The number of house fires in the Borders rose by 36% from April to December last year.

In that nine-month period, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) attended 82 such blazes, compared to 60 in the corresponding period of 2014.

And in the final three months of 2015, there were 26 dwelling fires, compared to 19 in the last quarter of the previous year.

The region’s largest Scottish Borders Council ward – Galashiels and District – was responsible for most domestic fires, with 16 recorded over the nine months, up from 12, followed by East Berwickshire (13) and Hawick and Hermitage (11).

In a report prepared for tomorrow’s meeting of the council’s Police, Fire and Rescue and Safer Communities Board, local senior fire officer (LSO) Alasdair Perry says 7% were started deliberately.

Councillors will hear that 80% of the accidental house fires originated from cooking and cooking appliances, that 25% involved people aged over 65 and that 50% took place in single occupancy houses.

The increase comes despite SFRS targeting a reduction in dwelling fires by 10% in its local plan for the Borders.

LSO Perry also reports that two of the brigade’s other priorities – reducing by 10% the number of fatal and non-fatal injuries and the number of deliberately-set fires – were also not met between April and December.

During that period, 15 casualties were recorded, compared to just six in the corresponding period of 2014, including one fatality in June when a 61-year-old man died while converting an unoccupied property at Nenthorn near Kelso.

And there were 89 instances of deliberate fire setting, up 11 on the same period of 2014, typically involving grassland, refuse or derelict buildings.

“Evidence shows there is a close link between deliberate secondary fires and antisocial behaviour,” admitted LSO Perry.

Again, the bulk of deliberately set fires occurred in Galashiels and District with 17, followed by Tweeddale East (16) and Tweeddale West (13).

The board will hear that the brigade responded to 1,187 incidents over the nine months, up 56 on the same reporting period of 2014, and that 52% of all calls – 617 – were the result of unwanted fire alarm signals (UFAS).

The failure of alarm systems accounted for 436 of these incidents, while another 153 calls were made in good faith.

Scottish Borders Council has declined to confirm that it has downscaled controversial plans to outsource its 80-strong IT department to a private company.

It is understood that 18 members of that workforce, mostly employed as systems administrators, will remain “in-house” and that the transfer of the others, if agreed by councillors later this month, will not take place until September.

It is nearly a year since a report commissioned by SBC deemed the department unfit for purpose and recommended it should be outsourced by October last year.

The report caused consternation among SBC staff and their union representatives, not least because it was carried out by the City of Edinburgh Council which, at the time, was looking to replace BT as its IT provider.

A union source said: “As a result of our negotiations with SBC and the concerns of staff, it has been agreed that 18 members of the IT department should not be part of the transfer and should remain in-house and that the outsourcing of the service for the remainder has been put back to September.”

Asked to comment, a spokesperson for SBC told us: “A report will be taken to a full council meeting shortly regarding the IT review when a decision will be sought regarding the future of the council’s IT provision.”

Seasoned ornithologists and newcomers to the joys of birdwatching will descend on the Borders next month for the annual Scottish Birdwatchers’ Conference.

Jointly run by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the Scottish Ornithologists’ Club (SOC), the one-day event, expected to attract 200 delegates, will be held for the first time in the Eastgate Theatre and Arts Centre, Peebles, on Saturday, March 19.

Split into four sessions, the conference has the theme ‘Exploring change in Scottish Borders Birds’ and features a range of expert speakers including Ray Murray and Mark Holling of the South-East Scotland Atlas Group who will reveal the winning and losing breeds in the most recent “citizen survey” of birds in the Lothians and Borders, containing a database of over 180,000 entries.

Chaired by Ian Thomson, Scottish Ornithologists’ Club president, the conference will have a section devoted to raptors with talks on the return of the Borders Ospreys (Tony Lightley, Tweed Valley Osprey Project), merlins in the Lammermuirs (Alan Heavysides of the Lothian and Borders Raptor Study Group) and urban sparrowhawks (Mike Thornton and Amy Challis, Scottish Raptor Monitoring Scheme).

Book online on www.the-soc.org.uk before February 28; £32 per person, under-25s and students at £15.

Plans for a 12 turbine extension to Fallago Rig wind farm in the Lammermuirs are now with the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit.

Scottish Government has responsibility for considering the application because of the scale of the energy production proposed and the views of all consultees which include Scottish Borders Council, will be taken into account before a decision is reached.

After a year of public exhibitions and consultation, wind farm operators EDF has reduced the number of 126.5m high turbines from 17 to 12, all consultees have had another chance to comment and it will now be up to the Scottish Government whether or not the extension gets the go ahead.

When the first Fallago Rig wind farm application was being discussed Scottish Borders Council objected to the 62 turbine development, and after two public enquiries and a reduction in turbines to 48 it eventually received planning consent in 2011 and became operational two years later.

Responding to this extension Scottish Borders Council’s supports the application but asks officials to be mindful of the fact that the extension includes land to the east and west of the existing wind farm “which SBC could originally not support’.

Lammermuir Community Council’s response was: “The existing effects of wind farms on this landscape and community council are significant and the pressure of emerging proposals intense,” adding that their response is informed by their understanding of the current Fallago Rig wind farm, other wind farms in the landscape and knowledge of the local landscape and how it is used.”

bowden

Community cafe

The next community café will meet in the village hall at 11am on February 17.

Caddonfoot

Parish church

It was a special day for the Bird family, of Clovenfords, at morning service on Sunday. Catriona Bird was ordained as an elder while daughter Alex was confirmed as a member of the church. Minister Elspeth Harley conducted the service. The Bible reading was performed by Mrs Bird. Music was led by Andy Bird and tea/coffee, under the auspices of John and Irene Bruce, served afterwards. Subscriptions, priced £24, are now due for Life & Work and can be paid to Joyce Brown before the end of February. Bible study starts on February 17, from 7.30-8.30pm at the manse when members will be able to discuss the following Sunday’s readings.

cappercleuch

AGM

At Cappercleuch Hall AGM, the outgoing committee stayed on for another year. Elected were – chairman, Clive Whittingham; secretary, Jo Whittingham; treasurer, Lisa Stephenson; vice-chairman, Mike Critchlow. During 2015, thanks in great part to a grant from SEE Langhope Rig Wind Farm Community Fund, the hall roof had been replaced, but covering the whole cost had reduced funds considerably. Fundraising efforts will get off to a start with a quiz night on March 18.

earlston

Parish church

The February 14 service at 10.15am will be conducted by the Reverend Julie Woods. The trustees meet the following day at 7.30pm in the

church hall lounge for the approval of accounts.

galashiels

Studio club

On February 18, the studio club is running a workshop, “Watercolour Backwards”, by Neil Wood in Old Gala House from 7.30-9.30pm. New members welcome. More information on 01896 820023.

U3A

The next meeting of The Three Brethren U3A will be held on February 15 in Gala Rugby Club, Netherdale, at 2pm. There will be a presentation by Peter Jack, entitled “Bees and Beekeeping”.

Probus club

The latest meeting was held in the Kingsknowes Hotel and attended by 58 members. Ruth McDonnell, from Scottish Borders Council neighbourhood services waste and recycling section, said her colleagues’ aim was to reduce, reuse, recycle, create energy and landfill. Members learned that landfill waste costs Borderers £84 per tonne in a tax to central government and is therefore only used as a last resort. Glass is sent to Bonnyrigg and turned into glass fibre, paint, flooring and glassware. Food waste is turned into soil enhancer and sold to farmers. Many white goods are given a functional and safety check at Walkerburn and then reused. Batteries contain both toxic material and valuable metals, but only 27% of those sold in the region are recycled, although any retailer selling batteries must provide a recycling bin at point of sale. Textiles are sent to Falkirk and then recycled overseas. Although the gardening waste collection had to cease to save money, composting bins are available free on demand. Methane gas is extracted from the landfill site at Easter Langlee which is due to close in 2017 and its replacement will not be in the Borders. Finally, the council carries out a strict audit of the final destination of all waste materials. The next meeting will be on Thursday, February 11, and features Oliver Eade on “Around the World in 50 Minutes”.

Trinity church

Minister Elspeth Harley led Sunday’s service with Dorothy Howden leading music. The Bible lessons were read by Margaret Tancock. There was a retiral collection for the Benevolent Fund. The guild coffee morning on Saturday raised £300. Bible study starts on February 17 at 7.30pm in the manse. This will take the form of a relaxed informal session and will be especially beneficial to those not used to doing Bible study or have doubts and questions.

Rotary

Rotarian Ruth Collin gave her Job Talk. She was brought up to believe in working for the community and this has been clear in her various jobs over the years. She trained as a librarian and worked in children’s libraries and schools, promoting literacy in some imaginative ways. She then started to work at Home Basics in Walkerburn as manager, supporting volunteers and promoting the role of the company in collecting donated furniture and working electrical goods for redistribution to people on means-tested benefits. This led to Ruth’s current job as waste and recycling adviser to Scottish Borders Council where she promotes the message of “reduce, reuse, recycle” through working with domestic customers and giving talks and advice. Stewart Bell gave a talk on “Why Take the Risk”, explaining how easy it is to lose personal and business information through cybercrime. He emphasised the need for secure password protection on all devices, from mobile phones to computers and that everyone should be aware of sharing too much personal information on social media or websites.

Hawick

Rotary

At a business meeting last week under the chair of president Mairhi Trickett, among the items discussed was the foundation committee’s Lottery bonus ball project which had accrued £516 for Rotary’s End Polio Now project. Mock interviews had been held at the high school to assist students in preparing for interviews in their adult life. A quiz will be held in the Catholic hall on February 12 and teams can enter on the night. Any money made will go to financing a place on the Rotary Youth Camp in Perthshire in July. The candidate has already been chosen – High school student Klauda Salamonska from Denholm. The club is seeking new members and anyone (man or woman) interested should come along to Thorterdykes Roadhouse any Thursday at 7pm.

Camera club

Last week members headed for Kelso Camera Club for the annual digital battle between Hawick, Kelso and Liddesdale Clubs. As usual, the standard of images was very high. Judge was Ron Bell of Galashiels Camera Club. Kelso emerged as victors on 250 points, Hawick a close second on 247 and Liddesdale third on 211 points.

The next meeting is the biannual visit of Hawick Film and Video Group.

Rugby Memories Club

Philiphaugh came to Mansfield Park at the February gathering of Hawick Rugby Memories Club. Guest speaker was Selkirk stalwart, broadcaster and journalist John Smail. Alongside a collection of old rugby photographs from his Southern Reporter days, the former editor revived memories with nostalgic recordings of Borders rugby greats he taped for Radio Borders. One of the clips was with Jim Renwick, who will be guest speaker at the next meeting at 2.30pm on Thursday, March 3.

HOBKIRK

Ba’

Monday saw the annual playing of Hobkirk ‘Ba when a large turnout of players ensured a tough battle between the Uppies and the Doonies. Play started around 4pm and lasted until well after dark when the Uppies managed a hard-earned victory of 4 hails to 2. Highlight of the day’s play was when Willie Amos showed he still had the ability to smuggle the ‘ba, hailing the 3rd – more than 70 years after playing in his first ‘ba game. Donors and hailers: Mr & Mrs L. Cowell, wedding. Jamie Amos, up; Mr & Mrs B Kelly, golden wedding. S. Linton, up; Mr & Mrs D Kelly, silver wedding. W. Amos, up; community council, R. Linton, up; Mr & Mrs B. Rae, ruby wedding, Jack Amos, down; Horse & Hound Inn. C. Graham, down.

HOWNAM

Bingo

Hownam Hall is hosting family bingo and a raffle on Friday, February 19. Proceedings start at 6.30pm. Bring your own drink and nibbles.

Innerleithen

Service

The service on February 14 will be at 11.30am.

jedburgh

Historical society

The next meeting is tonight (Thursday) when Derek Rae will present the second part of his “History of the Jedburgh Silk Mill”. At the January gathering, there was an entertaining illustrated talk on some of the neglected and overlooked aspects of Jedburgh history. It included what is reckoned to be the oldest photograph of some “lum-hatted” Jeddart forthies on what was the original bowling green. All meetings are held in the Royal British Legion at 7.30pm and non-members are welcome.

Blood donors

At a blood-donor session in Jedburgh on January 24, 154 volunteers offered to give blood and 144 donations were given. There were five new donors.

Bridge club

February 1 – N/S – 1, V. Johnstone & M. Miller; 2, M. Weightman & H. Long; 3, R. Stewart & P. Nichol; E/W – 1, M. Ouldcott & H. Ouldcott; 2, R. Oates & S. West; 3, D. & P. Palmer.

kelso

Thursday Group

Members heard an entertaining account from Gill Harrop about her time with Yorkshire police, starting as a raw recruit in the 1970s when there was a lot of sex discrimination within the force. She assured her audience this was no longer the case. Her experiences included the Yorkshire Ripper case. Today, Margaret Jeary speaks about “Women in the Kelso of the 1850s” – 2pm, Abbey Row Centre. Next week sees Keith Hanson and “Fracking: so what’s new? – life of James Young”.

Bridge

February 3 – Abbey Salver – N/S – 1, Brian Saywood & Ken Ross; 2, Val Johnstone & Mary Millar; 3, Rena Stewart & Billy Potts; E/W – 1, Jean McLaren & Alison Ireland; 2, Gerry Eglington & Jon Bridger; 3, Jean Henry & Myra Thomson. February 4 – Calchou Cup – N/S – 1, David Harris-Burland & Sheila Urquhart; 2, Bob Stevenson and Lee Leeson; 3, Jean Henry and Myra Thomson; E/W – 1, Jean McLaren & Ken Ross; 2, Gerry Eglington & Jon Bridger; 3, Malcolm & Helen Ouldcott.

Music Makers

Kelso Music Makers last Friday enjoyed their first musical gathering of 2016 with a varied programme of classical, traditional and contemporary music and song. Among the items were a short piece of Handel for mandolin and keyboard; three traditional fiddle tunes; several contemporary songs with guitar and tenor ukulele; two Scottish traditional songs with guitar and mandolin. Baritone horn, flute and piano came together for General John Reid’s Solo no. 2 and were joined by mandolin for the Trio Sonata in C by The Earl of Kelly. A highlight of the evening was a viola solo by Stephen Tees of a composition by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. The next event in Abbey Row is on March 11 at 7.45pm. Contact 01575 224920 for further information.

Quiz night

On February 17 (7.30pm), Kelso Horticultural Society is holding a quiz night and Irish bingo in the Tait Hall. Entry on the night – teams of four £10 entry per team.

Langholm

Burns supper

It was a busy road to Claygate for the Burns supper in Gilnockie Hall. Chief guest Ian Landles, from Hawick, delivered the “Immortal Memory”.

Iain Bell piped in the haggis which was carried aloft by Will Edmond. Chairman was John Caskie and the toast to agriculture was made by Gilsland farmer James Laurie, John Dodd of Long Row replying. Stuart Thompson proposed the toast to “The Lassies”, responded to by Diane Badham. There were also a number of singers and entertainers.

Donation

The Town Band has received a donation from Bill, Jean and Robert Barbour. The Shop on the High Street had been selling various items relating to the common riding, such as DVDs, and contributed part of the profits. Bill Barbour handed over the cheque to the president David Calvert, along with secretary Christine Calvert and treasurer Jacqueline Elliot.

LAUDER

Historical society

James Hepburne Scott will give a presentation on Sir Walter Scott and the Scotts of Harden – “A view through Sir Walter Scott’s Personal Letters and Correspondence” – on February 17 at 7.30pm in Lauder Youth Trust Hall. This is an open event.

Post office

Lauder Post Office is opening longer from 1pm on February 19. The service will be available during the store’s opening hours – 8.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday; 8.30am to 12.30pm, Saturday. Lauder Post Office will have to close at 5.30pm on February 11 for the refurbishment to take place.

melrose

Melrose in Bloom

At the AGM, Quin Dunlop was elected chairman, Pam Rowlands continued as secretary and Alister Legge as treasurer. The group is seeking more volunteers – to either drive watering vehicle “Rosie” or give a hand to weed or plant. For further details, contact Quin (qd@camieston.plus.com) or Pam (o.rowlands023@btinternet.com).

Parish church

Wet and windy was the order of the day for the three weekend services at Bowden and Melrose. It was Transfiguration Sunday in the church calendar and, in food bank terms, Poverty Sunday also. Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent, the period of reflection before Easter, lay ahead. Food bank contributions continue to be gratefully received, including money donations for the purchase of fresh supplies of bread, milk, eggs etc. The church magazine deadline is February 21. February 12 – music society Dante String Quintet. Holy Trinity Lent suppers – February 17-March 16. February 14 services – Bowden (9.30am) and Melrose (11am).

Trimontium

Winter used to be a quieter time of year, but that has long passed. A representative of Museums Galleries Scotland arrived last week to see round the sole Roman-only museum in Scotland and promise support and encouragement to apply for finance towards the possible extension which has long been the subject of discussion and planning with Scottish Borders Council. To coincide with the schools’ long weekend, the museum will be open this coming weekend. A fundraising seminar, set up by Heritage Lottery Fund at Cardrona, was attended.

Historical association

On February 16 at 7.30pm in the upper hall of the Ormiston, Melrose Historical and Archaeological Association will present a lecture by Dr Chris Bowles (Scottish Borders Council archaeologist) – “Torwoodlea Broch in Context”. When this Iron Age broch, near Galashiels, was excavated in 1891 by James Curle and in 1950 by Stuart Piggott, it was found to contain many fragments of Roman pottery and glass, along with coins which might be explained as loot from the nearby legionary fort of Trimontium. All welcome – £3 entry for visitors.

Morebattle

Guild

Catherine Mabon welcomed members and visitors to the February meeting before introducing Margaret and Richard Pederson who gave a talk on the restoration of St Aidan’s Church and their

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From page 39

plans for the future.Jenny Flannigan gave the vote of thanks.Arrangements were made for the World Day of Prayer in March.

Coffee morning

Morebattle Games’ annual coffee morning will be held in the village hall on February 13 at 10.30am.

Newcastleton

Coffee morning

The Holm Show committee held a coffee morning in the village hall, realising £532. The AGM is on February 23 and the next event is a quiz night on February 27.

Oxton

SWI

Members welcomed Kate Hankey (Making & Mending) to the latest meeting where she demonstrated cushion making and shared sewing tips. Kate also brought along cards for sale which she had made from some of her fabrics. Competition – heart-shaped object – 1, Sylvia Thomson; 2, Lynn Kellet; 3, Evelyn Cramer. Next meeting is on February 17 when a Scottish Borders Council representative will talk about Safer Communities. Competition – a gingerbread.

selkirk

Antiquarian society

The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, February 17. The gathering begins at 7.30pm in Selkirk Parish Church hall when Walter Elliot presents “Geology, Archaeology and History of Ettrick and Yarrow”. All welcome. The society offers many different topics in an informal setting and further syllabus information can be found at www.selkirkshireantiquariansociety.co.uk.

st boswells

AmDrams

The next social get-together will be on Thursday, February 18, from 7.30-9.30pm in the village hall’s upper room. All welcome. The subject is Eildon Rings (s). One can bring prose/poetry, however loosely connected to the subject, but it’s not compulsory.

STICHILL

SWI

At the February meeting, Erica Smith showed members how to make gift bags before they embarked on some creative colouring. Jean McDermid gave the vote of thanks. Competitions – colouring in – 1, Yvonne Wood; 2, Tanya Campbell; 3, Margaret Mitchell; favourite pen – 1, Yvonne Wood; 2, Janine Wilson; 3, Jean McDermid. The raffle was won by Frances Rogers. The next meeting will be on Wednesday, March 2, at 7.30pm in the village hall when Emma Emerson will talk about spring planting.

STOW

Conflicts talk

Stow St Mary of Wedale and Heriot Parish Church Tuesday Fellowship Group is hosting a talk by the Reverend Barry Hughes on Tuesday, February 16, in the Stow church. Proceedings get under way at 2pm. The subject of his slide presentation will be his recent visit to the centres dealing with displaced people from the conflicts in Iraq and Syria. Mr Hughes was supporting the charity “Open Doors” which in particular supports persecuted Christians caught up in Middle East conflicts. All welcome and there will also be and opportunity to speak to Mr Hughes.

Traquair

Service

The service in Traquair Kirk on February 14 starts at 10am.

Walkerburn

Service

The next service in the Public Hall will be on February 21 at 10am.

yarrowford

SWI

Dougie Methven delivered a talk and slide show on the landscape, flora and fauna of Selkirkshire through the seasons. Competitions – winter scene Christmas card – 1, Margaret Glendinning; 2, Shirley McDonald; mince pies – 1, Linda Bradshaw; 2, Margaret Robinson. The raffle was won by Jean Scott.

Whist drive

Yarrowford SWI whist drive will be held in Yarrowford Hall on February 16 at 7.30pm. All welcome.

Quiz night

Yarrowford Village Hall is hosting a quiz night on Saturday, February 20 (7.30pm) – £10 per team.

yetholm

Panto

Tickets for Aladdin on February 12 and 13 are on sale in the village shop.

SWI

On February 16 at 10.30am in Wauchope Hall, local resident Jim Cockburn will give a talk on working with wood. Competition – a fourth wooden object. New members welcome.

Quiz night

The Plough Hotel hosts a quiz night on February 17 at 8pm. Proceeds to Alzheimer’s Scotland.

Bingo

A bingo night session will be held in Wauchope Hall on Thursday, February 18, at 7pm. Proceeds to Yetholm Primary School

Dog fouling

Dog fouling continues to be a problem. The Wall Roadie leading to The Haugh is becoming difficult to walk down due to the amount of fouling. Signs have been erected, but were removed within 24 hours. Offenders can be reported to Scottish Borders Council.

Monitoring by National Trust for Scotland experts shows the number of grey seal pups born at St Abbs increased by at least 10 per cent last year.

The conservation charity has kept an eye on its seal pups each November for a number of years, but only started detailed monitoring of the numbers of the grey seal pups in 2014 when local staff started to notice that they were seemingly spreading along the coast.

Visual counts backed up by detailed photography showed that on the main pupping beach, the number of grey seal pups had increased from 556 in 2014 to 631 pups in 2015. Total numbers of pups in this area of coast reached 927 pups in 2015. The monitoring work will continue over the next few years to see if this growing trend in seal pup numbers is short or long-term.

Liza Cole, property manager at St Abb’s Head, said: “Scotland and the UK hold over 40 per cent of the world population of this species.

“It is good to see so many pups on our beaches, as the grey seal is actually one of the world’s rarest. Grey seals are such a regular sight along our coasts, it is actually quite hard to appreciate this fact at times.”

“However, it is not clear what our counts mean for the grey seal population as a whole at this time as many seal pups won’t last their first year.”

Lindsay Mackinlay, nature conservation adviser added: “The figures for seal pups are interesting and encouraging, and something we will keep an eye on in the foreseeable future. At this time, it appears that other grey seal colonies along the east coast of the UK have witnessed large numbers of seal pups being born in 2015, although we do not know for how long this trend will continue. I believe the Farne Islands colony saw similar increases but the seal pup counts at Blakeney Point in Norfolk remained stable in 2015 after several years of massive growth.”

The pups will stay with their mothers for about a month until they learn to fish for themselves.

The Scottish Green Party have welcomed the news that Scottish Borders Council are considering measures to bring hundreds of empty properties across the region back into use.

Lead MSP candidate for South of Scotland, Sarah Beattie-Smith, commented on the news that Scottish Borders Council is considering increasing council tax on properties that have been empty for two or more years.

There are approximately 36,000 empty homes in Scotland and over 1,300 in the Scottish Borders. Since 2013, councils have had the power to vary council tax on empty properties to encourage their use.

With Scotland facing a housing shortage, Beattie-Smith stressed that putting empty homes back into use was ‘the responsible’ thing to do. It is estimated that the change could raise an additional £900,000 in revenue. Better housing and bold land reform are two of the Scottish Greens’ key pledges for the Holyrood election in this May.

Sarah Beattie-Smith said: “It’s baffling that thousands of perfectly decent homes sit empty while people struggle to get a roof over their heads. Letting these properties stay unused is a huge waste - but by getting them back on the market, they could really help ease Scotland’s housing crisis.”

It sometimes seems that there has been more written about the Great Tapestry of Scotland and its final resting place than the one exhibited at the Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux.

However, the rift between the two sides of the debate about the Tweedbank site is as polarising as that in the independence referendum.

And this week, we are told that the site clearance has begun at Tweedbank, despite the fact that the Scottish Government is still reviewing the business case for the centre, key to its funding of £2.5million towards it.

The robustness of that business case is one of the main points of contention between the two camps.

While tapestry trustees revel in the fact that more than 200,000 people have seen the tapestry on its travels around Scotland, their opponents say that only means that the 200,000 people who most want to see it have done so for free, and they won’t be likely to want to pay £10 to see it again.

The council says the trees at the site had to be felled before the bird breeding season.

However, if the Government funding stalls, there may not have been a need to fell them at all.

There is no denying that politics in Scotland has changed since the general election and last week’s paper paid tribute to that by focusing on the recent tns poll.

Since the general election a day hasn’t gone by when we haven’t heard the phrase stronger for Scotland, in Scotland’s best interests or the words Smith commission but what hasn’t changed is Scottish labours commitment to protecting people and being the only party in Scotland that is really anti austerity.

Last week the snp stood shoulder to shoulder with the Tories and voted down Labours motion to increase the basic rate of income tax in Scotland which according to independent sources would not have had a detrimental impact on the less well off but in actual fact could have generated half a billion pounds that could have been used to off set cuts as a direct result of snp and Tory austerity.

During the general election the Snp sold themselves as being the saviours of Scottish socialism and emphasised that they were the only party that could stop further tory austerity cuts in Scotland. Clearly their idea of stopping cuts is to use government as a staging post, do nothing and install further cuts by squeezing local authority budgets that are having a detrimental and serious impact on our front line services which has resulted in 130 job losses at Scottish Borders council.

Kezia Dugdale was right when she said: “If faced with cuts to our children’s future, I choose to use the powers we have,” and I welcome this for two reasons.

Firstly we are now talking about the use of powers that will be coming to the Scottish parliament this April and secondly the whole political debate in Scotland has shifted from the constitution to policies that will make a real difference to the people of Scotland. In short the people of Scotland are fed up with grievance school yard politics and want to engage in grown up intellectual politics and see policy that will make a real difference.

There is no denying that the snp are a superior spin machine but at the end of the day what wins every time is policy not style and I for one would like to see the SNP put their money or rather their 1 pence where their mouth is and act like a government who wants a better Scotland and not just indulge in grievance politics against Westminster just because they didn’t get their own way. Dare I say it the ‘no’ camp won the independence referendum because the majority of the people of Scotland knew that what the snp were offering was reckless, dangerous and down right negligent, it’s no wonder they don’t do anything in government as they are too scared how it might look in the polls. They are a party of no action, no policy and no substance.

John Swinney said in an interview recently that the price of oil wasn’t central to their economic policy.

I mean who would base an economic policy on a volatile commodity such as oil?

Oh wait, the SNP would and I have two words to the SNP every time they talk about the referendum “oil price” because had they won the referendum we would have been chapping the door of the IMF, people in Scotland would have been worse off.

Police efforts to find a 58-year-old man reported missing from Jedburgh have entered the fourth day.

William Notley was last seen at around 10am on Monday, February 8, leaving an address in Bongate Gardens.

Since then he has not been in touch with friends or family and our concern for his welfare is growing.

William sometimes sleeps outdoors or in remote farm buildings and barns and has been known to travel on public transport around the Jedburgh area.

An extensive search operation is underway in the vicinity of the town involving specialist teams including the police helicopter, dog units, mountain rescue and the Borders Water Rescue Team.

William is described as around 5ft 6ins tall, slim build, dark skinned, has receding short brown hair and an English accent.

At the time of him going missing William wore heavy black trainers, olive green trousers, olive green polo shirt, grey and black zip up cardigan, navy blue padded waistcoat and a navy blue hat.

Inspector Kevin Harris of Melrose police station said: “A major search operation is underway but it’s fair to say that our concern for William is growing by the hour. His family to are understandably extremely upset with what has happened and are urging William to make contact.

“Police officers assisted by members of the mountain rescue and the Borders Water Rescue Team are working tirelessly to trace him as quickly as possible. Despite our best efforts however, there is no trace of William and there is a possibility that he may have travelled farther afield.

“Today, I ask anyone who has seen William or recognises his description to please contact police immediately.

“I also appeal directly to William to contact police or a family members as soon as possible to let us know you are okay.”

Those with information can contact police on 101 or speak to any officer.

Peebles’ Callum and Louise Forsyth are celebrating after taking home two gold and a silver prizes from the Scotch Lamb Innovation Awards.

The couple, who run W T S Forsyth and Sons butchers, were among the finalists of a new Scotch Lamb PGI initiative announced by Quality Meat Scotland.

The awards, which were launched as part of Quality Meat Scotland’s 2015 Wham Bam Thank You Lamb campaign, aim to showcase quality, innovative Scotch Lamb products and burgers which have been created by Scotch Butchers Club members to meet changing consumer demand.

Callum and Louise said they were absolutely delighted to have won, being recognised for their Morroccan lamb burger, lamb tagine and lamb curry.

“Burgers and innovative products are becoming an increasingly important part of our business and are proving extremely popular with our customers,” said Callum.

“We provide a traditional, quality service but always try to develop on new opportunities in order to offer our customers something a bit different.

Mrs Forsyth added: “I’m a big fan of Scotch Lamb, and it sells well in the shop, so I thought I’d enter the Lamb Tagine which is part of our new range – I’m delighted it’s won a gold award!”

All the burgers and products were subject to a rigorous two-stage judging process, by a panel consisting of members of the Scottish red meat industry and the public, and were reviewed on taste as well as how simple they were to cook quickly by busy young professionals with children – a key target market for QMS’s Scotch Lamb.

Graeme Sharp, QMS Marketing Executive said that the awards really showcased the innovation which exists in the Scottish butchers sector.

“The standard of entries we received was exceptionally high and you could see that each butcher had a tremendous amount of pride for their burgers and products.”

Anyone who moved out of temporary homelessness accommodation before September last year, and who may have left anything behind, is being encouraged to contact Scottish Borders Council (SBC).

SBC has a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent the loss of clients’ personal belongings or to try to reduce the risk of damage to these items.

As a result, the Council’s homelessness service has provided at least six months storage of these belongings.

If you think you may have any items in storage please call 01896 661385 before Friday, February 26.

Failure to make contact will result in the disposal of any property that was placed in storage prior to September 2015.

For more information, contact the Communications and Marketing team on 01835 826632 or communications@scotborders.gov.uk

The acting career of former Earlston High School pupil Jack Lowden is going from strength to strength, writes Andrew Keddie.

The 25-year-old from Oxton has received rave reviews for his portrayal of Nikolai Rostov in Andrew Davies’ adaptation of Tolstoy’s War and Peace, which concluded its six-episode run on BBC1 on Sunday evening.

In the costume drama, which is being tipped for a glut of awards, Jack played alongside a number of famous actors, including Paul Dano, Lily James, Jim Broadbent, Brian Cox, Gillian Anderson and Stephen Rea.

And Jack, now based in London, has been praised for his nuanced reading of the flawed, headstrong Nikolai in a series which was filmed in Russia, Latvia and Lithuania, and is now earning top ratings in the US.

Jack last hit the headlines in 2014 when he was won the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of Oswald in Richard Eyre’s West End adaptation of Ibsen’s Ghosts.

It has been a meteoric rise for a Borderer who was just 10 when his parents Jacquie and Gordon enrolled him in Edinburgh’s Youth Theatre.

At Earlston High, he took part in many annual productions and studied during summer school at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. He also performed regularly with Galashiels Amateur Operatic Society.

Aged 18, he appeared in a high profile TV advertisement for Irn Bru and he excelled as Cammy in the National Theatre of Scotland’s acclaimed and uncompromising touring production of Black Watch.

He has a string of television roles already behind him, including as the poet Thomas Wyatt in Wolf Hall, and he stars in three feature films due to be released this year – Tommy’s Honour, A United Kingdom and Denial.

Police are hunting night-time raiders who have struck in the Borders, Midlothian and Edinburgh.

Peebles was the Borders target for the team who hit nine properties overnight on Thursday into Friday last week.

Some were unsuccessful but cash, mountain bikes, outdoor clothing and tools were stolen.

The gang of four are all between 5’ 10” and 6’ and wore dark clothing and hats. At several locations a silver Vauxhall Vectra was spotted.

A black Audi (R3GYM) stolen from Bilston has not yet been traced.

Police have appealed for assistance.

Saturday, April 9, will be a red letter day for Our Lady and St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Selkirk, which marks its 150th birthday this year.

At 6pm, the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, the Most Reverend Leo Cushley will celebrate a Vigil Mass before a packed congregation.

In so doing, His Grace will kick off the High Street church’s 150th anniversary celebrations.

Later that evening, adherents of all ages will enjoy a social evening and buffet in the church hall.

The actual anniversary falls on April 22 and plans are under way to mark the occasion, with the publication of a commemorative booklet, charting the history of the Selkirk church.

Any reader who can assist Mr Birney in the preparation of the booklet should contact Peter Birney on 01750 21656.

While Selkirk itself was saved from the recent storms by the half-completed Flood Protection Scheme, the upper section of the Ettrick Valley was not so lucky.

A large area of peat hillside high above Ettrick church was brought down by the water and this landslide resulted in two houses being very badly damaged, while the volume of water carried trees, dykes, fences and everything in its path, depositing debris all along the valley floor, destroying gardens, fields, water courses and blocking drains.

Several houses, as well as the village hall, are now more at risk of repeat flooding due to the damage to bankings, watercourse changes and blocked drains.

Following on from a recent site meeting by council officers, it has been decided that a drop-in session will be held at Boston Hall, Ettrick, today (Thursday, February 11) from 4-7pm.

In order to provide the local community with additional support and advice, officers and representatives from SEPA will be attending.

Councillor Vicky Davidson said: “The lack of mobile phone coverage, plus the continuing difficulties with the BT landlines has left the community completely cut off at times and all of this has to be addressed from an emergency planning point of view.”

Following last year’s phenomenal success in Kelso, Slimming World has relaunched in other Borders towns with great success.

The past year has seen approximately 600 new members join the new groups and now more clubs are planned throughout the Borders, East Lothian and Midlothian regions.

Becky Scott, who runs Kelso’s Slimming World club – where last year, 170 members lost 227 stone – is delighted to be overseeing plans for the company’s expansion.

She said: “We recruit only from members in our groups. Future consultants experience just how effective the plan is and experiencing the weight loss themselves means we feel they are the best people to understand the needs of the members.”

Following the opening of Kelso, new groups have launched in Galashiels, Hawick and Jedburgh, and with planned further expansion and development across the Borders and Lothians, Slimming World is looking to recruit more consultants.

Consultants get excellent first rate training and Slimming World academy based in Derbyshire. They get the most up-to-date nutritional information and training from a team of leading health and nutritional experts.

Consultants can potentially earn between £100-£400 an evening along with flexible hours in between.

Anyone interested in joining a club or finding out more about careers with Slimming World can contact Becky on 07856 379432.

Auld Earlston, the local heritage group is holding an open day and exhibition on Saturday February 27 in the Church Hall, High Street, Earlston from 10am-3pm.

The focus of the exhibition will be a preview of the group’s latest project ‘Remembering Earlston’s Railway (1863-1965)’.

Twenty photographs have been selected to be turned into display pictures which will shortly go on show at shops and other venues throughout the village.

The Community Group at Earlston Primary School has been involved interviewing grandparents and older residents to gather their memories of the railway, with the results also on show at the exhibition.

There is the chance to browse though more vintage photographs of the village, watch a rolling slide show and chat over tea and coffee with members of the Auld Earlston Group.

Do come along - all welcome. For further information telephone: 01896 848240 or e-mail auldearlston@aol.com.

Auld Earlston is grateful for project funding from Scottish Borders Council Railway Celebration Fund and the Community Grant Scheme.

Entry is £2 including tea/coffee. Children free.

The world zoomed in on the Borders’ golden girl wheelchair racer Sammi Kinghorn this week as she took to a rather different stage.

Forty Rotarians from around the world took part in the largest ever UK Rotary eClub on-line meeting, to hear Sammi tell of her incredible journey from happy-go-lucky 14-year-old to a top wheelchair athlete and a European gold medallist.

One of the UK’s newest clubs — the Rotary eClub of Southern Scotland — organised the event which was attended via a Zoom link by Rotarians from clubs as far afield as New Zealand and Australia, amazingly covering eight different time zones.

They were all in awe of the inspirational talk given by the girl from Gordon, who five years ago was paralysed after being crushed by the tractor her father was driving on the farm where they lived.

The enthusiasm which Sammi exuded as she told how she took to wheelchair racing and in a short time was winning medals at Commonwealth, European and World Championship level soon captivated her audience.

Compliments and questions were later fired at her from all corners of the globe, with more technical ones being answered by her coach, Ian Murfin.

The evening was not only a triumph for Sammi, but also for Scotland’s only Rotary eClub.

It is one of several clubs throughout the world which offers a different style to the traditional Rotary weekly lunch or dinner meeting.

As more people find restraints on their time prevent them from attending weekly meetings, eClubs are enabling them to commit to the aims of Rotary (ie supporting communities both locally, nationally and internationally both financially and with active service) without compromising work and family commitments.

Southern Scotland’s eClub was born out of a traditional club based in Edinburgh. Younger membership dwindled due to work transfers, so it reformed as an eClub. Members are based in Edinburgh, the Borders, London, Germany and Singapore.

Their next Zoom meeting will be a beer tasting, thanks to their German member. The high praise for their first speaker meeting from the international audience has now spurred them on to organise further similar events.

To find out more about how you can put something back into the community, and enjoy a new form of Rotary social networking go to https://www.facebook.com/Rotary-eclub-of-Southern-Scotland-536789753015643.

Following the Department for Transport’s announcement that they have no immediate plans to lower the drink-drive limit in England to the same as Scotland’s, alcohol safety experts have responded to the news as “astonishing” and stated that the Department for Transport is ignoring the facts.

Suzannah Robin, an alcohol safety expert at AlcoDigital, works with corporate and governmental organisations and has helped dozens of local authorities to implement their alcohol testing policies for staff.

This week she said: “We are astonished and frustrated that the Department for Transport chooses to continue to isolate England and Wales from having safer roads and experiencing fewer drink-drive related deaths.

“Given the unity across Europe, where every country has now reduced the drink-drive limit to the same as Scotland’s, it has been proven over and over again that a lower drink-drive limit significantly improves road safety and reduces drink-drive related deaths yet the Department for Transport continues to ignore this.”

In 2014 alone alcohol accounted for 5,650 accidents and 8,320 casualties on UK roads and figures for fatalities have remained static since 2010 with an increase in deaths even being recorded between 2012 and 2013.1

Scotland decreased its drink-drive limit in line with other European countries in December 2014 and has seen drink-drive offences fall by 12.5% as a result, dropping from 4,208 to 3,682 compared with the same period the previous year.2

Suzannah continued: “It is a scary thought that the drink-drive limit in England and Wales is the highest in Europe for not only private drivers but also commercial drivers who are permitted to operate vehicles such as HGVs and buses at a level four times higher than the rest of Europe.”

In France, where the drink-drive limit has been the same as Scotland’s for many years, and is zero tolerance for commercial drivers, fatalities have seen a dramatic decrease and fell by a further 8% in 2013 following the introduction of a breathalyzer law.3

Suzannah added: “Although we support the government’s focus on rigorous enforcement for drink-drivers we cannot ignore the facts – there are still too many deaths from drink-driving in England and Wales and too many families are suffering the consequences of losing loved ones. By not reducing the drink-drive limit The Department for Transport is effectively playing with people’s lives.”