Yvonne Eade (back row left in picture) received a cheque on behalf of Edinburgh Sick Kids Friends’ Foundation from staff and children at Cherry Trees Nursery, Melrose, recently, after they raised £110 for the charity that has been helping sick children since 1992. More than 100,000 children from throughout the east of Scotland and beyond, including the Borders, are admitted annually to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children.

On Saturday, March 14, a coffee morning in aid of SKFF will be held in the Reading Room of the Melrose Corn Exchange, 10am -noon, £1.50 for entry, coffee and biscuits. Please come along and find out more about the work being done for children by the charity. Visit www.edinburghsickkids.org 
– information also available from Yvonne or Oliver Eade on 01896 822013, or e-mail: olivereade@googlemail.com.

Because this is March in Britain, the chance that the weather at time of reading will have any resemblance to weather at time of writing is slim. So all I can note as I write is that it’s a lovely morning, cold, but sunny.

Spring is officially here, March has come in like a lamb and for arable farmers on lighter land that is drying out quickly it’s all systems ready to go. Or quite possibly by the end of this week, if this weather continues, it will be all systems going – sprays, fertiliser, cultivations, drilling.

Given the weather, this is always a time to get on – an exciting, optimistic period of the farming year.

It is also an interesting test of character and a farmer’s psychological make up. Recently, I watched a TV documentary about Alaska that included the short period in a year when fishing boats are allowed to catch salmon. Watching the boats jockeying for position before the starting signal reminded me of arable farmers waiting to start spring drilling. Who will be first to move? Who will panic and go too quickly? Who will rely on experience and patience, and move only when ready and get it just right? Who will inevitably be the last in the district to start? A lot of fun at no charge in trying to guess who will do what and when over the next few weeks.

Lowland lambing has also started – well under way in some cases – with lambs out in the fields in good condition. No matter if we get frosts and cold snaps, lambs always seem to stand that much better than wet weather. But from all reports another threat to ewes and lambs remains not only prevalent, but increasing. That is, being attacked by dogs. For those of us who have reluctantly concluded that there is no limit to human stupidity, carelessness and callousness, it is no surprise that some dog owners allow their animals to run amok among groups of defenceless sheep. Publicity photos of bloody, ripped, ewe and lamb bodies and annual urgings to owners to keep their “pets” under control don’t seem to have much effect.

Of equal concern for farmers is the apparent fact that the law does not offer much protection. Seventy sheep were savaged to death or had to be put down after being attacked by a bull mastiff and – not so ironically for those who know that a collie gone wrong is one of the worst offenders – two Border collies. The owner of the dogs was fined £400, with no order to compensate the farming family who had lost animals, including veterinary and legal costs, worth an estimated £20,000.

If wondering what sort of moron can allow his dogs to savage dozens of sheep, note the fact that reported cases of organised animal fights, mainly dog fighting and cockfighting, have increased in the past five years. I suspect many more have taken place in secret without being reported. It helps explain, but doesn’t excuse, the casual attitude taken by too many to sheep worrying.

Police are treating a fire which gutted a shed attached to kennels containing racing greyhounds as wilful.

The blaze was discovered around 7pm last night (Sunday) at Hamilton Road in Hawick.

The dogs escaped unhurt but the shed and its contents were destroyed.

Officers have now appealed for information and witnesses.

Chief Inspector John Scott said; “This was a deliberate attempt to cause significant damage and which could have resulted in serious injury to the animals.

“We are keen to hear from anyone with information that can help us trace those responsible.”

Information can be passed to Police Scotland on 101 or through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

It is regarded as the toughest footrace on earth and in less than four weeks, Dave Henry and Bernie Quinn will be on the startline in Morocco.

The gun goes off for the start of the 2015 Marathon des Sables on Sunday, April 5, and will see 1,000 runners from around the world try to just make it to the finishing line of an event that involves completing a marathon a day for six days, and carrying everything they need on their backs.

Dave, a contracts manager from St Boswells, and Bernie, a university lecturer from Lauder, are hoping almost a year of special training will help them cover a total of 156 miles across the worst the Sahara desert can throw at them in temperatures above 50

Both men are members of the Lauderdale Limpers club and have recently been focus ing on gruelling ultramarathons.

“We’ve both been running for a good few years now and, after a couple of marathons, we progressed to taking part in ultramarathons, including the one at Jedburgh several times, plus the Kintyre ultramarathon which sees runners tackling a 68-mile route in a single day,” Dave told us during a break in training.

“But this is certainly going to be our most demanding running challenge yet, without a doubt. It’s not called the toughest footrace in the world for nothing.”

Dave and Bernie will be carrying special lightweight rucksacks with all their food, cooking utensils, sleeping bags and a medical kit that includes a venom pump for dealing with snake bites.

Tented encampments with fresh water supplies will be erected for them at certain points along the route.

The Borders duo will fly out to Morocco on April 2 and Dave says training has been going well so far: “We’re on track with our training schedule and this has been the focus of everything we’ve been doing for the last six or seven months.

“We’ve been out training most weekends, as well as putting in another 70 or 80 miles each week, plus regular sessions in the gym.

“During the race we have to be totally self-sufficient, with only the tents being erected for us. We will have a GPS unit which updates race organisers with our actual location every 10 mintutes, and we can press a transponder button if we have a serious problem – and all the runners carry flares in case of emergencies.”

As for their expectations, Dave says both he and Bernie – who are both married with families and full-time jobs in Edinburgh – will be delighted to simply cross the finishing line.

“We just want to finish – that’s our target. The big unknown for us will be how we cope with the heat. That’s going to be the determining factor.

“And while it can be baking hot during the daytime, temperatures overnight can then drop to freezing.

“So among our gear will be sand goggles and plenty of sun cream.”

Dave and Bernie are both self-funding the total entrance fee cost of £3,500, as well as the purchase of around £1,000-worth of kit: “It means all the money we raise will go to the charities we are supporting,” added Dave.

The British Olympic rower James Cracknell competed in the 2010 race and became the highest-placed Briton to take part, finishing 12th.

Started in 1986 by Patrick Bauer, the race is now in its 28th consecutive year and continues to grow in popularity every edition.

And what does the name ‘Marathon des Sables’, mean in English?

“It translates as ‘Marathon of the Sands’, which pretty much sums it up really,” added Dave.

Dave and Bernie can still be sponsored and are raising money for three charities:

z The Steve Cully Tribute Fund at Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland (CHSS). Former Lauder police officer Steve, who died aged just 41 in 2011, took part in the 2009 Marathon des Sables

z Prostate Scotland

z The breast unit at Ward 6 of the Western General Hospital

More details at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/LimpersintheSahara or at bernieanddavesdesertadventure.co.uk

wooler

At their weekly Primestock sale last Wednesday John Swan Ltd had forward and sold 657 hoggs and 265 ewes and rams.

Hogg numbers tighter, more tailend types on offer but good fleshed types again easy to cash.

Leading prices per head:- Tex.x:- £110 South Ditchburn, £96.50 South Ditchburn, £90.50 Fawdon Farms, £90 Mindrum, Wrangham East, Lickar Moor and Ladykirk. Suff.x:- £104 Brandon, £97.50 Newstead. Bel.x:- £90 Ladykirk. Mule:- £84 Fawdon Farms, £81.50, £80 Hedgeley Farms. Chev:- £83.50 Biddlestone Home Farm, £82.50 Shotton.

Leading prices per kilo:- Bel.x:- 218p, 210p, 204.6p, 200p (2) Ladykirk. Tex.x:- 214.3p Lickar Moor, 212.5p Mindrum, 207.9p Shotton, 207.3p Fawdon, 204.7p Mindrum and Springhill, Seahouses, 204.4p South Ord, 203.9p Shotton, 203.6p, 202.4p Yetlington Lane, 202.3p Mindrum. Chev:- 206.3p Shotton. Suff.x:- 202.5p Biddlestone Home Farm.

Ewe numbers also lighter and probably the dearest trade seen at this centre.

Leading prices per head:- Tex.x:- £154 Stickle Heaton, £150 Wrangham East, £137 Stickle Heaton, £135 Mid Edrom. Suff.x:- £148.50 Barelees and West Newbiggin, £147 Lickar Moor, £130 Barelees, £118.50 West Newbiggin. Chev:- £115 (2) Biddlestone Home Farm, £112 Hartside, £105 Biddlestone Home Farm, £101 West Newbiggin, £100 Fawdon. HB:- £142 Barelees. Mule:- £109 West Newbiggin, £108 Fawdon Farms, £105 Cold Martin, £104.50 West Longridge. Bf:- £92 Clennell, £90 Hartside and Fawdon Farms.

Rams:- Tex:- £130 South Ditchburn, £126 Biddlestone Home Farm, £119 Mid Edrom. Zwa:- £125 Wrangham East. Suff.x:- £120 West Newbiggin.

st boswells

At their Primestick sale on Monday, John Swan Ltd sold 98 clean cattle, eight OTM cattle, 61 beef cows, three dairy OTM, 2,310 old season lambs and 410 ewes. Bullocks (34) averaged 209.1p per kg and sold to 239p (-6.6p on week). Heifers (64) averaged 220.2p per kg and sold to 257p (+1.4 on week). Eight OTM cattle averaged 175.5p and sold to 194p (+4.4p on the week), 61 beef type cows averaged 135.2p per kg and sold to 177p (-1.1p on the week)and three dairy type OTM averaged 103p per kg and sold to 115p (+2.6p on the week).

Old season lambs averaged 201p per kg (+7p on the week) £84.53 per head and sold to £113, top price 218p per kg for Texel. Ewes averaged £73.20, and sold to £137 for Texel. Heavy ewes averaged £92.70; Light ewes sold to £93 for Chev and averaged £58.53.

Principal prices per head: Bee Edge £1529.08, £1523.90, £1459.76, £1435.72; Upper Nisbet £1432.08.

Principal prices per kg: Bee Edge 2.57, 2.45 W.T.S. Forsyth and Sons, 2.54 Denholm Meat Supplies, 2.51 Border Meats; Nisbet 2.45 M/s Foley Bros., 2.38 Malone of Edinburgh and Lammerview, 2.32 Malone of Edinburgh and M/s Foley Bros. 2.31 Shaws of Lauder; Upper Hundalee 2.40 W.T.S. Forsyth and Sons; Gospel Hall 2.39 M/s Pringle; Saltoun Home Farm 2.32 Border Meats; Shidlaw 2.32 Malone of Edinburgh

OTM Cattle: Pogbie £1414.14 (1.47); Mosstower £1332 (1.80); Woodhouse. J £1294.98 (1.91), £1187.28 (1.94).

Bulls: Mosstower £1595.70 (1.35); Whitrighill £1325.40 (1.41).

Cows per head: Kersknowe £1642.56, £1424.44; Haughhead £1474.76m, £1094.80; Papple £1183.20; Boon £1178.52; Mosstower £1155.64; Stobswood £1120.14, £1092.45, £1081.42; Kaeside £1081.70; Woodhouse. J £1075.02; Rumbleton £1070.10; Pogbie £1063.72

John Swan Limited held the annual show on behalf of The Cheviot Sheep Society. A quality show was presented before the judge Mr J. Curle who awarded both champion and reserve to M/s Reid, Glendearg.

Class 1: (under 38kg) 1st Glendearg 36kg £78. Class 2: (under 39-44kg) 1st Glendearg 40kg £86.50 (reserve champion); 2nd Thornington 42kg £86.50; 3rd Kirklands 39kg £81.50. Class 3: (over45kg and over) 1st Glendearg 49kg £93.50 (champion) 2nd Thornington 48kg £91.

Lambs per head: Tex;- £113 Huntington, £110 Headshaw. L, £100 Lurdenlaw, Headshaw. L and Edgerston Tofts, Suff.x;- £108 Bonjedward Mill and Legerwood, £106 Bonjedward Mill, £100 Torsonce Mains, Chev;- £100(3), £95.50 Lurdenlaw, £99.50 Rawburn, SM;- £93.50, £86.50 Inland Pastures, £81.50 Swinnie, Chev.x;- £90 Upper Chatto, £90, £84 Bedrule, Ham;- £91, £82.50 Dunslaw SD;- £84 Belford on Bowmont, Char;- £87, £85.50 Whitlaw, BF;- £86.50 Hutlerburn, £80 Upper Chatto and Hartside.

longtown

The Cumberland and Dumfriesshire Farmers Mart plc had forward eight prime cattle, one young bulls, 17 OTM cattle, 6,178 prime hoggs and 4,272 cast ewes and rams at their weekly sale last Thursday.

All classes of cattle met a firm trade, an increase of around 5p-6p on the week. Many more clean cattle needed.

A massive show of 6,178 prime hoggs were forward to the usual ring of buyers present trade was steady all day. Export weight hoggs and lightweight hoggs continue to sell at recent high rates. Heavyweight hoggs continued at recent high rates. An excellent show of Cheviot and Blackface hoggs were forward and sold at a fast trade. The sale averaged 200.6p/kg (SQQ 204.9p).

Border livestock exchange

Border Livestock Exchange, to week ending Friday, March 6, sold 164 prime cattle including 52 cows, 1,300 prime lambs; 364 cast ewes; 900 store lambs; 310 breeding sheep and 376 store and breeding cattle.

Prime cattle were slightly firmer on the week with Aberdeen Angus cross steers from Hallrule Farm, Bonchester Bridge selling to 387p per kg.

Prime sheep also firmed with Suffolk and Texel cross lambs selling to 425p per kg (£89 per head) from Newlands, Belford. Lleyn export lambs also to 425p per kg from Wharmley Farm, Hexham.

On one short stretch of road recently I saw five dead badgers. That death toll suggests there are a lot of badgers about. As indeed there are.

Estimates vary, but the UK badger population has been put as high as one million. It is also suggested that the steady increase in badger numbers over the past 20 years is at least partly responsible for the massive decline in hedgehog numbers, as badgers are partial to hedgehogs.

More pertinent for livestock farmers, more badgers means more bovine TB because they carry the infection and spread it on grazing areas. On-off badger culls authorised by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Areas in specific areas – on or off depending on which government minister is head of Defra at the time – have been inconclusive. That is, anti-cull protesters claim that shooting badgers has not reduced TB in cattle. As well as being ineffective, they say, it is cruel because many badgers have not been killed outright.

Farmers, however, are convinced that shooting badgers is effective. That is not surprising. Some dairy farmers have spent years under restrictions and seen hundreds of their cattle slaughtered because regular testing shows they have TB. Any improvement is welcome. Testing clear of TB after eight, ten or a dozen years must produce an amazing feeling of relief and a conviction that eliminating badgers works.

More objective evidence is provided by vet Roger Blowey who has TB tested cattle in Gloucestershire for 40 years. His analysis of 21 farms with almost 7,000 cattle in the badger-cull area indicated that over the 18 months of badgers being shot, the number of bovine TB cases fell by 83 per cent. Analysis in Somerset in a cull area indicated an even greater success rate. That seems solid evidence to me. I have nothing against badgers, but then I’m not a dairy farmer in a hotspot bovine TB area. Being parochial, I hope the badger problem never reaches the same critical stage in the Borders and north Northumberland.

We all know the saying there are lies, damned lies and then statistics, but that is not always true. We also know, because the message has been given time after time for year after year, that there is a gap between those who farm efficiently and profitably and those who consistently lose money. What can be astonishing, according to records and statistics I believe are accurate and unbiased, is how wide that gap can be.

A recent example was given by Quality Meat Scotland’s head economist Stuart Ashworth. The best 20 per cent of beef producers, he said, reduce waste, know their customers, and use what resources they have to best advantage. The worst 20 per cent, by implication, haven’t a clue. The result is that in the top 20 per cent, net positive margins were from £200 to £350 per cow.

The worst were losses of £200 to £350 per cow. How do they stay in business?

(Tonight) Thursday, March 12: Scottish Wildlife Trust Central Borders Group, illustrated talk Out in the Cold by Kathleen McFarlane, in the Langlee Centre, Marigold Drive, Galashiels, at 7.30pm. Refreshments and raffle. Non-members very welcome.

Saturday, March 14: Coldstream Ramblers walk – Bamburgh- Seahouses circular, 9 miles. Meet at car park opposite Bamburgh Castle at 10am. Please contact leader Ken Prichard 01890 882107 if you wish to come.

A top trade union official has forecast the end of Scottish Borders Council following the revelation that 80 technical staff jobs could be switched to Edinburgh.

Employees in the information and communications technology (ICT) service at the local authority were briefed on Tuesday on the findings of a comprehensive review, which The Southern understands to have been carried out by experts from the City of Edinburgh Council.

The most controversial aspect of the review is that, while ICT staff at SBC were found to be dedicated and hard working, the service was deemed as basically no longer fit for purpose and the council would benefit more from a joint arrangement with City of Edinburgh Council that would see 80 Borders ICT staff outsourced to a support company provider.

A council insider claimed: “The upshot of the review is that 80 SBC staff are to be outsourced to the company, which is still to be selected, to provide IT services for Edinburgh, and the remainder are to be merged with/managed by Edinburgh.

“Those at the meeting were told that none of the current issues are the fault of the 80 technical staff, but it is the technical staff that are being shown the door and management staff are staying and numbers increased – some justice.

“Ultimately, 80 local staff are being shown the door, as after a year, they will be outwith TUPE [Transfer of Undertakings] protection and no doubt will have to move out of the area to retain their jobs with a large organisation or face redundancy.

“The Edinburgh ICT strategy aims to spend a fair amount of the £20million they spend on IT, in their local economy – this move is taking money from the Borders economy and transferring it to Edinburgh. And this is what will be going to council [SBC] as private business at the start of April to be rubber-stamped.”

Asked to comment, an SBC spokesperson told us: “We have undertaken a review of our current ICT arrangements. On April 2, a private report will be presented to council and we should be able to provide a statement on the proposals thereafter.

“As always, staff and the trades unions have been briefed ahead of the report being considered by council.”

However, Tony Trench, regional industrial officer for the Unite union which represents local authority ICT staff, says there was real anger after the briefing.

“Our members were understandably furious yesterday and many were asking the question whether this is the thin end of the wedge that could actually be the next step to an independent Borders local authority vanishing altogether and being subsumed by Edinburgh,” said Mr Trench.

“First, the council’s housing function disappeared; then we have an arms-length care organsation (ALEO) and now the propsect of 80-odd IT jobs shipped out in October.

“We are always against this kind of thing. With the ALEO we were told that everything would remain the same with no changes, yet that clearly wasn’t true.”

Mr Trench said the union is concerned about what will happen to any employees who find their jobs outsourced by the council.

He explained yesterday: “Whenever such services get taken over, there’s often renegotiation of terms and conditions eventually.

“They’d probably lose having final-salary pension arrangements for a start.

“ That’s why we always advocate such services remain in-house with local authorities.

“The problem here is that ICT staff have not been given the right tools for the job.

“SBC has some of the best IT people around, but they simply haven’t been given the tools they need to do the job.”

City of Edinburgh Council’s 15-year outsourcing arrangement with BT for IT services is due to end in 2016.

And it was revealed early last year that the capital’s authority wanted to find a new IT service provider in a deal that could be worth up to £2billion.

In August, Government Computing network website reported that eight ICT suppliers had been invited to participate in competitive dialogue in the next stage of the project.

The eight were Agilisys, Atos, BT, Capita, CGI, Hewlett Packard, Lockheed Martin UK and SERCO.

A wicked pervert who downloaded and distributed sickening images of children being tortured and sexually abused on the internet has been jailed for 16 months.

Brendan Lennon, 27, of Newtown St Boswells, stored 26,328 images of youngsters between five and 12 years old being brutalised by paedophiles.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard how the some of the images displayed children being waterboarded and being forced to have sex with adults.

The court also heard how the youngsters were “visibly suffering” in some of the images.

Last Thursday, Lennon was imprisoned by Sheriff Gordon Liddle.

Ordering him to be supervised for 36 months following his release from custody, the sheriff told Lennon: “You have been convicted of serious offences.

“These are not victimless crimes. Because of the nature of these offences, the public needs to be protected from you.”

Lennon pleaded guilty to having the indecent images between May 14, 2011, and March 12, 2014, at a hearing at the sheriff court last month. He also admitted a separate charge of distributing the images to others between January 7 and March 12, 2014.

Sentence had been deferred until last week for the court to obtain reports about the lab technician’s character.

At the earlier hearing, the court heard how Lennon was caught after a TV technician arrived at his home to carry out work on his satellite connection. He saw the images flash up on computer equipment stored in the property.

The technician contacted police who raided Lennon’s home in March last year. Officers confiscated a mobile phone, tablet and laptop .

Depute procurator fiscal Melanie Ward told the court that a computer expert who examined Lennon’s equipment found a number of illegal images.

Ms Ward said: “The images are of a very strong and extreme nature indeed. They showed children not only being sexually abused, but visibly suffering from that sexual abuse.”

Ms Ward then described to the court the nature of the images that were seized from Ward. They are so explicit that they cannot be repeated in family-friendly media.

She also handed Sheriff Liddle an image.

The court also heard that Lennon shared 162 of the images with 24 other people.

Last Thursday, defence solicitor Susan Gibson told the sheriff that her client had expressed remorse for his crimes.

She added that Lennon had mental health problems.

Ms Gibson added: “He has recently been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. It is by no means an excuse for his offending behaviour, but it provides an insight into his condition at the time of the offence.”

However, Sheriff Liddle said he had no other option but to send Lennon to jail.

Police have described a daylight attack on a man in Hawick as vicious and have appealed for help in tracing the suspect.

It happened around 11.30am on Sunday when a 64-year-old was assaulted in Wilton Park Road near to the Walled Gardens.

The victim sustained facial and head injuries, and was treated by paramedics.

Police say the man they are hunting is white, aged between 30 and 40 years, and was wearing a dark boiler suit. He was spotted driving a red forklift.

Constable Bruce Dodds said: “This was a vicious attack that has left the victim badly shaken. It happened in broad daylight and we believe there must have been several witnesses.

“We are eager to speak to anyone who may have seen the assault. We are also keen to speak to a female driver who was parked nearby.”

Police say that at the time of the attack there would have been a number of vehicles in the area.

A Hawick football fan who sang sectarian songs after watching Rangers lose to Celtic has been banned from matches for four months.

Twenty-six-year-old Rangers supporter Jamie Gent had been on a bus run to Hampden Park to support his team prior to the offence. He had watched his side lose 2-0 to Celtic in the semi-finals of the Scottish League Cup.

Gent, of Fairhurst Drive, admitted singing sectarian songs, making racist comments and threatening police with violence at Wilton Hill, Hawick, and struggling violently with two officers at the town’s police station on February 1.

Prosecuting at Jedburgh Sheriff Court on Monday, Alasdair MacLeod said: “It was about 11.15pm on a Sunday night when he was seen walking along Wilton Hill and heard singing sectarian football songs at the top of his voice. Police came out of the station and spoke to him, telling him to stop singing and to go home quietly, but he continued to sing Rangers songs.”

Gent repeatedly used the word “fenian” and threw himself backwards in an attempt to prevent officers taking him into the police station.

Mr MacLeod went on: “He continued to sing at the top of his voice, calling one officer an English c**t. He said he would wait at the back door of the station for the officer and do him in.”

Advised that he was going to be searched, Gent threatened to kick the officer “in the balls” if he came near him.

“He had been at a Rangers v Celtic match as part of an organised bus trip to Glasgow,” explained Mr MacLeod.

Gent’s lawyer, Ross Dow, said banning his client from football matches was discretionary and urged Sheriff Kevin Drummond not to do so.

He added: “This is his first offence of this nature and the conviction alone may suffice to prevent him committing any analogous offence. He has shown a significant level of contrition and I am not sure that banning him from football matches is necessary.

“He does not hold any views of religious bigotry.”

But the sheriff told Gent: “This is not simply a public order offence. You were warned to desist, but instead escalated into struggling violently with police and engaging in further similar abuse. It is not just singing in the street. Your team don’t want you there and I am going to ban you from football matches for four months.”

Gent originally appeared from custody wearing Rangers’ away strip and had been warned he could be jailed.

The sheriff also imposed an 80-day restriction-of-liberty order, from 9pm-7am.

An action plan to curb antisocial behaviour on the Burnfoot housing estate in Hawick will be unveiled at a public meeting later this month.

The blueprint will bring together a range of initiatives discussed at a multi-agency gathering in the community school on Thursday.

Among those attending were the estate’s three representatives on Scottish Borders Council – Watson McAteer, Stuart Marshall and Alastair Cranston.

“We needed to get everyone together to agree how we can address a growing problem which is obviously upsetting for the vast majority of residents,” reflected Councillor McAteer, a former divisional police commander.

“Children as young as nine and as old as 18 have been going about terrorising local people and damaging buildings, fences and gardens.

“Although this disruptive behaviour is nothing new, the people of Burnfoot are really fed up with it and feel it’s time for action.”

On Thursday, the three councillors were joined by representatives of Police Scotland, SBC’s antisocial behaviour unit based at Newtown, youth workers and senior management from the estate’s two registered social landlords – SBHA and Waverley.

“A range of issues were discussed at what was a very positive and productive meeting,” said Mr McAteer.

“It was agreed we need an action plan to address a number of issues, not least the effectiveness or otherwise of the 101 emergency number and the opening hours of the police station in Hawick.

“There was a consensus that we need increased dedicated police patrols, with officers working closely on the ground with youth workers who will wear high visibility clothing and attempt to engage with young people.”

He said initiatives from each agency would be pulled together into an action plan which would be discussed at a public meeting in Burnfoot Community School on Tuesday, March 31, at 6.30pm.

Local MP Michael Moore and Borders MSPs John Lamont and Paul Wheelhouse will be invited to attend.

A community profile of Burnfoot, researched by SBC and published in August 2013, revealed a population of 3,594 of which 828 (or 23 per cent) were aged under 15 – much higher than the regional rate of 17.5 per cent.

The study showed that 26 per cent of the working age population were dependent on state benefits, compared to 12.5 per cent in the Borders as a whole, with the highest number of claimants (28.9 per cent) in the 25-49 age group.

School pupils from Burnfoot were, said the report, three times more likely to receive free school meals and twice as likely to need additional support in school than the Borders average.

“Pupils resident in Burnfoot are almost four times more likely to be excluded from school than the Borders average,” stated the study.

We wish the good people of Burnfoot in Hawick every success in their bid to curb antisocial behaviour on the estate.

And we hope that those who are in the vanguard of implementing an action plan to tackle this blight on many people’s lives receive solid support from those who are playing a less active or no role. They deserve it because, at times, it will feel like a pretty thankless and depressing task.

Antisocial behaviour and other types of relatively low-level crime has plagued Burnfoot and other Borders housing schemes such as Langlee in Galashiels and Selkirk’s Bannerfield for many years. We’ve all heard the reasons proffered for this being so – unemployment, drug misuse, alcoholism among them.

But some who have been luckier in life – often through no effort of their own – tend to look rather disparagingly at these less-fortunate people, being of the opinion that they have only themselves to blame for the position they are in.

The vast majority of those who live on the aforementioned ex-council house estates are decent, honest folk just trying improve the lot of themselves and their families. They don’t deserve to be tarred with the antisocial brush.

If you want to look for bad apples, turn your gaze towards the more well-heeled members of society such as bankers and politicians. Certain sections of the national press deserve a look too – Brian Leveson and his inquiry did.

Organisations and charities that are helping to protect and sustain Britain’s farming and rural communities can apply for much-needed funding of up to £50,000 from The Prince’s Countryside Fund.

The Prince’s Countryside Fund celebrates its fifth anniversary this year. It strives to secure a sustainable future for the British countryside.

The fund is looking to invest up to £800,000 in worthwhile rural initiatives in this application round. Since its inception, it has given £5million in grants distributed to 120 projects across the country, directly benefitting 100,000 people.

The fund has recently reviewed its funding criteria in order to provide improved clarity to the organisations applying the variety of innovative projects in the countryside it will support.

Organisations interested in applying are encouraged to attend The Prince’s Countryside Fund Forum in Warwick on Thursday, March 5, to find out more about the variety of projects funded to date and understand more about the funding eligibility and criteria.

Projects will be considered on their contribution to one of three key countryside issues – Thriving Rural Communities; Rural Livelihoods; Farmers of the Future. To apply for funding from The Prince’s Countryside Fund, please complete the online application form at www.princescountryside
 fund.org.uk. The deadline for applications is April 9.

Allan Bowie, NFU Scotland’s newly-elected president, hopes to build more positivity within the Scottish public around all that farming delivers.

In this Year of Food and Drink, he hopes to help Scottish consumers appreciate the challenges farmers operate under while promoting the clear enthusiasm that they have for producing high quality, but affordable, food for the home and export market.

In his latest president’s blog, Mr Bowie said: “In my tenure as president I would like the Scottish public to have the same positive feeling about farming and what farming delivers as I do.

“We live and work in a very volatile and competitive market. As farmers we see this as an opportunity as well as a challenge, securing a fairer share of market value and adding value to our brand, but for this to be achievable we need consumers on board, supporting and buying the food we produce.

“In this Year of Scottish Food and Drink, which is being strongly supported by Scottish Government, we have an ideal platform to promote our food for both home and export markets, which will allow us to meet those challenges.

“The implementation of the new CAP in Scotland will be difficult and we will have to work together to create opportunities for growth, instil more confidence within the industry and secure more investment in order to overcome these difficulties.

“We will rise to the challenge of being more competitive, but farmers need more transparency in markets and a willing consumer to help us.

“The competition in the supply chain within the UK is brutal, with retailers competing very strongly for customers.

“This in the short term gives a good deal for consumers, but puts severe financial pressure on farmers and processors. A more transparent supply chain and more equitable share of margins would help the farming industry compete in this intense competitive market.

“The role of the Grocery Code Adjudicator will be crucial in delivering a better working environment for direct suppliers to retailers to ensure the long-term sustainability of the agri-food sector, but I would like to see this extended all the way down the supply chain. The code in my mind should cover ‘from field to fork’.

“We have a very strong brand in Scotland and a UK/EU market on our doorstep, providing food for many millions of mouths, but we must be careful complacency does not creep in and we lose this advantage.

“Very strong marketing and working with others within the UK is needed to compete in export markets, but also, more importantly, to retain home consumers and displace imports.

“In addition, accurate labelling and robust provenance must be paramount and to their credit the Scottish Government is behind the industry on this.

“All I ask is that consumers have the same thoughts when they go shopping and try to imagine the real cost of food on the shelves, not the discounted price that encouraged them through the door.”

The predicted arrival of the year’s first barbecue weekend seemed to have passed us by, as we were subjected to the usual menu of wind and rain.

However, the signs of spring were much in evidence as I went out and about on Sunday.

Mammal movement seems to have increased, judging by the amount of casualties on our roads. Dead badgers seemed to be everywhere and the first crop of flattened hedgehogs was sadly much in evidence.

It was the last wildfowl count of the winter on Sunday and I was in for a pleasant surprise when I visited one of my designated local lochs. For many years now, coot numbers have inexplicably plummeted, not just on my patch, but across the Borders in general. No plausible explanation has come forward and it was extremely worrying that this once common water bird seemed to be on the way out. Sunday’s count however, yielded 22 individuals on this loch – the highest recorded there and two more than the previous record in 1994.

Let’s hope that this year’s breeding season goes well and numbers get back to where they once were. Other spring highlights of the weekend included a pregnant frog in my neighbour’s garden (heading I hope in the direction of my new garden pond), bird song gathering pace with newcomers such as skylark and yellowhammer joining the throng and the sight of my first spring lambs careering round a field near Legerwood.

Borders botanists, particularly those in the Hawick area, will be delighted to hear that a new softback book covering their locality, is about to be published – The Flora of Hawick Burgh. Amazingly, author Michael Braithwaite recorded 632 species of plant in 2014, which is a huge number for an inland town.

The town is split into eight habitats and the plants found in each are described and their location given, so that aspiring botanists can grab a field guide and go and look for them. It is wonderfully illustrated throughout with coloured pictures and maps, and for only a fiver including post and packing it is an absolute steal. You can get a copy by sending a cheque for £5 made out to Hawick Archaeological Society, to Michael Braithwaite, Clarilaw Farmhouse, Hawick TD9 8PT.

Or why not get one for only £4 by popping along to the society’s coffee morning in the Congregational Church, where copies will be available.

Changes to the Scottish climate could soon see the rise of a new species of supermidge with the potential to transmit disease to humans, according to industry experts.

Pyramid Travel Products say that the increased number of foreign species being found in Scotland could be bad news for agriculture, tourism, and even human health.

In Scotland, the most common form of midge bite comes from the Culicoides impunctatus species (better known as highland biting midge) which is responsible for 90 per cent of bites. Despite this, there are now more than 37 different species of midge known to exist across Scotland.

There has been increasing concern about other more aggressive species of midge being blown over from Europe, including Culicoides obsoletus. These species have been responsible for outbreaks of deadly Bluetongue and Schmallenburg virus in livestock.

Although these diseases are not communicable to humans, there are concerns that some midges have the potential to transmit disease in ways similar to mosquitoes, with research already under way to try to understand the changing dynamic.

Nicola Cameron from Pyramid Travel Products said: “Scots are used to dealing with the nuisance and discomfort caused by midge bites, but there are concerns that a new breed of supermidge could in time bring new problems, not confined to the usual discomfort associated with the Highland midge.

“With new species finding their way into our ecosystem, which can survive away from damper areas, research is underway to sequence the midge genome and try and establish the potential for diseases to be communicated.

“While the Highland midge is undoubtedly a pest, should a new species establish itself in Scotland with the potential to carry disease to humans, there could be an obvious impact for agriculture, tourism, and general health.”

During winter, midge larvae are found in damp areas such as at the sides of rivers and other boggy areas. Able to survive at temperatures of down to -10C, this year’s relatively mild winter, combined with wet weather close to the hatching season in May, could mean large midge numbers in spring/summer this year.

Our babies are growing fast. Sooooo fast, that folk can’t quite believe how much they are growing.

The Young Master and the Young Mistress are on Chickwatch morning and night.

They’d be at it noon as well – if it wasn’t for that dratted school (in the Young Master’s opinion) which purely exists (he thinks) to completely spoil kids’ days, and make them miserable.

We usually buy chick crumb in small, 5kg bags because although chicks are hungry things, they are quite wee, so they don’t actually – in comparison to an adult chicken – eat a huge amount.

But these chicks do. They eat not only their own bodyweight (well, it seems like it) but everyone else’s too.

At four weeks, they are feathering up nicely, just a few baldy bits here and there.

They are bold, inquisitive and – because they are being mithered, stroked and petted by a multitude of ankle-biters – possibly going to be the tamest chooks we have ever had.

That’s my clog in the photo, by the way, for scale you understand, I know it looks like someone fell in the pen and the chicks have eaten them, all bar one clog.

But I can assure you, no members of my family were hurt or injured in the making of that photo.

It’s incredible that within 56 days these cute wee eating machines will have eaten themselves so plump that they can be culled and go on to the supermarket shelves and butchers’ displays to be bought and made into a roast dinner.

That’s just a couple of months. Not even a full two months. Amazing.

But these are parent stock, the Edna Turnblads of the momma chick world.

Oh, that reminds me. What a fantastic production of Hairspray last week at the Gala Opera.

Great singing, great dancing and some truly fandabidozi wigs, which had their very own ‘Wig Mistress’, I see from the programme.

But I digress.

They (the chicks, that is, not the wigs) will hopefully grow up to be crossed with our eating boys (the La Bresse and Scots Grey cockerels) and become amply-padded mums to some nice, chunky chicks.

The trick will be to not letting them get too portly, or they’ll go off their legs.

One of the mums at school has just started up a Slimming World class, but I’m not sure chickens would be welcome.

I am sure our Scots Grey boy, Sergeant Murdoch, will keep them fit.

He’s running after all the hens just now, trying to ‘kiss’ them, says the Young Mistress.

Ah, the innocence of youth.

There have been six incidents involving weapons in the region’s primary schools over the last 15 months.

In making that revelation last week, Councillor Sandy Aitchison, executive member for education, admitted that Scottish Borders Council had no policies in place to specifically address the carrying of weapons in schools.

But he added: “Within the curriculum, pupil safety is of high importance and we also offer opportunities to pupils to participate in events, such as Safe T in the Park, where safety is the central focus.”

Responding to a question from Conservative opposition councillor George Turnbull, Mr Aitchison said: “Overall, we do not have high numbers of incidents involving weapons in our schools.

“Within our reporting framework we have, since December 2013, had one incident in secondary and six in primaries.”

Mr Turnbull also wanted to know about the level of vandalism in schools and what actions were in place to reduce the cost to the council.

Mr Aitchison said the council kept no specific records, but added: “Anecdotally, although vandalism is recognised as a problem, it is not considered to be a major issue.

“The level of vandalism in schools across the Borders seems relatively low compared to other local authority areas, particularly the large urban ones.

“CCTV has been in place for some years to cover some of the more vulnerable school premises and has been successful in catching and deterring the vandals.”

He added: “Pupils in all our schools are continually supported in becoming responsible citizens … schools use every opportunity to reinforce pupils’ understanding of their role within the community.”

Scottish Borders Council received some respite this week from criticism over its decision to cancel a multi-million pound waste management plant.

The facility, earmarked for Easter Langlee in Galashiels, was due to process 25,000 tonnes of residual waste from across the region each year and produce gas which would, in turn, be converted into electricity.

The council has chosen to scrap the 2011 contract with New Earth Solutions (NES) which was to have installed and operated the £23million advanced thermal treatment (ATT) plant after it emerged the firm had neither the technology nor funding in place to deliver the project.

Although there have been calls for an independent review of the way the deal was handled – and the £2million in preparatory work which the local authority has been forced to write off – the decision has been welcomed by a national environmental campaign group.

“We are glad the council took the time to re-evaluate this project in light of changing circumstances and hope other councils across the country will do likewise for their own incineration arrangements,” said UKWIN’s national co-ordinator Shlomo Dowen, pictured.

“The council was probably aware this sort of technology was risky, but might not have fully appreciated the true extent of that risk.

“Councils are often expected to make decisions about complex proposals without much in-house expertise and are therefore very reliant on outside consultants who might have little incentive to place the long-term interests of sustainable waste management at the heart of their advice.

“It is not uncommon for local authorities to regret entering long-term incineration contracts which can prove inflexible and overestimate the need for waste disposal capacity. To its credit, it seems SBC at least built mechanisms into the NES contract that allowed it to terminate without prohibitive financial penalties.”

He added: “There are many local authorities across the UK who would love to get out of their incinerator contracts, but who would need central government support to so.

“Various forms of advanced thermal treatment technology have been attempted for waste management and they have all faced difficulties, so it is not surprising there were concerns the technology would not work as advertised.”

UKWIN believes that the council should avoid all forms of incineration when drawing up its new integrated waste- management strategy.

“They should maximise recycling and composting, and look at how to increase the types of biowaste and recyclate they can collect and how to improve the quality of that material,” said Mr Dowen.

“They should avoid paying for new incineration capacity and ensure they are not overly committed to residual waste infrastructure.”