THE Eastgate Theatre in Peebles has landed a major coup and is anticipating a sell-out when Karen Matheson, the voice of Capercaille, appears in concert next Friday, June 15, at 7.30pm.

Matheson will perform songs spanning a remarkable career, from the unaccompanied airs which saw her deemed the Best Gaelic Singer in Scotland to the haunting, ethereal vocals which made Capercaillie a household name and saw her earn an OBE in the 2006 New Year’s Honours List.

Her last solo album Downriver was a simple, mainly acoustic affair, produced by Donald Shaw and featuring the likes of Donal Lunny, Ewen Vernal and the Scottish String Ensemble. Critics claimed it was the perfect platform for vocals that have stunned audiences throughout the world and introduced the Gaelic language to countless thousands.

Nine of the 11 songs were sung in Gaelic, with two penned by long-term collaborator James Grant who, himself, will be at the Eastgate tonight (Thursday).

With Capercaillie, Matheson, now 49 and hailing from Taynuilt, has enjoyed a stellar career and the band has sold more than a million albums and performed in over 30 countries. In 1995, they appeared in the movie Rob Roy, starring Liam Neeson, in which Matheson performed a moving solo rendition of a Gaelic lament.

As a solo performer, she appeared on the award-winning BBC television series Transatlantic Sessions, recording tracks with Emmylou Harris, The McGarrigle Sisters, Nanci Griffith and Rufus Wainright.

Matheson comes to Peebles on the back of yet another sell-out show at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections in January.

Tickets for the Eastgate show are £15. Call the box office on 01721 725777.

TWO Borderers who run an events and marketing company and have close links with the movers and shakers in the music industry are on the lookout for unsigned local bands to perform at a major festival, writes Andrew Keddie.

Selected acts will each get a 15-minute slot on the main stage at the inaugural Thistly Fest, which takes place in Dunbar on Saturday, July 28.

And Alex Howell, 22, from Peebles, who runs RAWK Music along with Gareth Anderson from Earlston, has confirmed that A&R executives representing major and independent record labels will be at the festival to check out the talent.

Alex, whose guitarist brother Rob founded indie sensations Come On Gang last year, told us: “We’ve made four acoustic slots available and I really hope that performers from the Borders, who get so few chances to showcase what they can do, will come forward.”

To be in with a chance of making the line-up, potential acts must upload what they think is their best track, along with their name, contact and a little biography to the drop box on the Thistly Fest Soundcloud by June 29.

The competition drop box is http:www.soundcloud.com/thistly-fest

“From the entries we receive, four favourite acts will be chosen to play on the day,” explained Alex, now based in Edinburgh. “A link to each band or artist will be placed on our official Facebook page and the running order will be decided by the number of ‘likes’ each track gets in the run-up to the festival.

“Musicians of any genre are welcome to enter the competition, although they should remember that, on the day, it has to be an acoustic performance.”

Alex, whose mother, Lucy Pappas, was a well-known promoter at Traquair Village Hall, has four years of experience in providing management, tour and technical support for a wide range of artists and companies, including Dewars Whisky and Thistle Cross Cider, sponsors of the Dunbar festival.

Gareth has a degree in public relations and in 2011 went on to set up his own company Pause Record, which provides tailored PR campaigns for musicians and events in the music sector both locally and nationally.

The one-day festival, which starts at 11am, has already confirmed a strong line-up of indie acts including Dan Wilson, aka Withered Hand, and Glenrothes-based garage four-piece Tango in the Attic.

Thursday, June 14

6pm: Mark Beaumont, FM, £13 (£11 concessions)

6.15pm: Liz Lochhead. SBBM, £9 (£7)

6.15pm: Dr John Reid, Lochcarron Marquee, £9 (£7)

7.30pm: Prue Leith, FM, £13 (£9)

7.45pm: Charles Glass with Rory Bremner, SBBM, £9 (£7); Katriona MacEwan, LM, £9 (£7); James Naughtie, FM, £13 (£11)

9.15pm: Iain Banks, SBBM, £9 (£7).

Friday, June 15

4.45pm: Simon Watt, SBBM, £9 (£7)

6pm: William Boyd, FM, £13 (£11)

6.15pm: Frank Close and Peter Higgs, SBBM, £9 (£7)

7.30pm: Sir David Frost with Rory Bremner, FM, £13 (£11)

7.45pm: James Holland, SBBM, £9 (£7)

9pm: Jeremy Vine, FM, £13 (£11)

9.15pm: Richard Holloway, SBBM, £9 (£7).

Saturday, June 16

1.30pm: Sir Walter Scott Prize, FM, £13 (£11)

3pm: Britain’s Best Historical Fiction, FM, £13 (£11)

4.30pm: Melrose Mastermind hosted by Sally Magnusson, FM, £13 (£11); Jennie Erdal, DCST, £9 (£7)

4.45pm: Jeremy Wade, SBBM, £9 (£7); Borders Writers’ Forum, LM, £9 (£7)

6pm: Hilary Mantel, FM, £13 (£11)

6.15pm: Kathy Lette, SBBM, £9 (£7); Tom Pow, DCST, £9 (£7)

7.30pm: Ian Rankin, FM, £13 (£11)

7.45: Andrew Miller, SBBM, £9 (£7)

9pm: Rory Bremner, Kirsty Wark and James Naughtie, FM, £13 (£11)

9.15pm: Chris Bookmyre, SBBM, £9 (£7).

Sunday, June 17

3pm: Tam Dalyell, FM, £13 (£11)

3.30pm: Vivien French: an introduction to writing for children, DCST, £5

4.30pm: Andy McNab, FM, £13 (£11)

4.45pm: Isla Blair, SBBM, £9 (£7); Exciting new voices in fiction, LM, £9 (£7)

6pm: Alastair Darling, FM, £13 (£11)

6.15pm: Patrick Gale, SBBM, £9 (£7); Allan Massie, LM, £9 (£7)

7.30pm: The Jewel in the Crown with Art Malik and Susan Wooldridge, FM, £13 (£11)

7.45pm: Ed Smith with Rory Bremner, SBBM, £9 (£7)

9pm: John Sessions, FM, £13 (£11).

Family festival

programme

Saturday, June 16

10.45am – Sir Charlie Stinky Socks with Kristina Stevenson, age 4-8, £5, SBBM.

11am – Write On! Writing competition awards, age 9 plus, free, LM

12noon – Dr Death and the Evil Medicine Show with Simon Watt, age 8-108, £5, FM

12.15pm – The Buttons Family Vivian French, age 3-7, £5, SBBM.

1.15pm and 2.15pm – Bookbug Rhyme Session, babies and under 35s, free, DCST.

1.45pm – Howlers, Blunders and Random Mistakery with Philip Ardagh, age 8-12, £5, SBBM.

1.45pm – Crafty Carvings Workshop, all ages, £3, LM.

3.15pm – Agatha Parrot with Kjartan Poskitt, age 6-10, £5, SBBM.

3.15pm – Walker Books Picture Book Picnic with Vivian French, age 3-6, £5, LM.

3.15pm – Storytime, all ages, free, DCST.

Sunday, June 17

12noon – Mercy Grinder and Fiddleduster Squint - Who Next? with Vivian French, age 8 plus, £5, FM.

12.15pm – Ping! with Chae Strathie, age 3-7, £5, SBBM.

12.15pm – Crafty Carvings Workshop, all ages, £3, LM.

1pm – Storytime, all ages, free, CDST.

1.30pm – Horrid Henry with Francesca Simon, families and age 6 plus, £5, FM.

1.45pm – Can You Write? with Eleanor Updale, age 8 plus, £5, SBBM.

2.15pm – Storytime, all ages, free, DCST.

3.15pm – The 13th Horseman with Barry Hutchison, age 9 plus, £5, SBBM.

3.15pm – Paper Pirates Workshop with Lucy Roscoe, age 6-10, £5, LM.

How to book

Online: www.bordersbookfestival.org

By email to boxoffice@bordersbookfestival.org

By telephone, 0844 357 1060 (Monday-Friday 10am -5pm).

By post to Borders Book Festival, Harmony House, St Mary’s Road, Melrose, TD6 9LJ

In person at box office marquee June 14-17, 10am-9.15pm.

WITH just a week to go until the start of the ninth annual Borders Book Festival, the star-studded event has received a major boost.

It was confirmed this week that investment fund management firm Brewin Dolphin, which has been the headline sponsor of the Melrose literary extravaganza since 2010, will continue in that role for the next three years.

“We are delighted to extend our sponsorship of the festival,” said Brewin Dophin’s divisional director Jonathan Tweedie. “We enjoy our association with the event tremendously and look forward to it each year.

“As it continues to grow in stature and its impact on the culture, economy and community spirit within this important area of Scotland further deepens, it increases our opportunity not only to build awareness of our company, but to engage directly with our clients, many of whom, like me, are avid book readers.”

This year, Mr Tweedie will take on an on-stage role, chairing a number of sessions and becoming a judge for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, which is a personal interest of his.

The sponsorship deal coincides with a new report from Bookfestival Scotland, the umbrella body for Scotland’s book festivals, which underlines the economic value of such events on their host communities.

The survey shows that, on average, 23 per cent of respondents stay overnight in the area when attending book festivals, with the average length of stay being 3.5 nights, and 71 per cent of respondents stay with local accommodation providers, such as hotels and B&Bs.

Mr Tweedie told us: “Brewin Dolphin is well known for its sponsorship of events such as the Scottish Schools Cup, which is well represented by rugby teams from the Borders.

“But we are also keen to develop further our association with the cultural life of the region. The Borders Book Festival, with its focus on great books and lively debate, provides the perfect opportunity for us to do so.”

Festival director Alistair Moffat told TheSouthern: “We are delighted to have the ongoing support and commitment of our title sponsor Brewin Dolphin, which supports us not just financially, but in a myriad of ways behind the scenes.

“The sponsors of the festival are not just supporting local cultural life, they are supporting the bringing of vital economic benefits to the region. Without our sponsors, the festival simply could not go on and a huge benefit to the region would be lost.”

Other sponsors of the festival, which takes place in the gardens of Harmony House from June 14 to 17, include the Ancrum-based Scottish Borders Brewery, which is also stepping up its sponsorship this year.

Brewery owner John Henderson commented: ”The Borders Book Festival provides a way for us to showcase our plough-to-pint real ales in the Borders and beyond as the event attracts visitors from across central Scotland and the north of England.

“Last year we received a fabulous response to the brewery concept and to our beers and even Sir Michael Parkinson and Rory Bremner enjoyed a pint.

“In 2012 we are increasing our support to sponsor a whole marquee, which provides us with far stronger branding and sales opportunities. We are also keen, as a local producer, to support an event that helps to put the Borders on the cultural map and highlights the area’s impressive literary credentials.”

Other businesses continuing to build their profiles through festival sponsorship include estate agents Knight Frank, which again sponsors the Family Book Festival on Saturday and Sunday, commercial law firm Davidson Chalmers, which sponsors the storytelling marquee and the Write On! Competition, and Jura Single Malt Whisky, the new backer of the £25,000 Walter Scott Prize this year.

Presentation of the prize, hosted by broadcaster and journalist Kirsty Wark, takes place in the main festival marquee on Saturday, June 16, at 1.30pm.

The festival also enjoys support from a wide range of local businesses, from chartered tax advisers Stark Main (Selkirk) and Brett Investment (Melrose) to Countryside Kitchens (Kelso) and The Square Vine (Melrose).

Just a few tickets left…

With an estimated 10,000 tickets sold, the festival site is sure to be a hive of activity, but there are still tickets left for a number of exciting events.These include:

• Adventurer Mark Beaumont (Festival Marquee, Thursday June 14 at 6pm)

• Novelist Andrew Miller (Scottish Borders Brewery Marquee, Saturday, June 16 at 7.45pm)

• Thriller writer Chris Brookmyre (Scottish Borders Brewery Marquee, Saturday, June 16 at 9.15pm)

• SAS hero Andy McNab (Festival Marquee, Sunday, June 17 at 4.30pm)

• Novelist Patrick Gale (Scottish Borders Brewery Marquee, Sunday, June 17 at 6.15pm)

• Former test cricketer Ed Smith, in conversation with Rory Bremner (Scottish Borders Brewery Marquee, Sunday, June 17, at 7.45pm)

November 1987 saw the first patients admitted to the new £30.5million Borders General Hospital.

Sixty residents moved in from Sanderson Hospital, Galashiels, on Tuesday the 24th, to be followed the next day by 30 from the town’s Knowepark Hospital. Both were closed.

The patients were ferried in ambulances and on hand to see them arrive was the chairman of Borders Health Board, Peebles solicitor John Gibb (foreground), and board administrator Bill Anderson (in black suit). The arrival was overseen by Sister Rita Beattie and also captured by TheSouthern photographer was rival Border Telegraph snapper Ian Niven.

Admission details were noted by Diane Keddie and Louise Scott in the hotel’s main corridor.

The hospital’s first patient, who arrived at 8.55am on the Tuesday, was 93-year-old Bill Frizzell from Walkerburn – the longest resident at Sanderson Hospital.

He was followed by Jessie Goodfellow, 96, from Galashiels, while the first patient to arrive from Knowepark was Elizabeth Clapperton, 86, also from Galashiels.

Another early patient was Doddie McCardle, 76, from Galashiels. And when he was told he could see Melrose cricket ground from his dayroom window, he retorted: “I’m no cricket fan.

“I’d rather have a week at the dentist’s. Give me football any day.”

The birth of the BGH saw the closure of cottage hospitals in Selkirk and Galashiels, despite spirited campaigns to keep them open. The wooden huts of Peel Hospital finally closed and Borders General Hospital was opened by the Queen in 1988.

– compiled by Bob Burgess

CAMERON’S, the only bakery still based in Selkirk, has received a royal boost which will help spread the word about the town’s most famous food export, writes Andrew Keddie.

The long-established business in High Street has been asked to provide eight of its award-winning Selkirk Bannocks for a special reception at the Trooping of the Colour next Saturday, June 16.

The event, to mark the Queen’s official birthday in this, her diamond jubilee year, will take place in Dover House, official London office of Scottish Secretary and local MP Michael Moore, who will host the reception.

The balcony of the house, built in the mid-18th century, offers spectacular views of Horseguards Parade in Whitehall and is the best vantage point to witness the marching of around 1,400 members from the seven regiments of the Household Division, including the Scots Guards and Coldstream Guards.

“It falls every year on the Scottish Secretary to host a reception of around 100 dignitaries, veterans and their families,” explained Mr Moore. “It is thus an ideal opportunity for me to promote Borders businesses and guests will be able to enjoy the delicious Selkirk Bannocks from Cameron’s, along with other foods from across Scotland.”

Colin Kay of Cameron’s said: “It’s a real shot in the arm for all our staff and our bakers in particular.

“Since we bought the business from Ian Galloway 18 years ago, we have tweaked the basic recipe of sweet bread dough and sultanas to suit customer tastes. Naturally, the exact recipe remains a closely-guarded secret.

“It’s one of our best sellers, delicious with butter or toasted, and we hope it will raise the profile of Selkirk among the VIPs.”

Selkirk baker Robbie Douglas is acknowledged as the inventor of the bannock at his bakery in Market Place in 1859.

In acknowledgement of the prestigious order, Colin is to send complimentary packets of another of Cameron’s popular products – shortbread fingers.

“Absolutely amazing and an experience I’ll never forget” – that was the excited reaction from young Earlston textile designer, Heather Sinclair, who was one of a select few to be invited to join the Queen and other members of the Royal family at the special diamond jubilee lunch in Westminster Hall on Tuesday.

Heather, 21, is a former pupil at Earlston High School and the daughter of local milliner, Karen Reid, and Lilliesleaf chef, Robert Sinclair.

She has just completed her honours degree course in textile design at Heriot-Watt University’s campus in Galashiels and it was her third year’s work with colour that won Heather a special award from the Worshipful Company of Dyers.

This is one of the London liveries which invited a total of 700 guests, representing the companies’ abundant trades and professions, and ranged from grocers and gunmakers to fruiterers and fishmongers.

As well as the monarch, the event was also attended by the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.

Heather, who was accompanied to London by her fiancée, Ryan Lumsden, and her fellow VIP lunchers, sat down to a mouth-watering menu of marinated Uist salmon with Lyme Bay crab, saddle of Welsh Cambrian lamb with braised shoulder of lamb, grilled Isle of Wight asparagus, Jersey royal potatoes and jubilee sauce.

This was all followed by a ‘symphony’ of dessert, comprising chocolate délice, bread and butter pudding and a berry compote with Sandringham apple sauce.

Interestingly, one of the beveridges available afterwards was Celyon tea, which came from a bush planted by the Duke of Edinburgh during a state visit to Sri Lanka in 1954.

Speaking just an hour after the lunch ended, Heather told us: “I received an email at the end of April from my tutor which just said: ‘lunch with the Queen’. I was a bit taken aback and it emerged that the invitation had come from the Company of Dyers and I was one of 10 people on its table at the lunch.

“I had received a special prize from them for my use of colour and dyed fabric in my third year’s work, which was wonderful.

“Then to be invited to travel to London for such an event as lunch with the Queen as well was just incredible.

“Our table was the one diagonally opposite the one the Queen was sitting at. My parents were really thrilled I got to attend – my mum’s already been texting and asking all about it.”

Prior to the lunch, Heather and Ryan had a tour of Dyers’ Hall, before her party were collected and transported to Westminster Hall. Unfortunately, partners were not invited, so poor Ryan had to eat his lunch solo in a nearby restaurant. “Yeah, he is a bit jealous I got to have lunch with the Queen!” Heather joked.

And this month is turning into quite something for the young designer, who graduates from university next week, and then will travel back to London at the end of the month to take part in an exhibition of work by new designers.

“June is amazing for me. So much is happening, it’s really busy. I haven’t made any progress on the jobs situation yet because things have just been so hectic at the moment – June’s turning out to be pretty full on.”

IMPROVEMENTS to Victoria Park are vital to Innerleithen, says the town’s community council chairman, George Brown.

A meeting between stakeholders was held last week to discuss the upgrading of the current facilities. Included in the project has been new drainage for Leithen Rovers’ pitch, after the surface was ruined last July following constant rain during the St Ronan’s Games Week celebrations, which include a funfair being sited on the park.

Among those at the meeting were Paul Graham, of Leithen Rovers, and funfair operator Owen Taylor.

Mr Brown said: “The community council sees these types of improvements as essential to the prosperity of the town. Games Week provides such a focus for the whole town and offers extra appeal to the visitors that choose to join us. The designation of Victoria Park as a Field in Trust is a most suitable gesture by the town to mark Queen Elizabeth’s diamond jubilee, effectively safeguarding the park in perpetuity.”

Other project work saw tree felling and replacement planting, access improvements, upgrade of public toilets and landscaping works. A new seating area is also being created and trees planted to commemorate the Fields in Trust initiative to mark the jubilee. A new perimeter fence has been erected around Vale of Leithen’s adjacent pitch, thanks to support from Scottish Borders Council’s criminal justice team.

WITH its many hills, rivers and lochs, the Borders is one of the most scenic areas of Britain.

But those features which make it so inviting are the same ones that can turn a fun day out into tragedy. Hills can become treacherous places in bad weather, while rivers and lochs, so inviting on a warm summer’s day, can lure the unwary to their deaths.

It was a spate of incidents during the 1990s, including the fatal crash when a fire engine smashed through the parapet of Kelso bridge and into the swirling waters of the Tweed below, that became the catalyst for the formation of the Borders Underwater Search Team.

Comprised of divers from the local sub-aqua club, the outfit has now built up a substantial bank of knowledge and expertise in searching for and retrieving missing people from local waterways.

Led since its inception by local diver and farmer David Fuller-Shapcott as team leader, it was formed in October 1997.

“Members of the Kelso Sub-Aqua Club collectively recognised the prospect of being able to do something useful and helpful to the community with our diving qualifications,” David said by way of explanation when asked about the team’s founding.

He revealed: “In fact, the team actually does very little diving in terms of submersible activity. We’ve done a little bit for the RNLI, but not very much. Mostly it is surface water searching. A typical search can involve, particularly here in the Borders, riverbank searches, and checking islands and caulds for missing people. Most of our work is related around missing persons – that’s our bread and butter work nowadays.

“What our diving qualifications and experience provides us with is in-water skills, in-water confidence and water dynamics knowledge if you like.

“It enables people to know what they can and can’t do. It enables people to recognise their limitations, which, of course, is very important.”

David went on: “Being able to operate a boat for instance, which is something we do in the diving environment. We’ve now got a second boat and can use these to get across to an island, put somebody on an island to search it or put first-aid people onto an island, or mountain rescue team people. Our boats are also capable of taking a stretcher.

“The second boat is a relatively new venture. We’ve only had that for about eight months now. We used to literally have to swim down the river, down each bank searching it, with the boat going down the middle of the river. Now more often than not we take a boat down each bank.

“You’re actually quicker and you get a better perspective of the bank from the extra height you get from being in the boat. It means you are looking across the water from above normal eye level. But water reflection can be a problem. If you get sun reflecting off the water, you can’t see into the water at all.”

Last year was the team’s busiest yet with seven call-outs. The average has tended to be four or five in previous years.

But that doesn’t take into account the number of times team members are put on stand-by.

David says of the occasions the team is called out, nearly half of those result in the actual location of a missing person. And although it may seem a relatively small number of call-outs, the team has actually saved two lives in the 15 years since its inception and recovered the bodies of a number of people.

David said: “Recovering a body is part of what we’re here for. A lot of what we do is repatriation to the family. In many cases it is usually someone, a vulnerable person, who has done away with themselves.

“And more often than not in the river they do succeed. It’s quite hard to save life if the person is that determined and goes into a river. “

But the rescuers have managed this feat also, saving someone who had become seriously hypothermic after jumping from the new Kelso bridge into the river.

“If someone has gone missing, being able to recover a body allows family to at least go on with the grieving process.

“All of us have what is termed ‘police forensic input training’ and therefore dealing with sensitive scenes is something we can do. Everyone is also first-aid qualified one way or another.”

A stand at a recent Kelso farmers’ market saw the team raise enough cash to fund one of the six swift-water rescue training places on a course to be completed this autumn.

With 12 volunteers, David says the team is always keen to recruit more people. The only caveat is that everyone has to be a qualified diver – even if their contribution to the team is mainly administration.

He went on: “People have to also be able to make a commitment to training throughout the year. It is not particularly arduous, but there is a commitment needed to be prepared to drop everything at a moment’s notice – day or night, weekend or working week – when there is a call-out.

“In saying that, however, the number of times that need people to drop everything during the working day is not huge. More often than not in the evening or at weekends. “

On the occasions when such a alert does happen it can result in incidents like that last year, where a Dutch woman went missing from near Bowhill, outside Selkirk.

“That meant three consecutive days searching the waterways around Bowhill. Then there was the guy who went missing about four years ago – we had four consecutive weekends searching the Tweed from Leaderfoot to Norham. That was a long stint.

“But you are part of a team – that’s the point. Every single volunteer doesn’t have to be available all the time. But you do need to make a commitment to training, which is evening or weekend.”

Kelso swimming pool is where the bulk of the training takes place and there is a requirement for people to be basically fit.

David stressed: “If you spend a day walking down a river, you’re going to need to be reasonably fit to do that. About three years ago, three of us did 10 miles in the water, in a day, and we were exhausted.

“The water was shallow and rocks were green and slimy, which meant you were constantly slipping. Not an easy thing to do that. Much easier to search in deep water than shallow. The risk of falling over is much higher in shallow water too.”

As team leader, David has to utilise his limited resources as best he can and that means knowing how to play to people’s strengths – “There are some people who are perhaps less fit, but more able at organising, or controlling or co-ordinating.”

With more than 180 years diving experience, and over 3,000 hours underwater between team members, the Borders unit is unique in the UK.

“We have been faced with some difficult jobs in the past, particularly in the recovery of bodies of children. That is very difficult, especially when you have kids of your own. But you just have to deal with it and get on with the job because people are depending on you.”

David and his colleagues are now mentally preparing themselves for the summer – when soaring temperatures can lure people into local lochs and rivers for a refreshing cooling off.

Sadly, some of those who do so may get into trouble or even lose their lives. Either way, the Borders Underwater Search Team will be there, ready to respond if needed and put themselves at risk for the sake of the rest of us.

And we Borderers should be thankful for that.

ST BOSWELLS

AT St Boswells Mart on Monday John Swan Ltd sold 96 clean cattle, 51 OTM cattle, 485 spring lambs and 209 ewes.

Bullocks (45) averaged 207.6p per kg (+0.3p on the week). Heifers (46) averaged 205.9p per kg (+3.7p on the week). Five young bulls averaged 176p per kg (n/c on the week) and 51 beef type OTM cattle averaged 154.4p per kg (+7.4p on the week).

The 485 spring lambs averaged 202.6p per kg, £84 41.5kg in weight (+13.1p on the week), including 227 37-41kgs averaging 206.7p, and 209 ewes averaged £82.06 (+£3.85 on the week).

Principal prices per kg: Wester Ulston 2.30 M/s WTS Forsyth and Sons, 2.20 M/s J Gilmour and Co Ltd; Lennoxlove 2.27 Denholm Meat Supplies; Bee Edge 2.26 (2) M/s TA Shaw and Malone of Edinburgh, 2.25, 2.20 M/s WTS Forsyth and Sons; Nisbet 2.26 Gosford Bothy Shop; Gospelhall 2.24 M/s R Pringle; Redden 2.21 M/s J Gilmour and Co Ltd; Low Middleton 2.21 M/s J Gilmour and Co Ltd; Cockburn 2.20 M/s TA Shaw, 2.19 M/s J Gilmour and Co Ltd; Lurdenlaw 2.20 (2) M/s Moor and Scotbeef; Faughhill 2.18 Charles Wilson Ltd.

Principal prices per head: Lurdenlaw £1476.80, £1472.75, £1469.70, £1445.35, £1438.20, £1430, £1419.

Cows per head: Kersknowe £1524.05, £1442.55, £1245.60; Tannage Brae £1411; Ecclaw £1344.35, £1185.35; Wolfstar £1323.45, £1127.25; Traprain £1235.80, £1157.65; Grasmiston £1230.15, £1222.65; Newton £1141.65; Snawdon £1109.85.

Cows per kg: Kersknowe 1.87, 1.77, 1.73; Mailingsland 1.81, 1.75, 1.71, 1.69;Grasmiston 1.77, 1.71; Over Newton 1.77, 1.69; Wolfstar 1.73, 1.67; Tannage Brae 1.70; Traprain 1.69, 1.67.

Bulls: Huntington £1570.80 (1.54p); Elmscleugh £1183 (1.40p)

Spring lambs per head: Suff.x;- £94 Primside, £90.50 Hyndsidehill (Ewan Fleming), Tex.x;- £92 Lochside, £91 Huntington, Suff;- £87 Shoestanes, Cha;- £83.50 Penston. Spring Lambs per kg: Tex.x;- 216.7 Headshaw. L, 211 Primside, Cha;- 210.8 Penston, Suff.x;- 205.4 Penston, 204.9 Headshaw. L.

Hoggs reached a top price of £83 for a pen of Texels from Southfield H.

Cast ewes: Suff;- £97,£87 Shoestanes, HB;- £95 Bonjedward Mill and Upper Bolton, Suff.x;- £95 Huntington, £93 Wormerlaw, Grizelrig and Upper Bolton, Tex;- £95 Wormerlaw, Bankhouse and Elmscleugh, £93 Bonjedward Mill, Huntington, Grizelrig and Symington Mains, CM;- £93, £89 Elmscleugh, GF;- £81 Bonjedward Mill, Grizelrig, Elmscleugh, Greenend and Nether Howden.

Rams: Tex;- £95 Wormerlaw, Bankhouse and Elmscleugh, £93 Bonjedward Mill, Huntington, Grizelrig and Symington Mains, Suff.x;- £97 Symington.

WOOLER

AT their weekly Primestock Sale held at Wooler last Wednesday John Swan Ltd had forward and sold 232 lambs, 33 hoggs and young sheep and 120 ewes.

Lambs were in keen demand with all classes giving vendors greater returns than early week markets, numbers coming forward but more needed for buyers requirements.

Leading prices, lambs per head:- Suff.x:- £87 Holy Island, £83.50 Treaty Park, £81 Holy Island, £80 Chesterhill. Bel.x:- £87, £85.50, £85, £81, £80 Chillingham Home Farm. Tex.x:- £85, £83 Holy Island, £82.50 Shotton, £82 Holy Island, £81.50 Newstead, £81 West Longridge, £80 Treaty Park and West Longridge.

Leading prices, lambs per kilo:- Bel.x:- 228.6p, 218.9p, 218p, 208.5p, 202.3p Chillingham Home Farm. Tex.x:- 205.3p Shotton, 205.1p Treaty Park, 200p West Longridge.

Hoggs, young sheep per head:- £77 Black Heddon, £76 Holy Island, £75 Mindrum Farming Co.

Hoggs, young sheep per kilo:- 144.8p Elwick.

Ewes in keeping with easier trends.

Ewes:- Suff.x:- £96, £89 Lilburn Estates, £90 Mindrum. Tex.x:- £88 Black Heddon, £84 Elwick. BFL:- £80 East Haugh Farm. Mule:- £80 Hoppen Hall.

Rams:- Suff.x:- £85 Mindrum.

THE Glorious Twelfth is usually associated with shooting grouse, not racing sheep, writes Sally Gillespie.

It’s no joke – there are perhaps enough sheep and farmer jokes – there really will be sheep racing in Moffat on August 12.

A local shepherd will train the woolly athletes. Local businesses are sponsoring the six runs,which will be followed by a seventh to find the overall champion. And local farmers, one imagines, will be queuing up to offer the services of their zippier ovines.

The town’s first sheep racing event is the brainchild of the Moffat Promotions Group.

The group’s Thomas Macdonald said: “It fits in well with the sheep farming and wool production history in the south of Scotland.”

The sport is very popular in the south of Britain, he said, adding: “The races will attract visitors to Moffat for a fun family event.”

People will be able to bet on the galloping sheep and money raised will go towards the town.

Mr Macdonald said: “Advice from animal welfare, vets and organisers of similar events has been sought to ensure that the event will run correctly.”

He has not so far mentioned counselling for the shepherd.

Other events planned for the week before the races include films with sheep connections and the children’s television series, Shaun the Sheep.

“Local cafés and restaurants are being asked to consider lamb or mutton-inspired menus, and musical events are being planned. Other events could be a wool fashion show and demonstrations on weaving,” said Mr Macdonald.

“There will be entertainment in the High Street, a children’s sheep fancy dress parade and possibly children’s rides.

“Perhaps Moffat could knit the biggest woollen sweater in the week leading up to the races and get a place in the Guinness Book of Records? The day and the events leading up to it promise to be fun, exciting and something very different.”

Anyone wanting to get involved should contact the group by email at moffatpromotionsgroup@visitmoffat.co.uk or phone 07740 868049.

Not for the first time in farming we have a difference of opinion between those who see any new legislation as expensive red tape and those who think that what looks like a problem could actually be used to their advantage.

I mean the “this one will run and run” argument about electronic ear-tag identification (EID) of individual sheep. When the EC announced plans for electronic tags for every sheep several years ago it inspired a 10,000-signature protest, led by Borders sheep farmers. In spite of that, and as expected, the new rules were introduced. Now, two years into EID and after some minor concessions on the grounds that many sheep never leave the farm they are born on until slaughter, efforts continue for further relaxation. The most recent was the trip to Brussels last week by representatives of all four UK farmers’ unions, and the Irish union, with backing from farmers’ organisations in other EU countries, to have the rules simplified further.

Rob Livesey, NFU Scotland’s livestock committee chairman and a Borders farmer, said: “The backing given to us by the majority of sheep-keeping nations across Europe helps heap pressure on the commission for reform of the regulation sooner rather than later.”

One problem for anti-EID protesters is that the UK, particularly Scotland, has the biggest average size flocks. In many EU states, flocks are small and the problems of dealing with a few dozen sheep to be electronically tagged is quite different from dealing with several thousand sheep on a Scottish hill.

But, said Mr Livesey, it was clear from recent meetings that sheep farmers across Europe, large scale or small, dislike the EID rules: “The list of issues is growing and many more in the EU now share our worries about animal welfare problems, cross-compliance penalties” – that is, possible loss of subsidy for not meeting the EID rules – “and problems with the tags themselves.”

Anti-EID protesters insist that the tagging rules for sheep born and retained for life in one ownership cause problems while adding nothing to traceability and disease control measures – the commission’s reason for introducing the legislation. Sheep should only need to be tagged, say protesters, if and when they leave the farm they were born on.

Protesters also claim that the EID system is not, and probably never can be, 100 per cent accurate and reliable. The result is that when cross-checks are made on subsidy claims, farmers can be penalised for mistakes caused by technology.

Manual reading rather than electronic reading for large numbers of sheep is, they say, not feasible. Nor is it necessarily 100 per cent accurate. What is needed, they say, is a simple, workable system that allows for less than 100 per cent accuracy.

As the comedian Al Read used to say long ago: “They’ll be lucky, I say, they’ll be lucky,” to get much change out of the commission. But it won’t stop the farmers’ unions trying, using, in my opinion, a lot of time, effort and money that could be better used for other purposes. Then again, as has been pointed out to me several times, I’m not running a flock of several thousand ewes. However, I would argue that among those who are running large flocks and successful sheep businesses, some are using individual identification and recording to improve management, performance and profits – in much the same way, it might be said, as those who have been recording sheep performance for many years using other methods.

It must make sense to get as much objective information as possible about sheep in a flock rather than relying on subjective impressions and who gets top price at St Boswells mart on a Monday.

It has been proved that electronic tagging and recording can do that and at Scotsheep this week in Ayrshire, Quality Meat Scotland’s sheep strategy group was encouraging farmers to at least try to use the system to their advantage.

Kathy Peebles, QMS livestock development manager, said of the meetings she plans for sheep farmers throughout Scotland over the next few months: “Sheep farmers need to overcome their fear of EID technology to help identify good performers in their flock and to identify which EID reader does the job you want it to do.”

EID and a good reader make it possible to trace the performance of a lamb from birth to slaughter, providing valuable information that can be used to plan and improve overall flock performance.

Response to the QMS initiative will be interesting. But did anti-EID protesters picket the QMS stand at Scotsheep? I’m waiting to hear.

And will June weather be as variable as that of May and April? It didn’t make a great start over the Jubilee weekend. That didn’t seem to dampen the spirits of the Royalists among us although it probably didn’t do much to raise the spirits of farmers.

THERE is a lot of work to be done before the new Scottish Rural University College (SRUC) comes into existence ahead of the autumn intake of new students.

That was the view of Nigel Miller, National Farmers Union Scotland president – who farms at Stagehall near Stow – on the decision to merge four of the country’s agricultural colleges.

The boards of Barony, Elmwood and Oatridge Colleges and the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) last month announced their formal agreement to merge and create the SRUC, which will come into existence on August 1, after approval by the cabinet secretary.

The announcement follows consultation and planning among the college partners, their staff, students and stakeholders.

SRUC will be the first university college in Scotland and its partners have appointed SAC’s chief executive and principal, Professor Bob Webb, as chief executive and principal.

Mr Miller said: “The future foundation of Scotland’s land-based sector is largely dependent on the quality of education that we can provide to the coming generations. SRUC will, in a few short months, become the main platform for delivering that education.

“There will be a lot of work to do for SRUC to come into existence ahead of the new autumn intake. The August 2012 start date and the speed that the merger is taking place at are both ambitious, and we will keep in touch with SAC and the colleges at Barony, Elmwood and Oatridge through the summer to see how plans are progressing.

“The creation of SRUC dovetails with the proposed new Scottish strategy for further education in agriculture. This new structure will have a big role to play in setting the strategy and determining funding.

“However, other local colleges with land-based courses should also be involved in that strategy process so that all the educational requirements for the sector can continue to be met and properly funded in the future.”

While none of the colleges involved have campuses in the Borders, many local farmers attended one themselves or may have children or relatives currently studying there.

SAC has campuses in Edinburgh, Ayr and Aberdeen, while Barony’s campus is at Dumfries; Elmwood’s at Cupar and Oatridge at Broxburn, West Lothian.

The four partners believe the merger presents a unique opportunity to combine and enhance their valued strengths. Their vision is of a dynamic and successful approach to higher and further education, high quality research and consultancy provision within a single, integrated organisation.

Financial due diligence will be finalised over the coming weeks and a shadow board, with representatives from all of the colleges, is being set up to drive progress ahead of August 1.

Andy Robb, chairman of the merger partnership board, commented: “SRUC will bring together the features of four very successful colleges in their own right. It will be the first fully integrated tertiary education, research and consultancy institution for the rural and land-based sectors in Europe.

“We are very excited about the fact that, for the first time in Scotland, learners and stakeholders will have comprehensive and integrated expertise available to them for the full range of skills, training, education, research and business support.”

Wired and Yob-Byp recently held a media training day introducing young people to how the media works, held at Langlee Community centre in Galashiels. It lasted around five hours and consisted of four workshops.

These were an introduction to what Yob does and how to start off writing an article.

There was also a Wired workshop introducing what they do and how to do interviews. Vomo (Voice Of My Own) is a short film company and we learned about the different types of films from adverts to feature films, and also what our guest speaker did as a director.

Finally there was the photography workshop; this consisted of trying to take a good picture and how to do simple editing of the images to improve them.

The benefits of the training day ranged from just getting a simple taster session of each area to getting the opportunity to join one or more of the organisations you were interested in.

As a Yob reporter who was helping out, I was pleased to see the great turnout as just a year ago I was one of those who turned up on the day. Even though I was helping, I still managed to go around the workshops and learn even more stuff about the media.

If you would like to learn more about media savvy or any of the organisations involved contact sjfarquharson@scotborders.gov.uk or visit www.youngscot.org/local/scottish-borders.

Steven Rattray

The Millennium Garden, at the heart of Galashiels Academy, was created in 2000 to commemorate the lives of pupils and staff who have died whilst at the school.

Over the years, however, attention to its upkeep has been fitful as staff and pupils faced up to increasing work-loads. As a result, this year a number of people in the school felt the time had come to give it some additional TLC.

A new group was created by the Support for Learning Department, to do just this: Shaun McLeod, Glenn McPherson, Darren Thomson, Corey Sinclair, Joanne Nicol and Daniel Dale, supported by Mrs Blaikie and Ms Robertson, put on their gardening wellies and set to work.

Their efforts will not only enhance the attractiveness of this area of the school but will help pupils achieve their Access 2/3 Managing Environmental Resources qualification-gardening.

We have called ourselves Galashiels Garden Group. The pupils had to identify an area to improve and decided that the Millenium Garden needed spruced up and that we would try to create an area where we could grow fruit and vegetables as well. These will be used to cook healthy meals and snacks.

The group applied for money from Youth Chex and were awarded nearly £500 which paid for a green house and some new garden tools.

So far the group has created the new vegetable plot, cleared tons of rubbish and overgrown bushes, and revamped one of the memorial beds. Helen Jeffery of Inspirations at Early Vale, a former pupil has been working with the group and will be drawing up planting plans for another bed.

Helen has also offered advice on how to revamp the pond which has become congested – this is a very big project and the group are planning to seek help from the Beechgrove Garden.

RECENTLY myself and the Wired team hopped on a minibus and headed to Glasgow, dressed to the nines in order to attend the Young Scot Awards for which we were nominated.

The award ceremony was held at the Hilton Hotel and played host to some of Scotland’s most inspiring young children as well as a few famous faces!

The night started off with a delicious three-course meal – including a ball of sugar for pudding! – before we were given some time to rub shoulders with our favourite TV stars.

Zoe, one of our presenters got especially excited to get her picture taken with Richard Grieve from Emmerdale, while Ryan got his with the members of Twin Atlantic, which obviously left their friends fuming!

We were nominated in the ‘Community’ category alongside David Stuart and Graeme Black, and MSYP, but sadly lost out to David. However, he was very deserving of the award.

The rest of the night saw equally inspirational people come up to collect their awards, all of them with stories that deserve to be shared.

The only negative was that there weren’t enough awards to go around! Liam Turnball, another one of the presenters, said: “It was amazing to meet so many inspiring people. Everyone did amazing and it was the highlight of my year!”

And as well as the awards, the entertainment was top notch, with performances from Twin Atlantic and the 2010 X-Factor winner, Matt Cardle. Both were absolutely amazing and Twin Atlantic even picked up a surprise award during the ceremony for their music.

Erin McNeill was the biggest winner of the night and she picked up the Young Scot 2012 award. She is a burns survivor from Clackmannanshire and was also awarded the ‘Sunday Mail Readers Award’ after she raised more than £60,000 for the fire men and women who rescued her from a house fire three years ago. We here at Wired give our congratulations to her and her courageous attitude!

Fourteen awards, three courses, 39 nominees and a lot of posed pictures later we were back on the bus and heading home.

Although we never got a picture with Matt Cardle, the Young Scot Awards were a brilliant success and definitely one of our favourite experiences.

Eilidh Jones

Galashiels Academy

A THREE-month public consultation on the main issues report in the Borders development plans ends on June 25.

The report sets out how the local authority plans to handle issues such as housing, the economy, retailing and green spaces over the next decade.

It also contains views on the provision of new housing sites and how the forthcoming rail link with Edinburgh can be best maximised.

Councillor Ron Smith, Scottish Borders Council’s executive member for planning and the environment, said: “I would encourage the community to get involved in this part of the planning process because the plans we make now will be used in the future to determine planning applications and to bring forward new land for development. Clearly, the more responses we receive the easier it will be to provide a plan better suited to the needs of the people of the Borders.”

To find out more visit www.scotborders.gov.uk/ldpmir or check Scottish Borders Council’s Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/scotborders (#devplan)

SAFETY is always vital when around water and Borderers are being reminded by Scottish Water to be extra cautious during hot weather when there is the temptation of cooling down in local rivers, burns and reservoirs, writes Flora Colton.

Peter Farrer, of Scottish Water, said: “While it’s important that people enjoy the good weather and take pleasure in the country’s beautiful lochs, rivers and reservoirs, it’s also vital that they stay safe.

“We don’t want to spoil anyone’s fun, but we are reminding parents to keep their children safe, and asking adults to act responsibly around watercourses.”

David Walker, leisure safety manager at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), said: “In previous years, the number of accidental drownings inland has peaked during hot spells.

“We want people to be out and about enjoying the weather and ideally swimming at properly-supervised sites, such as the swimming pool.”

On Saturday, a 23-year-old man, Nicholas Smith, died after jumping into a waterfall at a Glasgow park.

Each year, there are more accidental drowning deaths in inland waters than in any other types.

In 2010, there were 420 water-related deaths from accidents or natural causes across the UK, more than half (217) occurred in inland waters such as rivers, canals, lakes, lochs, reservoirs and ponds.

For more information on water safety, phone Scottish Water’s customer helpline 0845 601 8855 or go to www.scottishwater.co.uk/takecare

AFTER the jubilee beacons comes the flame of the Olympic Torch. Day 27 of its 8,000 mile journey through the UK on its way to London brings it to the Borders next Thursday.

From Edinburgh to Alnwick it will pass through Eddleston (approx 11.11am), Peebles (11.22), Innerleithen (11.53), Walkerburn (12.04pm), Selkirk (12.34), Galashiels (1.16), Earlston (2.29), Gordon (2.53), Greenlaw (3.07), Duns (3.29), Chirnside (4pm) and Foulden (4.21).

The flame will be ferried in a transport convoy but carried through the communities by a relay of torch bearers.

The route through Peebles is from Edinburgh Road on to Innerleithen road.

At Innerleithen, the torch will pass through the town that each summer hosts the oldest organised sporting meeting in Scotland – the St Ronan’s Border Games, instituted in 1827. A host of events are planned to mark the relay run. Local school pupils will be joined by those from Redhall School in Edinburgh.

The torch arrives in Selkirk on the eve of the town’s Common Riding and will be welcomed by Royal Burgh Standard Bearer Gavin Henderson and Provost Les Millar. It will be carried from Lingle Road, across the Ettrick, up Yarrow Terrace, the Green and the West Port to the Market Place. Runners will take it down Ettrick Terrace on its journey to Galashiels.

In Galashiels the torch will be carried from the Public Park to Gala Fairydean FC’s ground at Netherdale where it will be greeted by 2,000 schoolchildren. The Netherdale event lasts from 12.30pm to 2pm and the torch will be carried into the field by a mystery VIP.

At Earlston the flame will be carried along the A68 and on to the High Street heading for Gordon and its journey through Berwickshire and onwards to England.

A Final Flame fun night takes place in the Volunteer Hall, Galashiels from 7pm organised by some of the bearers but open to all. Look out for posters with details.

CHOCOLATE and bacon or pear cider? These were the two fine contenders vying to win The Southern Reporter Jubilee Cupcake Challenge which closed on Monday, writes Sally Gillespie.

It was tough: chocolate is always a winner and of course, alcohol and hacks go together like coffee and whisky. Nevertheless, we Southern reporters and subs rallied to eat and judge our colleagues’ entries.

Sub Kevin Janiak came up with his special pear cider variety with mauve icing and pink sprinkly bits on the top. If you didn’t catch his video on how to produce these unique additions to the baking spectrum, see it now on our Facebook page.

Secret weapons: securing Mark Entwistle’s vote by using free range eggs from the Entwistle smallholding, and including a cute kitty in his vid.

The boss got my vote before she’d even cracked open the posh cooking chocolate. Inspired by BBC telly chef Simon Rimmer, editor Susan Windram rustled up some fluffy chocolate and bacon delights. She took a rather more conventional approach to icing (chocolate buttercream) than Kevin and topped them with pancetta. See the creative process on our Facebook page.

Secret weapons: taking care of our arteries by ruthlessly weeding out the fat bits from the pancetta, wearing a pinny and saying out loud what we all know: that the only reason to bake is to lick the bowl.

When the tally-up came, we received 57 votes from somebody called Kevin voting for Kevin Janiak and an honourable email from Susan saying she thought she and Kev should abstain. There was serious discussion in the newsroom, mostly centred on how we could keep them baking...

The official line is: “Following consideration, the balance just tilts in Susan’s favour but reporters particularly want to encourage Kevin to continue with his innovative baking.”

There were other cupcakes (mine) but I was on holiday last week and had got rid of the evidence by Monday... Cooking makes me nervous and following a sleepless night I started “baking” in my friend’s house at 5am on Friday.

After 10 minutes hard labour with a wooden spoon, the lumps were down to the size of strawberries. Pretty in their dotted cases, my cupcakes only had to be in the oven 10-15 minutes and, I’m not sure know how, but I completely forgot them.

Undeterred, I thought: ‘Patriotic icing will swing it.’ Hours later they stood resplendent, adorned with, among other motifs a collapsed crown, and a red dog poo.