Greenend Farm, near St Boswells, was the poignant setting on Friday for a nativity play and carol concert in aid of young cancer sufferers.

Staged in one of farmers Grant and Nesta Todd’s barns by Clic Sargent, the UK’s leading cancer charity for children and young people, it proved a magical and atmospheric event, and it raised an impressive £3,000.

Twenty-three local children, from four schools – Melrose Primary, St Mary’s and St Boswells Primary and Earlston High School – were joined by live animals for the production, which was led by Pooee Pitman, director of Kelso Amateur Operatic Society (KAOS).

Accompanying music was organised and played on the keyboard by the Rev Marion Dodd.

Pooee told The Southern the event was a real success: “This was a new approach for the Clic Sargent Carol Concert, which has previously been held in Melrose Parish Church.

“The idea came from the most enthusiastic committee members I’ve ever met – Snippet Innes, Philly Lee, Jenny Litherland and Rossie Maitland-Carew.

“They asked me if I could help way back in June. After the success of KAOS’ Wizard of Oz show, I was in need of a project so I said yes.

“I was so happy with how the nativity went. All the narrators and nativity characters performed fantastically.

“There were also some adults plucked from the audience who played their roles of shepherds, angels and a king with much aplomb. The animals were great too.

“We had three sheep, four goats, three ponies – one who was dressed up as a camel – a donkey, some chickens, a Scottie dog and, of course, Willoughby the pug, who dressed was up as a sheep. It was a fabulous kick-start to Christmas.”

Narrators were Mimi and Panda Pitman; Anna and Vanessa Grieve; Kate MacRae, Melissa Taylor, Lucy Jones, Summer Guthrie, Lucy Cathrow and Katie Bell.

Performers were Charlotte Cathrow (Mary), Blair Adamson (Joseph), Jack Helm (donkey), Ella MacRae (Angel Gabriel); Jamie Cathrow, Pippa Cuthbert, Callum and Gregor Adamson, Lexie Marshall (all shepherds); Lauren Bertram, Grace Guthrie, Bella Card and Katie Swan (all angels); Callum Adamson and Lexie Marshall (kings).

Pooee is now now back in rehearsals for next year’s KAOS show, scheduled for March, when the company will perform in the Borders premiere of The Addams Family.

It’s that time of year already when I cast a glance over the 12 months that have almost gone. Winter failed to live up to its name, but the summer was much more acceptable for a change, making wildlife watching far more pleasant.

To start with, here is a look at the first half of the year.

JANUARY

The year began with a new addition to the “Corbie” household, in the form of a tiny cockapoo pup called Treacle. Little did I know then what mayhem she would wreak for almost the whole year ahead! In the shed I discovered a trio of hibernating small tortoiseshell butterflies in my barrow and I managed to spot a rare visiting glaucous gull on the river in Selkirk. Later, a reader sent in an amazing picture of a heron stalking an egret while an otter popped out of an upturned boat on the banks of the Tweed. Near the month’s end I put up a nestbox with a CCTV camera inside, but the birds avoided it all spring, and I took part in the RSPB’s annual garden birdwatch, logging 39 birds made up of 12 species.

FEBRUARY

Treacle got her first outing in the countryside after her injections. Her boundless energy and lack of fear produced a few heart-stopping moments as she dashed along the banks of the Tweed at Innerleithen, which was in full spate. While doing a spot of mulching in the garden I disturbed a sleeping toad in the leaf-mould basket, which had amazingly survived my chopping activity with the spade. By the second week, 26 oystercatchers had arrived back on my local stretch of the Ettrick. At the end of the month I found a strange clump of clear jelly with macaroni-like bits through it on a hillside overlooking Loch of the Lowes, which I asked readers to help me identify.

MARCH

The jelly mass turned out to be the remnants of a pregnant frog which had been eaten by a predator and regurgitated. What I saw were the oviducts which turn to jelly when exposed to water (rain or wet grass). I caught my first moth of the season in my light trap – a Dotted Border. Treacle met her first hedgehog in the back garden and had her first trip to the beach at Berwick, where I managed a spot of bird watching while she tried her hand at open-cast mining in the sand. By the middle of the month, the chiffchaffs were singing, bumblebees were about, and the first frog spawn had appeared in my neighbour’s garden pond. I had great views of a male hen harrier on Langholm Moor while out for a drive. The month ended with the appearance of the first native spring flowers such as coltsfoot and golden saxifrage.

APRIL

I received word back about a ringed dead siskin which a Selkirk reader had found back in February in his garden. From the ring it was learned that the bird was two years old and was ringed in Peebles. A bit of rock scrambling earned some pictures of a spectacular clump of cowslips in a gorge near Selkirk. (The things I do for this column!) On a magical outing in Yarrow on a perfect spring day, I waxed lyrical about hearing redstarts, curlew and willow warblers and seeing mating toads, peacock butterflies and lots more. Near the end of the month I led an outing to Berwick where almost 50 species of bird were seen, including such gems as long-tailed duck and peregrine.

MAY

On a lovely day in the Tweed valley near Thornylee, I encountered two singing tree pipits – quite a rarity in the Borders. I had a nice week’s break in Fife, spoiled only by the acres of oilseed rape which had me sneezing non-stop. A Clovenfords reader sent me pictures of a colony of masonry bees which had set up house in the village shop. Later in the month I marvelled at the spectacular display of wild flowers on Selkirk Hill and managed to get a decent picture of a singing chiffchaff, which I have tried to get for years.

JUNE

A dawn foray into the woods of Philiphaugh Estate near Selkirk, to carry out a breeding bird survey, was rewarded by some breathtaking scenery and a first-time record for the area of a singing redstart. Later, on a spectacularly sunny day, a lovely walk round Lindean Reservoir was enhanced by encounters with orange-tip butterflies, orchids, a family of mute swans and a chance meeting with another local newspaper columnist, The Pilgrim, whose pup Tam is slightly older than Treacle and provided a welcome distraction. A holiday on South Uist had me yearning for the hills and trees of the Borders, but marvelling at the Machair floral display and birds such as the corn bunting, twite and corncrake.

We’ll look at the second half of 2014 next week. May I wish all readers and contributors a very happy Christmas.

The Hawick-based Hugh Petrie Stoma Support Group presented the Borders Stoma Service with a camera and protection sheets following a shop-a-frolic fundraising party in October.

Pictured are Nancy Fraser, Verna Henderson, Rosemary Watt, Christine Davidson, Irene George, Fiona Gentleman, Wilson George, Rob Gentleman and Bert Anderson.

Anyone who would like to find out more about the group should contact Nancy on 01450 374017 or the stoma nurses at Borders General Hospital.

A scientist’s three-decade quest to find a rare moss thought to be extinct in Scotland has ended with the discovery of the plant in the Borders.

Water rock-bristle was last found north of the border in the late 1940s and it was feared to have died out after a series of expeditions led by bryologist Dr David Long, from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, failed to turn up any sign of it.

However, this past autumn, Dr Long’s three-decade quest finally ended with the discovery of dark-green shoots of the tiny moss on a limestone boulder, next to a burn, near Newcastleton.

The moss, whose Latin name is seligeria carnoilica, has also been recorded at a site in Northumberland and at a clutch of locations in Slovenia and Sweden. But its rarity is such that very little is known about it. Water rock-bristle was first identified in Scotland at the Black Burn, near Newcastleton, by bryologist Evelyn Lobely in 1948. But despite returning on a number of occasions to where she thought she found it originally, she could find no trace of the moss again.

Dr Long found the moss with a group from the British Bryological Society when they explored a new area of the burn in September, during a period the water level was very low.

He told The Southern this week that the Borders is surprisingly rich in bryophytes – mosses, liverworts and hornworts – due to the diversity of habitats and climatic conditions, plus the clean air and water.

“For example, on the Berwickshire coast are found several Mediterranean mosses, which only just reach north into Scotland,” he said.

“The high tops of the Tweedsmuir Hills are rich in mountain species typical of the Scottish Highlands, and the Newcastleton area has the double bonus of high rainfall, favouring western oceanic species, and limestone outcrops with their specialities such as the water rock-bristle moss.

“We can certainly expect to find a few more new rarities in all those special places,” added Dr Long.

Oh, the irony! I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry this week. In the end I did both, in turn.

Remember we have some turkeys? It’s been so long since I wrote about smallholding that you probably forgot about the Shoogly turkeys.

Well, we had Sally and Queenie, the Kelly Bronze commercial turkeys which escaped the dinner table about four Christmases ago. They were joined by Cilla, who is a rare breed turkey, a Bourbon Red. And finally, there was Vic, a (bog) standard turkey, the slate (blue) stag (boy).

And finally is perhaps the right description, in the light of last week’s events.

Gamford was doing the rounds on the estate and got round to the usual chook check.

He topped up the food and the water, and then set about sawing some logs from the woodpile which is at one end of the chook run.

All of a sudden, there was a flapping and squawking from the chooks and they all seemed to leap away in horror from something.

That something was poor Vic, who had face-planted and was lying dead as your proverbial doornail in the middle of the run.

One minute, eating corn and socialising, brown bread the next.

Poor Vic. The chooks just couldn’t understand it, and, giving him a wide berth, patrolled around his titanic corpse in awe and wonder, like Lilliputians gawking at Gulliver.

Poor Vic.

It only seemed like yesterday we drove all the way to the mart at Carlisle to fetch him. We met his breeder, Janice Houghton-Wallace, there in the car park, for the handover.

Janice, who is the queen of all turkeys in Scotland (well, secretary of the Turkey Club UK) drove him over from Dumfries and Galloway in her white transit van to meet us (this being judged to be a good halfway point between us) from her home which she shares (depending on the time of year, if you get me) with between 100 and 200 turkeys.

This was about four years ago now, so in that time Vic had become part of our extended fur and feather family. Janice sold him on to us as he wasn’t quite good enough to have made a show bird.

But we got used to his knock knees and lumbering gait. He would never have made a stud – apart from his knock knees which are undesireable characteristics to pass on to the next generation, he was no Barry White.

In fact, he made all the right moves whilst Sally and Queenie sat there patiently.

Sadly, he was always at the wrong end. He just never seemed to get it, so, to be blunt, neither did his lay-dees.

I must admit to bursts of hysterical laughter – no, not at his inadequacy, that would be too cruel. No, I laughed as the irony of the timing of his death was not lost on me.

A few days before Christmas, when turkeys are being slaughtered by the shed-load for the Big Day, Vic had added to the tally and was not even good to eat.

We didn’t know what he had died of and at five-plus years old he would have been as tough as old boots.

Oh, the irony of standing out in the wind and sleet digging a huge hole to bury an enormous turkey just days before Christmas.

Sorry, Vic old son, I’m sorry, but I just had to laugh.

The past 12 months have, by any yardstick, been tumultuous on the political front, with the independence referendum taking centre stage.

However, as we enter 2015, it could well be a case of – in the words of the Bachman-Turner Overdrive hit – “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”.

May’s UK general election is shaping up to be one of the most intriguing for generations, with its reverberations, following on from those created by September’s referendum, standing a good chance of changing the political landscape forever.

The SNP, far from licking its wounds after the No camp’s victory, has seen it’s membership more than treble, with pundits predicting that the party will hit Labour hard.

And for those who thought they had seen the last of Alex Salmond as a political force, his recent announcement that he was aiming to be an MP again must have sent shudders down the spines of some of Westminster’s establishment figures. For them, Salmond and his SNP Commons colleagues playing the role of kingmakers is the stuff of nightmares.

Couple that with UKIP’s success south of the border, and you have a potent political cocktail indeed.

Locally, Tories are bullish about their man, John Lamont, overturning incumbent Michael Moore’s 5,675-vote majority. The MSP has form when it comes to taking on Liberal Democrats – he turfed out Euan Robson in 2007 to enter Holyrood.

The councillor responsible for schools in the Borders has refused to give a guarantee that teacher numbers will not fall further in the years ahead.

Sandy Aitchison, executive member for education, told December’s Scottish Borders Council (SBC) meeting that future staffing levels in the region’s 63 primaries and nine secondaries would be influenced by several factors.

“It depends on pupil numbers, demographic trends and the direction of the Scottish Government, which is undergoing changes at the top of education,” said Councillor Aitchison.

The Borders Party member was commenting before figures were released showing that SBC now employs a total of 1,089 teachers – 141 less than it did in 2007.

He had been asked by Conservative councillor Simon Mountford for the current average pupil/teacher ratios (PTRs) in our schools.

Mr Aitchison said the primary PTR in 2014 was 17.2 and was thus within the Scottish Government’s so far unattained national target of 18.

Indeed, only 13 per cent of the nation’s children are now in classes of fewer than 18.

Mr Aitchison revealed that the secondary PTR was 13.4 – just within the Scottish secondary average class size of 13.5.

Mr Mountford observed: “It seems we are getting perilously close to exceeding the Scottish Government target of 18 in primary, so I ask for an assurance that there will be no further reduction in teacher numbers.”

“I’m afraid I cannot give that guarantee,” said Mr Aitchison, “but what I can say is that, compared to other areas of Scotland, I think the Borders is in a very good place. I, for one, will do my utmost to keep primary classes below 18.”

The fall in teacher numbers was highlighted this week by Conservative MSP John Lamont, who blamed the Scottish Government for the trend.

Mr Lamont said: “The plummeting number of teachers in the Borders since 2007 shows just how badly the SNP has taken its eye off the ball.

“Classes are getting bigger as nearly 150 posts have been lost in the Borders in the past few years.

“The concern is that in bigger classes teachers will not be able to dedicate as much time as they would like to their pupils.”

Responding, a council spokesperson conceded that teacher numbers had dropped in the region.

The spokesperson told us: “However, this is reflective of reducing pupil numbers and pupil/teacher ratios in the Borders have consistently been similar to the Scottish average.

Borderers have until the end of January to have their say on how the council can reduce its spending by £20million over the next five years, writes Andrew Keddie.

Cutting the cost of directly-employed staff – under the euphemistic heading of “making the best use of our people” – will account for more than £10million of that saving in draft revenue budget proposals put out to public consultation last week.

SBC has set up an online simulator to get the views of residents on how the savings can best be achieved before a detailed decision on the spending programme for 2015/16 – and indicative plans for the following four years – is agreed in February. And the public’s appetite to influence the local authority appears to be more whetted than last year when a similar feedback exercise attracted just 109 responses over six weeks.

In just six days, 85 responses have so far been posted on the simulator with the consultation due to continue until January 31.

In money terms, the draft budget is set to remain static at around £253million a year for the next five years, on the assumption that both Council Tax and the annual support grant from the Scottish Government will be frozen. But with inflation, an increased demand for council services and demographic pressures from an ageing population, the upshot is an estimated total shortfall of £20.157milion to be plugged by 2019/20.

For example, over that period the council will have to find an extra £6.7million to deliver 600 hours of nursery provision and £1.3million a year to provide free school meals for every P1-3 pupil. Next year alone, an extra £1.37million will be needed to care for more older people and adults with physical and learning disabilities.

Solutions range from the obvious – improving IT to make management and administration more efficient and devoting the savings to frontline services – to the controversial, including the outsourcing of all adult care services to an arms-length organisation to save £2.5million in staff costs over the five years.

The payroll-cutting proposals are also dependent on the local authority continuing to offer voluntary severance and early-retirement deals to eligible employees.

“We are working to ensure we continue to balance the books and protect services in key priority areas,” said Councillor John Mitchell (SNP), SBC’s depute leader with responsibility for finance.

“This has involved working closely with officers across the council for several months to allow us to put forward these proposals.”

Readers wishing to access the online feedback simulator can so at scotborders.budgetsimulator.com.

Ednam House Hotel has appointed Stephanie Finlay in the key role of group marketing manager.

Ms Finlay will be responsible for the marketing of the Guyzance Ltd’s five properties based in Northumberland, the Borders and East Lothian: Dalhousie Castle, Scotland’s oldest inhabited castle, Ednam House in Kelso, and Northumberland’s finest country houses and hotels, Doxford Hall, Eshott Hall and Guyzance Hall.

Ms Finlay is an experienced sales, marketing and events professional with an honours degree in events management from Leeds Metropolitan University.

She has worked exclusively within the hospitality industry, and she joins Guyzance Hall Ltd from Speciality Hotels Group, where she held the position of head of sales and marketing.
Speaking about her new position, Ms Finlay said: “This is both a challenging and diverse role, which I am very excited to start.

“Each of these properties is completely unique, which I know will appeal to a range of markets. My overall aim in the coming year will be to raise the profile of each property, with quality and loyalty being at the 
core of our marketing strategy.”

Hawick-based photographer John Parris has snapped his way to a top prize in a major international photography competition.

The annual Master Photographers Association (MPA) Awards welcomed some of the greatest photography talents in a recent glittering awards ceremony.

John beat off stiff competition from photographers from across the UK and around the world to scoop the prestigious UK Classic Wedding Photographer Of The Year in the 2014 Master Photography Awards.

Hundreds of professional photographers were joined by representatives from the major photography companies and trade, at the awards ceremony which was held at the Hinckley Island Hotel, near Stratford-upon-Avon.

John runs his business along with his wife Sandra, who herself recently won the title of Scottish Contemporary Wedding Photographer of the year.

From winning top awards to travelling around the world shooting weddings and portraits, the couple has come a along way in the 16 years since they started their business.

John, who was honoured last year with the presidency of the MPA, says their success is all down to a lot of hard work, determination and self belief.

He said: “It was fantastic to win, especially given the extremely high standard of entries.”

A grandmother died on Christmas Day – 10 days after being struck by an articulated lorry in Selkirk town centre.

Marion Fair was freed by rescuers from under the front wheel of the lorry after being hit as she crossed the A7 at what is known locally as The Fleece corner.

The accident happened on the afternoon of Monday, December 15, and police are still keen to speak to any witnesses who have not yet come forward.

Mrs Fair, 84, and from the town’s Tower Street, was treated at the scene by paramedics during the hour-long rescue operation and was taken by helicopter to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

The accident has led to fresh calls for a Selkirk bypass.

Potato growing is on such a large, professional scale now that it’s easy to forget that growers with hundreds, even thousands, of acres still run into the same problems we had when many of us grew only a dozen or so acres.

Two autumns ago, the greatest problem was harvesting in almost continuous mud and rain. This year, the problem is our old friend supply and demand. Potatoes are selling retail for the equivalent of £500 to £1,500 a tonne, but growers are getting an ex-farm price of as little as £50 a tonne. Not a lot when average growing costs are about £150 a tonne, even with modern technology, large machines and skilled management of crop growing and control of diseases and infections.

Compared to simpler times, growers also have many handling and storage hoops to jump through to supply precisely what supermarkets demand, with attendant penalties or contract cancellations if they don’t meet the specifications. Worse, these large-scale operators producing hundreds of thousands of tonnes of potatoes seem to be as vulnerable to sudden cuts in demand or price by the firms they supply as we were to the whims of the local greengrocer or potato merchant. That seems to be regardless of contracts. Our verbal agreements of the past might be, as film mogul Sam Goldwyn once famously said, “not worth the paper they’re written on”, but I expected more of modern written contracts.

Apparently not. When the crunch comes and supply exceeds demand – not least because more and more of us buy rice or pasta rather than fresh potatoes, and crops have been good this year – then potato-packing operations have unilaterally cut volumes required and prices paid.

There seems nothing growers can do when that happens except grit their teeth and hope that next year will produce better prices. When so much is invested in equipment and systems, simply opting out of potato growing is a much more difficult option.

The same applies in some degree to most types of farming. Beef is an example of where long-term planning and commitment is needed when from conception to sale of the finished beef animal is well over two years. The good news, or at least slightly better news, is that after what its spokesman calls “a rollercoaster 2014”, the National Beef Association is forecasting a better time for beef producers in 2015.

Chris Mallon, national director of the association, said that after a low-price start to this year, kinder weather and phenomenal grass growth meant that beef calves were coming indoors on average 60 kg heavier than the previous year. Cheaper cereal prices – that sound of grinding teeth is cereal growers – meant that finishing rations this winter will be cheaper. So all round it’s a good start to 2015 with, Mr Mallon suggested, a good year to come. A few thousand beef farmers throughout the country will be hoping he’s right.

As for me, I gave up forecasting anything some years ago. Actual events always topped any attempt at forecasts – ask Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne or any economist near you. But Happy New Year anyway.

Photograph: Alwyn Johnston

Oliver Kozik from Coldingham (left) was the first to arrive, born at 5.18am, weighing 8lb 3oz, followed at 2.47pm by Holly Weatherhead from Eyemouth, tipping the scales at 5lb 12oz

Scottish Borders Council has this week laid claim to having one of the best Council Tax recovery rates in Scotland.

In 2013/14, the council collected 96.6% of the £51million which the property-based levy, introduced in 1993 to replace the Community Charge (poll tax), yields annually.

And, according to a council spokesperson, that makes it the equal sixth most successful out of Scotland’s 32 local authorities.

The council was responding on Monday to figures released by Conservative MSP John Lamont, whose party has been in opposition at Newtown since 2012.

Mr Lamont, who will challenge Lib Dem MP Michael Moore in Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk at May’s General Election, claimed the council was currently owed £31million in unpaid Council Tax.

While conceding the bulk of these arrears related to the current financial year (2014/15) which still has four months to run, he said that “around £12m remains outstanding from previous years”.

Mr Lamont said: “Councils need to get better at enforcing Council Tax charges. It is grossly unfair on those of us who play by the rules and pay our taxes every year that millions of pounds remain unpaid.

“If collected, as it should be, that money could be put to good use protecting frontline public services.

“Given that Scottish Borders Council is facing financial pressure at the moment, I would have thought officials would be doing all they can to collect as much Council Tax as they can.”

While not disputing Mr Lamont’s figures, obtained using Freedom of Information legislation, the council spokesperson stated: “As is the case with local authorities across the country, SBC has Council Tax arrears outstanding for years prior to 2014/15.

“The level of these arrears will continually reduce as the council pursues them using a variety of methods at its disposal. There are, for example, already a number of instalment agreements in force reducing outstanding individual arrears. As arrears payments are made, they contribute to the council budget.

“SBC’s recovery rate for Council Tax remains at a high level. In 2013/14 it was 96.6%, equal sixth best out of 32 councils in Scotland.

“Over the last five years, we have demonstrated the ninth best performance out of Scottish local authorities for the percentage of Council Tax recovered, while in terms of our cost per chargeable dwelling, at £6.73 we were actually the third cheapest in Scotland.”

Mr Lamont also criticised the Scottish Government for its announcement that historical poll tax debts, incurred between 1989 and 1993, are to be written off. He claimed SBC is still owed £2.3million from non-payers.

“This is incorrect,” said the council spokesperson, citing the decision of SBC’s executive in October, 2012, to write off outstanding Community Charge arrears of £147,000 for 675 Borders debtors because recovery was considered “uneconomic”.

Heriot councillor Sandy Aitchison believes at some point the village will get the railway halt it deserves following months of disruption.

Mr Aitchison, who represents Galashiels & District ward on Scottish Borders Council, was speaking following complaints about flooding affecting the new underpass being built in Heriot.

It’s part of the new railway infrastructure being installed ahead of the restored line being reopened in September next year and allows pedestrians to access the A7 and bus stops.

Mr Aitchison told The Southern it had been hoped work on the underpass would have been completed by now.

“It basically boils down to the timing of work to move all the services, such as BT cabling, but this has been more problematic than expected,” he explained.

“The problems this has caused has made it quite a contentious issue in Heriot. On a couple of occasions the underpass has flooded due to the very high water table in this area.

“The underpass was the only feasible way of allowing pedestrian access to the A7 and attendant bus stops – there was no room to construct a bridge during the original planning phase.

“But holes in the walls of the underpass have allowed it to fill with water. When completed, a super-efficient pump will keep it dry as necessary, but it seems the temporary pump installed at the moment is unsatisfactory, with the result the underpass has flooded two or three times.

“The problem has also been exacerbated by the fact the special anti-slip surface has not yet been applied allowing a recent build up of ice and frost to cause difficulties.”

And Mr Aitchison says the problems with the underpass coupled to other issues for local residents should have qualified the village for at least a halt to allow the new trains to stop.

“Considering the level of disruption caused to the village and its residents, I would have thought that only fair. But while Heriot is not getting a station at this stage, as things develop in the future, who knows?”

A spokesman for Network Rail said: “We are aware of the latest report of flooding at the underpass. During the Christmas shut down, we have a team on duty that will inspect the structure twice a day to keep it open. We also have a pump operating in an effort to keep it clear of water.

“Until the structure is completed, the site is likely to continue to be affected to some extent by heavy rainfall, however, we are doing what we can to maintain this access during the Christmas break and will be seeking an improved permanent solution early in the New Year. The underpass was fully clear of water yesterday.”

A Hawick man has been accused of struggling violently with two female police officers and kicking one of them on the leg.

Christopher Kali, of Overhall Road, Wilton Dean, is also charged with kicking a male police community support officer on the leg at Hawick police station on Sunday.

The 21-year-old faces a further two allegations of urinating in circumstances likely to cause offence to another person, and shouting and swearing and committing a breach of the peace on Sunday.

Kali appeared from custody at Selkirk Sheriff Court on Monday and pleaded not guilty to all five charges.

He was released on bail to his trial date of May 7 at Jedburgh Sheriff Court, with an intermediate hearing on April 7.

The man who led the referendum’s Yes campaign in the Borders is aiming for a seat at Westminster.

Calum Kerr is seeking the SNP’s nomination for the Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk seat.

If he’s successful, that would pitch him against veteran Lib Dem and former Scottish Secretary Michael Moore at May’s general election.

The dad-of-three chaired the Yes Scottish Borders Group in the build-up to the September vote.

He’s already won the backing of the party’s Berwickshire branch for his candidacy.

And the Galashiels-born, Peebles-educated campaigner believes the SNP can win the seat.

He stated: “We are in hugely confident form after achieving a remarkable 45 per cent in the referendum and our party membership has gone from 25,000 to more than 92,000 since September.

“If we can send enough SNP MPs to Westminster, we can make sure that our voice is heard, that Gordon Brown’s vow is delivered and that we create a better Borders in a stronger Scotland.”

And Mr Kerr has already launched an attack on the sitting MP and his party, claiming their supporters feel betrayed.

He said: “As a coalition government minister and backbench MP, Mr Moore has been happy to support Tory policies such as austerity, tuition fees, savage attacks on the disabled and vulnerable, and the hated bedroom tax.

“In 2010, many people voted for Michael Moore to keep the Tories out.

“What they got was an MP who was prepared to join those same Tories in government and vote for their deeply damaging policies.”

Salmon catches on the River Tweed and its tributaries fell drastically in 2014, with only around 2,500 fish taken by rod and line over the three-month autumn season.

This compares to the 8,000 which were caught in the corresponding period – which finishes at the end of each November – in 2013.

Fishing was so poor that the beat at Tillmouth closed 10 days early.

And across the entire season from February 1, just 4,000 salmon were caught, compared to the five-year average to 2013 of 11,000.

The slump is revealed in the online magazine FishTweed, but the exact totals won’t be known until the River Tweed Commission AGM in March. That amalgamation of beat owners, which runs an industry worth an estimated £15million a year to the Borders, has already introduced a compulsory catch-and-release policy from February 1 to June 30.

Hawick Angling Club, the largest in the Borders with 10 miles of double-bank fishing on the Teviot and its tributaries, posted on the website: “Thank goodness that this season is over, far fewer fish than there should be. Disease is rife with a high proportion of fish showing fungus in varying degrees. Let’s just hope this has been a one-off bad season.”

Tillmouth, downstream of Coldstream Bridge and with five full-time boatmen, is considered one of the best performing beats with a rod costing around £200 a day in high season. But over the year, just 311 salmon were landed, compared to 685 in 2013 and a five-year average catch of 758.

On November 20, Tillmouth head boatman Willie Elliot posted: “Over the last few days it has become apparent that the river is beginning to shut itself down and it was felt it was not sporting to fish over spawning and, in some cases, diseased fish. As a consequence it has been decided, in consultation with the owners, to close the fishing down for the rest of the season.”

Theories abound as to the shortage – from the overharvesting of krill at sea to the spread of lice from commercial salmon farms. But there appears to be consensus on the need for a curb on wholesale coastal netting.

Well, another year done and dusted, and a few more grey hairs into the bargain. I didn’t think it possible, but a check in the mirror confirmed it. In fact, it’s not so much grey now as snowy-white.

Truth is I didn’t need a mirror to spot the changes.

Up until the week before Christmas, my locks dangled gracefully over my collar and onto my shoulders. My ears were invisible.

To the front my fringe dripped low and, at times, obscured my vision. I knew it was time for a cut – but it is winter and a good heid o’ hair is, to me, better than a bonnet or a balaclava, or one those woolly things that seem to be all the rage now.

My four-times-a-year cuts are normally done by Paula in Selkirk, but she’s been a bit busy of late.

So, I had decided that I would stay long-haired until early spring and then submit myself to clippers and scissors.

But it was not to be. I’ve been on holiday for a couple of weeks. Doing nothing but lazing around and kidding that this year I would be well prepared for Christmas and not scurrying around at the last minute on Christmas Eve. I did manage to get a fair bit done in advance of the 25th – I even managed to get my real tree erected on the 23rd. However, I still shopped on Christmas Eve, although not – as usual –for everything. Just a few important last-minute purchases. I have this theory that if I have just a few hours instead of a few weeks, I can’t dilly-dally and just have to set to and get on with things.

But I digress. I would not be, as some friends call, the big hairy yin over the festive season. It came about thus.

I was in Galashiels the week before Santa was due to visit, determined to wrap up Christmas early. I was sauntering along Bank Street and was just past Dalgetty the bakers when I got the call. Gordon the barber was standing in his shop doorway, resplendent in maroon tunic and clutching a pair of shears. His free hand raised and his index finger beckoned me. I was well and truly collared.

Ushered past the ladies’ salon, I took my seat in the room reserved for gentlemen. And that’s when it happened. I wasn’t asked what kind of cut I wanted. Gordon had decided.

And he was right. I watched my locks tumble to the floor and spotted how, in four months, they had turned more white than grey. I still have my hair, whatever the colour, albeit a bit shorter.

But in four months’ time I’ll avoid Bank Street and use Channel Street.

Youngsters at Newlands and Kirkurd Playgroup and Out-of-School Club have received a boost – thanks to a donation of pipework from Scottish Water.

The company has cut two small sections of surplus pipes – each about 2m in length and over 1m in height – for the club in Romanno Bridge to use as play equipment.

Bill Elliot, the firm’s Borders community team manager, said: “These are the kind of pipes which we install to move water from our supply sources like reservoirs to water treatment works. In recent times, we have been working to improve services and maintain high drinking water quality by laying new water pipes in this part of the Borders.

“As a token of our appreciation to the community while this work was carried out, we were delighted that Newlands and Kirkurd Playgroup and Out-of-School Club have accepted our offer of surplus pipework, which can be adapted into play equipment like tunnels for children to play safely in under the supervision of the nursery staff.

Manager Rodna Angus said: “We would all like to say a big thank you to Scottish Water for the donation and delivery of our new water pipes for the children to play in/on.”

Bill and project communications adviser Catherine Henderson are pictured with some of the children and staff with existing pipework – which the donation will complement.