare.

Currently he subdivides fields into one hectare paddocks that sheep graze rotationally on one to two day shifts in the summer which he says increases grass dry matter production by at least 21% when compared to set stocking.

His predominantly Easycare cross ewes, and a reducing number of Texel crosses, are put to Suffolk and Easycare tups.

The ewes start lambing on April 1 and all male lambs are left entire.

Finished lambs are sold direct to Scotbeef at an average of 21.7kg deadweight between late June and January.

Mr Lofthouse’s creed is nature (maternal selection and choosing the right tups) and nurture (nutrition) equal performance. Guest speakers included QMS knowledge transfer specialist, Michael Blanche who spoke on “Getting the most from your grass”; SAC Consulting veterinary investigation officer, Heather Stevenson on “Flock health and effective trace element supplementation” and Farm Stock (Scotland) livestock procurement officer, Jonny Williams who talked about “The optimum weight for selling lambs based on last year’s Farm Stock Scotland results”.

The meetings are being funded by QMS, Farm Stock (Scotland) Ltd and the Scottish Government Skills Development Scheme and facilitated by SAC Consulting (part of SRUC) to boost collaboration and communication in the supply chain, and improve productivity and profitability at all levels.

Mr Blanche said the visit offered local producers the chance to find out what well run flocks, where attention to detail is key, do to get results

Speaking before Tuesday’s event, he said: “We will cover how to measure grass production and how the rotational system has improved stocking rate and lamb growth rates.

“Two groups of lambs will be weighed before the meeting to calculate growth rate from birth and we will also discuss flock health issues including worms, fluke and trace element supplementation.”

Facilitator SAC Consulting’s Iain Riddell said: “The Lofthouses have also succeeded in reducing lamb losses on the farm to a very low level and during the visit we will look at the role played by careful ewe selection in that.”

For anyone who missed Tuesday’s workshop, the next is at the James Hutton Institute farm, Hartwood, Shotts on June 10.

Berwick’s John Fairbairn took top honours with his 16-year-old Clydesdale, Mick, at Northumberland County Show at Stocksfield on Monday.

The Gordon Brooke Trust’s Limousin heifer, Ronick Honey owned by The Gordon Brooke Trust, whose farm is managed by John Elliot, Kelso, took the beef interbreed prize.

And along the sheep lines, a Texel half owned by Arnold Park of the renowned Drinkstone flock, Hawick won the top sheep award.

Mr Fairbairn, showed Mick - who the family have had since he was a foal - with his seven-year-old son, also John. He said: “We hadn’t shown horses for eight years, but my little boy said to me last year, ‘come on Dad, let’s do a show!’ We were going to compete in the driving classes, but we lost a horse during a foaling this week so we dusted off the decorations, and little John has done all the work. This is a wonderful end to a difficult week.”

A former Highland Show winner, the February 2012-born Limousin, Honey, by Rathconville Eugene, was bought for 20,000gns by the late Mr Brookes after taking the championship on Red Ladies Day, Carlisle last December. She heads next to the Royal Highland and Great Yorkshire shows.

Sheep interbreed judge Michael Aynsley of Wards Hill Cottage, Longframlington gave the nod to a three-shear Texel ram part owned by Arnold Park and J. and S. Wilkinson’s Langlands flock.

Mr Aynsley praised the champion’s tremendous carcase, length and character, adding he was full of solid meat.

The Innerleithen mother of a security contractor murdered in Iraq by a colleague says she blames the company that employed her son’s killer.

Corinne Boyd-Russell was speaking as part of the BBC’s Scotland 2014 programme, which was broadcast on Tuesday night, and which had obtained what it claimed was a leaked copy of the internal investigation report carried out by security firm, G4S, in the wake of the shootings.

Ex-British Army paratrooper Danny Fitzsimons shot dead her son, former Royal Marine Paul McGuigan, from Peebles, and Australian, Darren Hoare, in Baghdad in 2009. It emerged Fitzsimons was on bail for alleged firearms offences and was also suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder at the time of the killings.

And, according to BBC investigators, the leaked company internal review document, that has not previously been made public, showed that G4S – which owns ArmorGroup for which Fitzsimons worked – had carried out audits that highlighted failings in its own screening procedures months before the killings took place.

And the report’s section on the screening process Fitzsimons had undergone, showed that basic documents were missing, while some of the details on his personnel form were “incomplete and inappropriate”.

The programme also claimed a criminal records bureau certificate, which would have recorded previous criminal convictions, was never obtained and that the ex-soldier from Rochdale in Manchester was on bail facing other criminal charges.

Fitzsimons, who killed the two men just 36 hours after arriving in the Iraqi capital, is now serving a 20-year prison sentence for their murders.

But in the programme, Mr McGuigan’s distraught mother says she holds G4S responsible for her son’s death.

She commented: “Why would you put guns into the hands of men who hadn’t been vetted properly or screened properly? Why do that? It’s not right, you just shouldn’t do that.

“If they had implemented their processes my son would be alive today. My son would have a life. We would have a life.

“G4S have got a lot to answer for. It was G4S that put Danny Fitzsimons in that position to be able to murder my son and his colleague. There was a lot of faults made. If those faults hadn’t have been made, my son would still be alive today.”

Fitzsimons’ family also believe it was wrong he was sent to Iraq and the families of both men want a public inquiry.

An inquest into the shooting of Mr McGuigan is scheduled for September. The BBC contacted G4S, but the company declined to comment, citing the pending inquest.