A Selkirk company is raising money for Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres through selling a new range of headwear.

Textiles company Murray Hogarth in Tweedmill is launching a new headwear and accessories line for women who have lost their hair in Edinburgh today.

Asha is a contemporary collection of solid colour, patterned and micro-encapsulated turbans, aesthetically matched to a wide range of silk headscarves.

A spokesman for the company explained their support of the charity: “Maggie’s provides vital emotional, practical and social support to people with cancer and their loved ones, through innovative community based centres. We believe in their work and therefore 10 per cent of Asha sales will be donated to Maggie’s.”

IT took the best part of the summer to complete, but two determined swimmers swam from Kelso to Berwick to raise more than £6,000 for soldiers, writes Sally Gillespie.

Ghillie John Edey (‘Wee John’) and fisherman Alistair Smee start their 35-mile mission on June 16.

Mr Edey, of Sprouston, said: “Day one was hampered with heavy rain and energy-sapping cold river temperatures. We made it to Tillmouth, then the floods came and we postponed the final day three times until we got a weather window and low water.”

In fact they were almost hypothermic by the time they came out of the water the first day. The swimmers had then watched the weather each weekend hoping to finish their fundraiser until, finally, August 12 looked fair.

But a wind got up and as they progressed it was against the incoming tide, creating choppy waves.

Mr Edey said: “The final day was a hard push, battling against three to four-foot waves when we hit the wind and tide. We reached Berwick road bridge where the RNLI lifeboat escorted us the last mile to our destination and we were welcomed by a cheering crowd.”

He and Mr Smee had hoped to raise £5,000, but instead have gathered in £6,607 for Help for Heroes.

The challenging swim came about because Mr Edey, a ghillie for more than 30 years, was so inspired by the servicemen severely injured in the war in Afghanistan that he took fishing last year, that he wanted to raise money to help them and others. He thanked the swim support team of his son Andrew, ghillie Jonathan Mackereth, Tweed Wheely Boat Trust’s Bill Quarry, House of Hardy’s Ian Gordon, ghillie Bill Jack, and Tim Smee and family. And he added “a big thanks, too, to the RNLI crew who were a heartening and inspiring sight”.

plans to turn a former Galashiels mill into a 108-bed development for student accommodation are in doubt.

The town’s community council heard Bristol Mill, on Magdala Terrace at the northern entrance of Galashiels, was back up for sale.

Scottish Borders Council approved a planning bid by East Lothian-based Ewen Brown in February.

A MELROSE playgroup almost half a century old could close because of a lack of children.

Private competition is blamed for threatening the survival of the ante-pre and pre-school provider Gibson Park Playgroup which meets in the parish church hall.

The charity, currently run by a small group of parents, has been going for 47 years.

Allocations secretary Rhona White said: “The numbers are so low – only seven per session – and the cost of running the group, hall rental and staffing means we are making a huge financial loss 
every day.

“There is a real concern that in June 2013 we will no longer have the sufficient funds to continue and will need to make two people redundant. In this current climate this is absolutely our last option.

“We believe numbers are low due to the fact that there are five other private providers of ante-pre and pre-school care within Melrose.”

A flyer campaign in August targeting Melrose, Darnick, Gattonside, Newstead, Redpath and Bowden made little difference.

Now the charity is holding an open morning on November 2 for locals to see the “fantastic facilities” the group has to offer said Mrs White, adding: “We have to try everything we can to increase numbers and, in turn, maintain the funds to continue with this hugely valuable service.”

The charity employs two qualified staff, a playleader and a play assistant, who between them have more than 20 years’ experience. They run arts and crafts, music and singing, imaginative play, puzzles, story time, listening and talking time, messy play and physical activities for the children.

Meanwhile the playgroup’s fundraising afternoon tea in the Townhouse later this month is a sellout. And the charity hopes the annual shopping evening, on November 22, which usually sees about 25 local traders and craftspeople set up stall in the town’s Corn Exchange, will raise more money. For further information visit www.gibsonpark.org.uk

A MORE secure way of paying cash to Scottish Borders Council is being introduced.

A chip-and-pin method of payment will be available at some council offices from October 24.

Councillor Michael Cook explained: “Offering the facility to pay by chip-and-pin is more secure and fits in with the council’s modernisation objectives.”

In order to make the change, the council’s payment system will be unavailable from noon on October 23 until mid-afternoon the following day. This will affect internet payment facilities, the automated telephone payment system, as well as the counter service for payments over the phone at contact centres. Borderers will also be unable to make payments at contact centres, registrar offices, recycling centres and council HQ at Newtown St Boswells.

During this period, payments can still be made at shops and post offices displaying Paypoint and Payzone logos.

Chip-and-pin machines are being installed at all contact centres, the Jim Clark Room at Duns and the registration offices at Hawick, Peebles, Melrose, Kelso, Galashiels, Eyemouth, Duns and Coldstream.

Councillor Cook commented: “The new system is pretty straight forward. Rather than providing a card to the teller and signing a receipt, customers will need to enter their card and number into the machine.

“This system will allow the council to offer a more secure means of taking face-to-face card payments and reduce the risk of fraud.

“For those who do not have this type of card, there will still be a facility to sign a receipt where required.”

TAXI fare in the Scottish Borders are set to rise by 2.5 per cent following talks between the council and taxi operators, writes Bob Burgess.

The planned rise follows the annual review of fares and if approved by councillors on Tuesday will take effect on December 3.

A total of 114 taxi firms were approached by the council for their views but the response to a second phase of consultation has been described by Scottish Borders council as “poor”.

NEW statistics have revealed that more than half the fires which took place in Lothian and Borders region were in homes without a working smoke alarm.

Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire MSP John Lamont said: “These figures make worrying reading and remind us once again just how important it is to have a working smoke alarm present in every home in the Borders.”

SELKIRK’s award-winning chartered tax advisers and Accountant, Stark Main & Co, has scooped another national award, being named the overall winner in the Practice Excellence Award 2012.

Last month, director Ian Main picked up the accolade on behalf of the team.

The awards were judged on a number of key criteria which formed a three stage process.

z The first stage was an electronic satisfaction survey where 2,000+ clients UK wide were asked their opinions and Stark Main & Co were judged in the top 15 firms in the UK.

z Then a written submission was judged by an expert panel and the category sponsor Sage. Stark Main were then judged to be in the top three firms in the UK.

z Finally their submission was judged openly by users of the leading accountancy online forum Accountingweb. This final judging by fellow accountants completed the extremely rigorous process which results in a full 360 degree appraisal of skills and services offered by the Selkirk- based firm.

One of the expert judges, James Scanlan, head of Client Services Practiceweb, was said: “Stark Main & Co were a ‘stand out’ entrant in this year’s awards and should be very proud of what they have achieved. They continue to outperform the key benchmarks of practice excellence and are justifiably held in high regard nationally as a result.”

This award is the latest accolade to be picked up by the firm, including Scottish Borders Business Excellence Employer of the Year, UK Firm of the Year (Accountants Club), AVN UK Firm of the Year, Scottish Accountant of the Year finalist, and the firm has also been shortlisted for the major awards ceremony of the year – The British Accountancy Awards to be held next month in London.

Director Ian Main said: “I was honoured to receive this award on behalf of the full Stark Main team and, in particular, I am very grateful for the feedback received from our clients. We found the three stage process to be of real value in providing specific feedback and benchmarking against our competitors.”

To celebrate the award Stark Main & Co are offering a free profit review service for any growth ambitious businesses who would like to access some leading-edge advice on how to unlock their growth and maximise their results. These reviews are valued at £1,000 each and are available to the first 15 respondents to this offer. Interested parties should contact Ian Main on 01750 23900 or info@starkmain.co.uk

FEARS for almost 180 jobs at Barrie Knitwear in Hawick have been lifted with confirmation that the company has been bought by Chanel, writes Bob Burgess.

The cashmere firm’s parent company Dawson International went into administration in August because of pension problems.

Bruno Pavlovsky – Chanel’s fashion president – commented: The acquisition of Barrie by Chanel is all the more natural as the factory has worked with us for more than 25 years producing cashmere knitwear, including Chanel’s iconic two-tone cashmere cardigans.

“Through this acquisition, we reaffirm our commitment to traditional expertise and craftsmanship and our wish to safeguard their future and support their development.”

Senior Scottish organiser of the GMB trade union Alex McLuckie said : “We always felt confident that this highly skilled, productive and fairly loyal workforce which produces a high quality product, would be saved.

“It lifts the uncertainty for the 180 employees and we can now look forward to continuing employment for our members in the Hawick site, now and into the future.”

Blair Nimmo, joint administrator of Dawson International said he believed the sale had secured a sustainable future for Barie.

Local MSP John Lamont described the news as fantastic and said it would come as a great relief to the workforce.

He added: “Chanel is a world famous company that operates on a global scale and with Barrie Knitwear in their ownership I am confident that the future of the firm is safe for the foreseeable future.”

Hawick’s MP Michael Moore said : “This is great news for Hawick and particularly for the 176 people employed at the company whose jobs have now been safeguarded.

“I am very pleased that Chanel has made this investment in Barrie which recognises the company’s historical significance to the textile industry and its importance as a major employer in the Borders.”

The price paid by Chanel has not been disclosed But Chanel did say that Barrie would continue to grow its own brands presence around the world. There would no exclusivity, said Chanel.

Selkirk bookmaker Andy Bennett handed over a cheque for £1,362 to sister Shirley Syme of the Borders General Hospital’s Special Baby Care Unit recently, raised from his static line parachute jump. Andy’s son Kris was treated as a baby in the unit.

Andy, who runs the Scotbet shop in Selkirk and was named bookie of the year in 2011, completed the 5,000ft jump – very similar to a skydive – from a plane above Perth.

THE Hawick PSA Male Voice Choir are putting the finishing touches to a charity concert scheduled for Friday, November 2 in the Town Hall and have put together a programme which is sure to please all ages.

Last year the choir assembled a talented cast in support of Combat Stress, but this year the concert is in aid of the Margaret Kerr Unit at Borders General Hospital. The unit is under construction and will provide palliative care for people throughout the Borders.

As well as the choir, under the baton of Ann Witherington, the Lesley McFarlane Dancers will also be performing, as well as the junior section of Hawick Saxhorn Band.

The Selkirk Amateur Operatic Society is currently rehearsing for next spring’s show, Oliver, and will be singing songs from that show as well as other musicals in both the first and second half of the concert.

There will also be solos from members of the choir and also from guests, including Debbie Lyons, Joyce Tinlin, Steve Brown and Geoff Ross.

Tickets are now on sale price £6 each from Deans and Simpsons and Teviot Wines in Hawick, McCuddens Newsagents in Selkirk, from choir members, and tickets will also be available on the door on the night. Doors open at 7pm for a 7.30pm start.

PEOPLE could be so bored of devolution talk that when a referendum happens it will be an anti-climax, says Lord Steel.

The former Liberal leader was asking “What Kind of Country?” in the Kirkgate Lecture, organised by a local church, which he gave in Linlithgow at the end of last month.

He told his audience: “One of my anxieties about the forthcoming referendum on the future of Scotland is that it is so long in coming that, after three years of parliamentary debates and endless radio and television discussions, not to mention the daily outpourings of newspaper columnists on the topic, we shall all be so bored that when it actually happens it will be something of an anti-climax.”

He agreed with the late Donald Dewar who often said, “devolution is not an event but a process”. And the former local MP added: “I support any commonsense moves to increase the power of the Scottish Parliament within the framework of the UK.”

Calling for a more democratic House of Lords, he said: “If Scotland continues in the UK it is all the more important that the SNP be represented in the Upper House, and in a revised constitution maybe it could even have a role assigned to it by the Scottish Parliament to act as a long-stop advisory reviewer of its legislation, thus responding to complaints that Holyrood at present has no such mechanism.”

He also said Scotland had two post-war failings: housing schemes and the “steady coursening of the public media”.

a Farm finishing displenishing sale of vehicles and machinery is taking place at Swinside Townfoot, Oxnam, on behalf of E. Taylor & Sons on Friday, October at 10.30am.

By permission: Dowdeswell 3m Power Harrow, 2.5m Power Harrow, Kuhn 3m Mower; Vintage Wuffler. Terms: Settlement on the day

Swinside Townfoot (postcode TD8 6ND) is situated approx. five miles south east of Jedburgh and will be signposted off the A68 trunk road at Camptown hamlet.

For more information, contact John Swan Limited Tel: 01835 822214; email: stboswells@johnswan.co.uk

THE Co-op has now revealed that its reopening of part of the former Haldanes store in the town’s Roxburgh Street, will take place on December 6.

Closed by Haldanes last summer with the loss of 50 jobs, the premises belong to a London-based company, Threadneedle Investments.

However, the Co-op leases the building and still has more than 20 years of its agreement with Threadneedle Investments to run.

The new store will be approximately 3,500 sq ft, and will create up to 20 new jobs. It will be in addition to the existing Co-operative food store in Highcroft, Kelso, which will remain open.

Local Kelso community councillor Colin McGrath welcomed the opening date as more good news in the wake of the Co-op decision to re-open in at least part of the Roxburgh Street premises.

“My understanding is that an interior wall will be erected to divide the premises in two,” Mr McGrath told us.

“Obviously the Co-op won’t lease the rest to a business that would be direct competition, so it could end up as a shop or offices, or maybe even a restaurant or coffee shop as a way of attracting more people into the store.”

ENGINEERING consultants Halcrow, looking into floods which raged through Jedburgh town centre in July, are expected to report back to Scottish Borders Council by the end of next week.

Their findings will be discussed at the council’s environment and infrastructure committee meeting two weeks later.

Their report will be taken to a public meeting to be arranged for mid-November, said a council spokesman.

Approximately 50 businesses and homes were flooded when Jedburgh’s Skip Running Burn rose two metres in less than 15 minutes and burst its banks after heavy rainfall on Sunday, August 5.

Locals described being trapped as a torrent swept through Castlegate, Canongate and the High Street.

Police sealed off the town centre and about 50 fire fighters, among other emergency services, and 50 SBC staff attended.

SBC’s director of environment and infrastructure Rob Dickson told the town’s community council last month that there is a possibility that a system similar to one used on the Long Philip Burn in Selkirk – which saw sills and a barrier installed upstream to stop sediment and logs washing downstream – was a possibility for the Skip Running Burn.

POLICE have launched an enquiry into an incident of wilful fireraising.

It follows a blaze at farm near Greenlaw on Sunday morning.

Fire crews were alerted around 7.10am when a number of straw bales were discovered ablaze in a field about three miles from the village, close to the A697.

All the bales were destroyed in the fire which police say was started deliberately.

A spokesman commented: “We are appealing for any person with any information to contact us through the police station at Duns.”

There was jubilation in Hawick this week, with news that the French luxury fashion house Chanel has saved almost 180 local jobs by acquiring the town’s under-threat cashmere manufacturer, Barrie Knitwear.

There had been fears for the future of the 140-year-old firm, which produces Chanel’s classic two-tone cashmere cardigans, after parent company, Dawson International, went into administration in August due to pension fund issues.

News of the takeover by the Parisien label, which has renowned designer Karl Lagerfeld as its creative director, has been welcomed, both by union representatives and local councillors.

Alex McLuckie, GMB Scotland senior organiser, said the union had always felt confident that the highly skilled and productive workforce at Barrie, which produces a high quality product, would be saved.

“The news today that Chanel has taken over Barrie Knitwear is really good news. It lifts the uncertainty for the 180 employees and we can now look forward to continuing employment for our members in the Hawick site now and into the future,” said Mr McLuckie.

Local Scottish Borders councillor David Paterson (Hawick & Hermitage, Ind) commented: “It is absolutely fantastic news, not only for Hawick, but for the whole Borders economy, that such a prestigious name like Chanel has taken over Barrie Knitwear, safeguarding the 180 jobs.

“They are obviously well aware of the extremely skilled and dedicated workforce that produces some of the best quality knitwear in the world, and hopefully the company will now go from strength to strength.”

Barrie managing director Jim Carrie told us: “This is great news for the employees and the area.”

Barrie produces 20,000 to 25,000 pieces for around 100 clients worldwide, and Chanel says the firm will continue to be run by its current management team and will be able to uphold all existing contracts without exclusivity.

Chanel said the acquisition had secured the jobs of all Barrie’s 176 employees and safeguarded a historic brand.

Head of its fashion division, Bruno Pavlovsky, told the AFP news agency that the French label had worked with the Hawick company for over a quarter-of-a-century and had feared there was a real risk the Borders company could have disappeared.

“It made sense to be able to keep working with such extraordinarily competent people,” said Mr Pavlovsky.

And he added: “The company is one of the last in Scotland that is capable of producing sophisticated wares to display on the catwalks, and then to manufacture them.

“Through this acquisition, we reaffirm our commitment to traditional expertise and craftsmanship.”

Barrie Knitwear is the second foreign firm to be acquired by Chanel, following the Italian shoemaker, Roveda.

Borders Lib Dem MP Michael Moore also hailed news of Chanel’s acquisition of Barrie Knitwear as great for the region.

“I am very pleased that Chanel has made this investment in Barrie which recognises the company’s historical significance to the textile industry and its importance as a major employer in the Borders,” said Mr Moore.

Local Conservative MSP John Lamont said the news would come as “a great relief” to employees at Barrie Knitwear who had been waiting nervously for news for more than two months to find out about their futures.

“Chanel is a world famous company, that operates on a global scale, and with Barrie Knitwear in its ownership, I am confident that the future of the firm is safe for the foreseeable future,” he said.

“I now look forward to seeing Barrie Knitwear continue to go from strength to strength and hopefully provide more local jobs in the future.”

How many more lives must be lost and people seriously injured before extra cash is sanctioned to allow improvements to the stretch of A7 north of Galashiels?

Research by one bereaved mother suggests one person has been killed each year, on average, during the last eight years, on the A7 north of Galashiels.

Isobel Hutchison, who lost her son, Stuart, aged just 22, in a smash just south of the Gilston junction in 2009, has now lent her support to a call from Borders councillor Sandy Aitchison.

He wants Scottish Government transport minister Keith Brown to approve investment in this de-trunked 20-mile section of the A7, which runs from Galashiels to the Midlothian border.

Mr Aitchison’s plea follows the recent accident south of Stow which left a 23-year-old woman with spinal injuries.

And, according to Stow Community Council chair Dianna Muir, the local community in her area is “desperate” for something to be done.

Yet recent enquiries to Mr Brown’s office seem to suggest that Mr Aitchison’s letter may have been lost.

Meanwhile, cash-strapped Scottish Borders Council bosses appear to be pinning their hopes on a reduction in traffic on the A7 after the reopening of the Borders railway.

This is unacceptable. The railway reopening is at best still two years away and, if Mrs Hutchison is right with her figures, it means at least two more motorists will die in accidents before the first train runs.

While it may be possible to put a price on some road improvements, it is impossible to calculate the devastating cost that such accidents will mean for two families.

Please, Mr Brown, act now for their sake.

WHEN police forced their way into Elliot Grieve’s Earlston home, they uncovered a cannabis cultivation with a potential value of £8,000.

Grieve told officers he was growing the crop for his own use, finding it much more effective in treating his ill-health than traditional medicine.

Thirty-seven-year-old Grieve, of Arnots Place, admitted producing cannabis at his home between September 1, 2010, and March 20 this year. He also pleaded guilty to committing a similar offence on July 18, when police found 10 plants and a sophisticated production set-up.

Tessa Bradley, prosecuting, told how the first cultivation came to light after police called at Grieve’s home at 6.45pm on a separate matter, adding: “There was a light on, but he refused to open the door, and it was forced at about 7pm.”

When officers were inside they noticed a “pungent smell from the upper floor of the flat” and found a cannabis cultivation there. A total of 54 cannabis plants were discovered, at various stages of growth, with a potential value of £150 each.

“The total was about £8,000,” said Ms Bradley.

Grieve gave a candid interview, telling police he had been growing cannabis for about a year-and-a-half and had produced about five crops per year. He said it was for his own use, for medicinal purposes.

On July 18, police again turned up at Grieve’s home, about 4pm, and again ended up forcing their way inside. Another cultivation, with about 10 cannabis plants, was found in the attic.

“There was a fairly sophisticated set-up of heaters, fans, etc,” added Ms Bradley, who moved for forfeiture of all the paraphernalia found.

Defending, Ross Dow said his client had been “self-medicating”. Grieve, who suffers ill-health, had been advised to try cannabis by a friend’s mother.

“Throughout university, he always walked away from drugs. It was not his scene,” said Mr Dow, adding: “His illness got so bad, and the prescribed medication wasn’t working, so he tried cannabis and overnight his problems disappeared.

“He couldn’t afford to buy it off the street, so he started growing it. He struggled to abstain after being caught the first time and took a chance of starting to grow it again.”

Mr Dow described the offences as “a sad case”, adding: “He knows that it is illegal, but he was desperate.”

Sheriff Jamie Gilmour sentenced Grieve to a community payback order, with 70 hours of unpaid work, and granted forfeiture of the plants and paraphernalia.

A CARE assistant has been suspended from her job after assaulting a frail 91-year-old woman in a nursing home, Selkirk Sheriff Court was told on Monday.

The elderly patient was left with a red hand mark on her back after being slapped by 27-year-old Holly Gordon.

Gordon, who has worked as a care assistant for seven years, was attending to the woman with another member of staff at Galashiels Nursing Home in Kirkbrae on September 8.

Gordon, a first offender, of Kilncroft, Selkirk, admitted striking the woman on the body to her injury.

Depute procurator fiscal Tessa Bradley said the accused had been suspended from her employment as a result of the offence.

She told the hearing that Gordon and three other staff members began their shift at 8am.

“At 1pm, the accused and another staff member were in the bedroom of the 91-year-old lady, who suffers from severe dementia and restricted mobility,” explained Ms Bradley, adding: “Their duties included changing her clothes and they were standing on either side of her, in the process of lowering her into a seat, when the accused, for no apparent reason, struck her on her back, causing her to scream.”

The other staff member told a colleague what had happened and the nurse in charge was notified. After checking the well-being of the elderly patient, a red hand print was found just below her shoulder. Details were recorded and management informed.

“The following day the accused was approached and blurted out, ‘I didn’t slap her. It was a tap’,” said Ms Bradley.

When the nursing home manager attended, Gordon said: “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

Police were alerted and an investigation began, with Gordon making no comment when interviewed by officers on September 13.

Ms Bradley conceded: “The complainer can be difficult to deal with and can nip members of staff, but the accused wasn’t under any form of attack when she struck this lady.”

However, Gordon’s solicitor, Ross Dow, claimed the elderly woman had repeatedly nipped his client, describing the 91-year-old as “difficult and volatile”.

The lawyer went on: “This wasn’t the first time the lady had nipped her, and she momentarily lost her head and slapped her. As soon as she did it, she felt terrible and is full of remorse. She should have shown more resolve, but this is going to haunt her for the rest of her life.”

Mr Dow added: “She is in that profession because she is someone who cares, but her job is difficult at the best of times and fraught with anxiety. These elderly ladies and gentlemen can be difficult to manage.”

Sheriff Jamie Gilmour interjected: “You are surely not suggesting that if an elderly person with dementia nips a member of staff, they are entitled to retaliate?”

Mr Dow replied: “No, but where does one draw the line? Are you supposed to just stand there and take it? It is a terribly sensitive area.”

Sheriff Gilmour voiced his concern about the line of defence and a proof in mitigation hearing was set for October 22.