Selkirk0

Hawick Royal Albert 0

No goals, few thrills, squandered chances, bookings in abundance and two red cards, writes John Slorance.

This was the story of this bottom-of-the-table clash at Yarrow Park – a story that does not make good reading.

Selkirk goalkeeper John Dodd’s told The Southern: “Hawick had two guys sent off and we couldn’t beat nine men, so it was a bad result for us.

“Today the only chances we created came from set pieces, but we failed to take them. It was a match we should have won, but didn’t.”

Hawick manager Graeme Chadwick, on the other hand, was well satisfied with the result.

“It was a game I thought we could have won, but considering we got our first point for a while, I was quite happy with a draw,” he said.

Apart from David Battle coming close to putting Selkirk ahead in firing a Ryan McManus pass just wide of the post, the opening stages conjured up nothing.

On the 20-minute mark, John Dodds pulled off the first save of the match when diving to tip a net-bound Declan Hogg shot round the post.

Albert number one Steven West then prevented Selkirk from going ahead with an excellent stop from a Jamie Gibson free kick.

Selkirk began to gain the edge in the second half, but their finishing was poor and several goal-scoring chances went begging.

With 71 minutes gone, Hawick were reduced to 10 men. Hogg, who had been booked during the first period, failed to retreat far enough after Selkirk had been awarded a free kick. Edinburgh referee Paul Hanlon brandished a second yellow card, which led to a red, and it was the end of the game for the teenage midfielder.

Two minutes later, Hawick found themselves down to nine men when Sean Loughlin was given his marching orders, picking up a second yellow after having upended Aaron Butters with a lunging challenge.

From here on, Selkirk dominated and pushed forward, but failed to turn pressure into goals by squandering many chances.

Selkirk: J. Dodds, D. Battle, K. Munro, J. Higgenbottom, J. Inglis, R. McManus (D. Munro), M. Holness, J. Gibson, J. Watt, C. Peoples, A. Butters (D. Bolton).

Hawick Royal Albert: S. West, S. Loughlin, R. Shepherd, A. Reilly, K. Fettes, I. Zenati, S. Watson (D. Heaver), R. Fleming, P. Keenan (M. King), D. Hogg, G. Ramsay.

VALE of Leithen returned to the fray last Saturday following five weeks without a game and toppled Stirling University, writes John Slorance.

It was an excellent win for them, also quite a remarkable one considering there was a dramatic exodus of players just before kick-off.

Taking up the story, Vale manager Fraser Ogilvie told us: “There has been a lot happening within the team recently and shortly before the match was about to start, there was a big disagreement on certain issues.

“Due to this, three players walked out on the club. This cut us down to the bare bones and I had to go on the bench. It was all a bit of a nightmare, but these things sometimes happen in football.

“Everything seemed to be going against us, but we went out and got a fantastic win. I was thrilled with the players’ attitude and the commitment they showed. There were a few new guys in the team and they all showed up well.”

On Saturday, Vale host Civil Service Strollers at Victoria Park, while in the First Division, Kelso bid to take their second big scalp in succession in tackling promotion-seeking Leith Athletic at Woodside Park. See fixtures on page 78.

Melrose Ladies produced an outstanding display at Murrayfield to win the RBS National Plate competition on Sunday afternoon.

Always with their noses in front, the Greenyards side ran out eventual winners by 35 - 19. Gillian Inglis picked up the player of the match trophy, while captain Laura Purves led by example. More on page 79.

Morpeth Colts crossed the border and ran away with the Kelso Quins Sevens trophy on Saturday.

The raiders beat Gala Wanderers in the final, closing the gap at the top of the table. Both Hawick Wands and Melrose Wasps lost in the second round, allowing Hawick PSA to challenge at the top. Report at www.thesouthernreporter.co.uk

Selkirk40

Stewart’s Melville19

IT WAS the final match of the season in the National League for both Selkirk and Stewart’s Melville and there was nothing at stake.

Both teams decided to blood some youngsters and there appeared to be an unwritten law that no-one would go for goal if they won a penalty. Instead, the doors were flung open for a free night for spectators and they were treated to a game of open running rugby. Selkirk scored two tries in the opening 10 minutes, courtesy of captain Andrew Renwick and Matt Kissick, who both touched down in almost identical places.

On the half-hour came the try of the match. Prop Mike Waldron was yellow-carded after an incident on his own try line and Selkirk faced a scrum with a man short. Somehow they won the ball and from the possession took play right up to the other end of the park for Gavin Craig to touch down.

While down to 14 men, Stewart’s Melville hit back with a try from Stuart MacDonald to make it 19-5 at the interval, but Selkirk posted two further tries before the hour. John Everitt came off the bench to score, as did James Bett who was gifted the ball and only needed to trot in to touch down. Eddie Turner gave Selkirk their sixth try, while a couple of late tries from Stu Shaw and Angus Lean gave Stew Mel some consolation points.

Rory Banks had a good evening with the boot, successful with five from six conversions. Selkirk ended in fourth place and coach Brian Cassidy, who stepped down as coach after the game, will be satisfied with the state he’s leaving the club in for next season.

“They all put in a good shift today,” he said. “But all season they’ve worked hard and that’s what it’s all about. If you don’t have the effort you’ve got nothing.”

Selkirk: F. Harkness; A. Given, L. MacLennan, C. MacDougall, R. Banks; G. Craig, M. Davies; M. Waldron, S. Forrest, C. Graur, A. Renwick, E. Turner, E. MacDougall, A. Duckett, M. Kissick. Subs: C. McColm, J. Bett, R. Wilson, C. Henderson, J. Everitt.

Livingston proved why they are top of RBS East League One with an impressive 57-34 win at Langholm.

But Langholm did not go down without a fight and continually hit back when many a team would have crumbled. In the end the hosts secured a try bonus point which could still prove vital in their bid to avoid the drop.

A total of 14 tries were scored, with Livingston getting nine and Langholm five through Alan Tyler, Stephen Devlin, Steven Nicol (3). Niall Cubbon added a penalty and three conversions to complete the scoreline.

Melrose 32

Aberdeen Grammar 27

To say things were nervy before, during and towards the end of this match is an understatement, writes Stuart Cameron.

And over at Mayfield Park in Dundee, there was high drama also as the tightest Premiership league ever reached its conclusion.

With just 20 minutes to go at the Greenyards, things weren’t looking good. Melrose trailed 10-27, while Dundee, also trying to avoid the play-off, were in charge against Stirling, leading 30-19.

It looked likely that Melrose would be overtaken by Dundee and that dreaded play-off was looming. But Stirling don’t give up easily and ran in seven tries to beat Dundee 43-40, leaving their hosts to face Hawick to decide who plays in the Premiership next season.

Meanwhile, Melrose, who conceded three converted tries in eight minutes at the start of the second half, scored 22 unanswered points to win the game.

In the end, neither Melrose or Aberdeen did enough to get into the B&I Cup, and it will be Stirling and Edinburgh Accies who represent Scotland, along with Ayr and Gala.

Joe Helps scored all of his club’s 10 points in the first half with a converted try and penalty. Callum Anderson scored on the hour while Richard Ferguson and Graeme Dodds added another one apiece. Helps converted all three and added a penalty.

It was the final home game as players for John Dalziel and Wayne Mitchell, as well as for Craig Chalmers as coach. Mitchell said: “I’m absolutely delighted with the result. The boys were awesome. We’re all pleased that we don’t need to play Hawick to survive in the Premiership.”

Melrose: F. Thomson; C. Anderson, B. Dick, J. Helps, A. Dodds; R. Mill, B. Colvine; N. Little, W. Mitchell, G. Holborn, G. Dodds, R. Miller, J. Dalziel, G. Runciman, A. Nagle. Subs: R. Ferguson, S. Lowe, R. Ovens, S. McCormick, A. Skeen.

To be played Saturday, Volunteer Park, 1.30pm.

P1: Selkirk YC v Duns Colts; Selkirk v Hawick PSA; Duns v PSA. P2: Berwick Colts v Langholm Colts; Berwick v Wands A; Langholm v Wands A. P3: Kelso Quins v Tynedale Colts; Kelso v Hawick Wands B; Tynedale v Wands B. P4: Jed Thistle v Peebles Colts; Jed v Gala Wands; Peebles v Gala.

ALTHOUGH Selkirk’s players came home empty-handed from Gala Sevens on Saturday, there was enough promise on show to suggest the Philiphaugh club’s supporters will have plenty to cheer about on the local circuit in the weeks ahead.

By the time the Souters lined up for their third tie of the afternoon against Peebles in the bowl semi-final, it was obvious that the nine players who had given so much in the previous night’s league victory over Stewart’s/Melville FP were beginning to feel the strain.

Pitched into what Radio Borders commentator Stuart McCulloch described as the tournament’s ‘Group of Death’ – alongside defending holders Jed-Forest and eventual runners-up Hawick – Selkirk’s players responded magnificently by coming within a whisker of defeating both sides.

In their opening tie against Jed, Selkirk were twice ahead in the contest, and in the dying seconds came within a conversion kick of levelling the scores. Jed eventually won 28-26, with Selkirk’s tries coming from Fraser Harkness, Angus Duckett, Scott Hendrie and Matt Kissick, with Rory Banks adding one conversion and Harkness two.

Against Hawick, the Souters led 21-12 at half-time through tries from Duckett (2) and Hendrie. However, two quick scores from the Teries brought the Mansfield men right back into the tie, and despite Mikey Davies scoring a try at the death, Hawick ran out 31-28 winners.

Selkirk’s third game of the afternoon was against Peebles in the bowl semi-final. A try by Banks put the Philiphaugh men ahead, but Peebles drew level to make it 5-5 at the break. Another Peebles score was answered by a try from Hendrie, created by Harkness’ sizzling break, but Peebles snatched the decisive try late on to triumph 17-10.

Host club Gala won the main trophy, with the shield going to Edinburgh and the bowl to Melrose.

Selkirk: A. Duckett, M. Kissick, E. MacDougall, F. Harkness, R. Banks, G. Craig, S. Hendrie, S. Forrest, C. McColm, M. Davies.

A threat to close a Tweedbank care home has been withdrawn after inspectors found ‘significant improvements’ had been made to the service.

Craw Wood, run by Eildon Housing Association, had been issued with an improvement notice by the Care Inspectorate last October.

But, after inspections in February, a letter to Eildon said: “As there has been a significant improvement in the service, the Care lnspectorate has decided not to proceed to make a proposal to cancel registration of the service.”

The latest inspection report, published last week, said improvements had been made in a variety of areas. As a result, inspectors graded it ‘adequate’ in three areas and ‘good’ in a fourth.

They said a ‘wide ranging improvement plan’ had been implemented, and there was better training, staff supervision and support, and personal planning and assurance.

The report said: “We recognise these improvements have been as a result of the clear direction and leadership provided by the current manager.”

They also found improvements in ‘all aspects of care’ and reported that better medication practice and risk assessments had resulted in a ‘safer care environment’.

Nile Istephan, chief executive of Eildon, said: “I am pleased that, following lots of hard work and commitment from Eildon staff, the recent Care Inspectorate report has shown a significant improvement in the grades the service has received. We will continue to work hard to ensure that grades continue to improve and return to the high levels that they were previously assessed at.

“I am very grateful for the co-operation we have received from relatives of our residents over this period.”

Kelso cycling club, the Kelso Wheelers this week started their Sunday bike rides for all abilities.

Cyclists meet at the Cross Keys Hotel at 9am for a 10am departure biking about 25 miles each week with one longer ride per month. Anyone interested should contact Barrie on 07769515555 or e-mail him on sales@allfitnesssports.com

A college expert last week issued advice to farmers feeding ewes with dwindling stores and little grass growth.

SRUC senior sheep consultant Dr John Vipond suggests bulking out silage with straw or feeding it on the ground if grass in it is longer than usual.

He recommends 200 grams of soya per ewe per day as an important additional protein feed and a magnesium supplement, noting: “Conditions this year mean there is a high risk of sheep suffering from staggers through magnesium imbalance”.

He also suggests feeding older lambs concentrates and fencing off known liver fluke-affected areas.

A Wooler film company is making a documentary about Border collies and is appealing for shepherds to come forward to talk about their dogs.

Media company Shadowcat Films has already made two local productions, the more recent last year, looking at the region’s bondagers, and, prior to that, a film about Yetholm and its neighbouring Bowmont Valley.

The new film, to be shot in Northumberland and the Borders, will look at the history of the Border collie and feature modern day shepherds working with dogs alongside memories from retired shepherds.

Film director Alysoun Sharpe said: “We would like to capture the unique working relationship which shepherds have with their dogs and the close bond they share. We will be looking at past times but also bringing the film up to date by following modern day shepherds.

The film will feature Sheila, the collie who helped rescue American airmen lost in a blizzard after they’d crashed on Cheviot in winter 1944, the use of Border collies in search and rescue, the historical use of the dogs in droving and the story of shepherd Adam Telfer and Old Hemp, widely regarded as the father of the modern working Border collie.

Partial funding for the film, due out in December, comes from the Northumberland National Park. It will be screened in various locations in the region and be available on DVD.

Anyone who is working with a Border collie or has done so, and wants to be involved, is invited to contact Alysoun on 01668 283465 or alysoun@shadowcatfilms.com by May 10.

Seed multinational Pioneer, the company that commercialised hybrid corn nearly a century ago, announced earlier this year it hopes to perform its magic on wheat.

Pioneer’s communications manager, Jozsef Mate, told The Southern: “Pioneer added hybrid wheat technology to its research pipeline earlier this year. Our goal is to improve the hybrid production process for wheat with potential for global application.

He explained: “As population increases, it is critical to find ways to increase productivity of staple crops like wheat. Hybridization has the potential to create a step-change improvement in productivity and quality of wheat for the world’s ­farmers.”

He said the plant genetics company expected the first traits to be developed within 10 to 15 years.

Meanwhile, Switzerland-based rivals Syngenta’s AgriPro unit is three years into its hybrid wheat project in Kansas with the aim of having a new wheat available to farmers by the end of the decade.

Berwickshire NFU branch chairman Neil White of Greenknowe Farm, Swinton, Duns, who is a member of the union’s regional board and national combinable crops committee, welcomed the moves.

He said previous experiments by farmers growing hybrid wheat had been disappointing: “They had admittedly only small areas planted, but felt it was only on a par with other varieties of the time.”

He continued: “A fresh look at hybrid wheat can only be a good thing. We are faced with the dilemma of growing more from less, less inputs (sprays, fertiliser, fuel) and also less hectares as the greening aspect of CAP reform looks like forcing 5-10 percent of our land to be set aside for environmental reasons.

“Wheat yields in the UK have plateaued and growers are looking to plant breeders to find the high yielding or more elusive nitrogen fixing, drought resistant or more relevant flood resilient 
wheat that can reduce the risk and cost of growing a profitable wheat crop. In Scotland we will have to 
look closely at all possibilities.

“Our government’s stance on genetically modified (GM) crops is a firm ‘no’ so we have to look at all the alternatives that could help us grow higher yielding crops.

He added: “NFU Scotland has backed and encouraged research and development investment in Scotland and the HGCA [the cereals and oilseeds research and marketing division of the independent farmer-funded Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board].

“College trials along with plant breeders’ own trials are a great source of information to farmers, helping us make informed growing decisions for the years ahead.”

Wooler

At their weekly Primestock Sale held at Wooler last Wednesday John Swan Ltd had forward and sold 569 hoggs and 240 ewes.

Well fleshed hoggs again reaching high returns, 569 average 40.7kg at 208.3p. SQQ to 40.1kg at 210.9p.

Leading prices per head:- Suff.x:- £101.50 Ewart, £99 East Fleetham, £98 Castlelaw, £95.50 Todrig, £88 Newstead. Tex.x:- £94.50, £90 Ewart, £94, £92, £90 (4) Ladykirk, £88.50 Todrig. Chv:- £98, £93.50, £93, £91.50, £90, £89.50, £89 Ewart, £92 Barelees. GF:- £93.50 Ewart. BF:- £90, £89.50 Ewart.

Leading prices per kilo:- Chv:- 228.8p, 228.1p, 226.8p, 222.5p, 217.8p Ewart, 216.2p Biddlestone Home Farm. Tex.x:- 225p Ewart, 215.8p, 215p, 214.3p Ladykirk, 211.3p East Fleetham. BF:- 223.8p, 219.5p Ewart. GF:- 212.5p Ewart. Suff.x:- 203p Ewart. Greater numbers with more flesh available, averaging £66.67.

Leading prices:- Tex.x:- £136 (2) Ewart, £106 Branxton Moor, £103 Village Farm, £100 Branxton Moor. Suff.x:- £121 Barelees, £107 Branxton Moor, £99 Fowberry Moor, £96 Branxton Moor. HB:- £112 Barelees. Zwa:- £100.50 Barelees. GF:- £95 Castlelaw, £91 Ewart, £89, £85 Branxton Moor, £82 Todrig. Chv:- £72 Biddlestone Home Farm. BF:- £66 Branton Eastside, £65 West Longridge.

Rams:- Suff.x:- £125 Lilburn Estates (Ilderton), £123 Biddlestone Home Farm. Tex.x:- £120, £117 Lilburn Estates (Ilderton). LLY:- £107 Lilburn Estates (Ilderton).

st boswells

John Swan Ltd sold 87 clean cattle, 23 OTM cattle, 2506 old season lambs + 6 new season lambs and 587 ewes.

Bullocks (40) averaged 230.8p per kg and sold to 259p (+3.2p on week)

Heifers (44) averaged 227.5p per kg and sold to 261p (-2.5p on week)

Three young bulls averaged 181.8p per kg and sold to 191p (-17p on week), 23 beef type OTM cattle averaged 156p per kg and sold to 184p (+2.8p on the week)

Old season SQQ lambs averaged 212.4p per kg and sold to £125(-0.6p on week)

New season lambs averaged 261.9 and sold to £110.

ewes averaged £69.47 and sold to £135. Heavy ewes £89.57, Lighter ewes £50.27

border livestock

To week ending Friday, April 5.

446 cattle sold including 62 prime, 31 cull cows and 353 stores. 824 prime lambs including 249 cast ewes.

Prime cattle continue to sell extremely well. Aberdeen Angus cross heifers from Hallrule

Farms, Bonchester Bridge 
and Fenwick Steads, Belford 
sold to 415p per kg. Aberdeen Angus cross steers sold to 
410p per kg from Linkshead, Cockburnspath and Cairndinnis, Haddington.

Continental Cross heifers from Lochside Farm, Yetholm and Springhill Farm, Seahouses sold to 395p per kg (£1,762 per head).

Prime hoggs were considerably dearer on the week as numbers became very scarce. Export weights sold to 470p per kg from Billie Mains, Duns.

460p per kg for Suffolk Crosses from Redpath Farm, Duns and North Doddington Farm, Wooler.

Store cattle sales hit an all-time high for the number of cattle sold farm to farm.

Several annual consignments sold to the same buyers and feed lots as last year. Breeding cattle also sold well, with cows and calves to £1,650 and bulling heifers to £1,340.

Much as I like to welcome the first flowers of spring such as snowdrops and daffodils, they are not true wild flowers and it is probably the humble coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) which gives me the most pleasure.

It is one of the few native plants whose flowers appear before their leaves and their preferred habitat of bare stony places beside streams and rivers allows the vivid yellow blooms to stand out like miniature sunbursts.

This odd flowering habit gives rise to one of its local names, “son before the father”.

I used to think that its common name came from the fact that before the flower fully opened, if held upside down it looked like the leg of a horse. I have since learned that the name comes from the shape of the leaves which are hoof shaped.

Like several other spring flowers, it only opens when the sun is out and closes up at night and during dull weather.

It has been used medicinally as a cough suppressant. The name “tussilago” itself means cough suppressant.

The plant has been used since at least historical times to treat lung ailments such as asthma as well as various coughs by way of smoking.

Crushed flowers supposedly cured skin conditions, and the plant has been consumed as a food item.

This plant has been put to a wide range of uses through the years. The leaves can be incorporated into salads, cooked and used to make tea. The felt from the leaves has been used as a stuffing agent and dried for use as tinder. Coltsfoot is still available in health-food outlets as a treatment for coughs and other chest problems.

The plant must be boiled before being ingested as it contains substances that can be toxic to the liver.

Coltsfoot’s lore lies in its smoke.

During the Second World War, soldiers in Europe smoked it as a substitute for tobacco, and through the ages the dried leaves were burnt and inhaled to treat lung infections. Some still refer to it as coughwort.

It is still smoked in some areas today as herbal tobacco, and the names “baccy plant” and “poor-man’s baccy” survive in some parts of Britain.

The next time you come across these miniature suns growing on a piece of waste ground, don’t dismiss it as a useless weed, as it does have its qualities.

It certainly cheers me up, which, after the March we’ve just had, can’t be bad.

Scottish Borders Council has updated its guidance on tree planting and identifies areas for new woodlands.

The notes will be used by Forestry Commission Scotland when it considers applications for new planting grants. They will also be the benchmark for the council to make future consultation replies.

The guidelines are an update to a woodland strategy first set for the area in 2005.

The reviewed rules for new woodlands take economic, social and environmental issues into consideration.

The note also provides a vision for the kinds of new planting that would make the greatest contribution to the various different geographical regions of the Borders such as the Tweed lowlands or the Cheviot Hills, said the council.

Councillor Gordon Edgar, executive member for roads and infrastructure, said: “I am pleased to announce this addition to our existing woodland strategy. We now have a strengthened policy on which to base decisions when consulted by the Forestry Commission on applications for new tree planting across the Borders. The new advice note and map enable us to consider the impacts applications would have on the economy, the environment and those living close to the proposed planting.”

The region’s strategy covers the contribution forestry makes to the local economy, woodland-based tourism, biodiversity and recreation.

For more details visit www.scotborders.gov.uk/downloads/download/113/scottish_borders_woodland_strategy

RIDES are booking up in next month’s Peeblesshire’s cycling festival, TweedLove, even as organisers unveiled the 10-day event’s programme last week.

Festival director Neil Dalgleish said: “This year’s festival is the biggest in our four-year history. There’s been a huge amount of interest from across the UK and Europe.”

The festival features over 20 events from pro-level racing to family rides and beginners’ skills sessions and it retains its popular free on and off-road rides guided by local enthusiasts.

Non cyclists can enjoy film and photography competitions and party night, the Love Club on last Saturday of the festival.

Last year’s first bivvy night out was so successful organisers are once again staging a night out under the stars in bivouac bags, though biking a little further this year.

Also new last year was the mountain biking enduro competition for the titles King and Queen of the Hill. Sponsored this year by POC, the event has sold out already.

Organisers say online: “We’ve tweaked the format of this year’s race to increase the grin factor further by including even more of the valley’s fantastic descents. The course makes the most of the massive variety of trail riding here”

The headquarters – and start and finish – for the race this year will be in Peebles this year.

The popular Glentress Seven – a seven hour MTB race for individuals and teams of two or three over trails and usually closed singletrack of around 11km with 450m of up and down – is back again.

Festival regular the Hawaii slalom has been reinvigorated into what organisers promise will be “a massive gravity slalom party” at Glentress, featuring new tracks and berms, features and tabletops. There will also be a separate kids event, sound system and barbecue adding to the exciting atmosphere.

For more information visit www.tweedlove.com

The creation of a national park in the Scottish Borders has been suggested by two leading landscape charities in a new report.

On Wednesday, the Scottish Campaign for National Parks (SCNP) and the Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland (APRS) launched the joint report, calling for the establishment of at least seven more national parks in Scotland.

An extension of Northumberland National Park to take in the Scottish side of the Cheviots is one of the suggestions contained in the report.

Jimmie Macgregor MBE, president of APRS, said: “Scotland’s landscapes rank amongst the best in the world – we have wild mountains, pristine rivers and lochs, ancient forests, stunning coastline and islands, all rich in wildlife and history.

“Yet, out of 3,500 National Parks in the world, Scotland has only two. The first two have been a great success – surely it’s time for more.”

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs was designated a national park in 2002 and the Cairngorms National Park followed in 2003.

The two charities have argued that these two national parks have proved their value, and that it is now time for more to be established across Scotland.

The report, written by John Mayhew, manager of the Scottish National Parks Strategy Project, states of the Cheviots: “The Scotland/England border runs along the ridge of the Cheviot Hills, so the southern flanks of the Cheviot Hills in England are included in the Northumberland National Park, yet the northern flanks in Scotland have only limited protection through ‘area of great kandscape value’ designation.

“However, the landscape quality of the northern side is as great as, if not greater than, that to the south, so there would be a great deal of sense in extending the Northumberland National Park into Scotland.”

Mr Mayhew added: “This would be the first cross-border national park in the British Isles, although this would not be particularly unusual, as there are several examples of cross-border national parks elsewhere in the world.”

The other areas suggested for national park designation are: Ben Nevis, Glen Coe and Black Mount; a coastal and marine area based around Mull; an area of Galloway; Glen Affric; Harris; and Wester Ross.

Bill McDermott, chairman of SCNP, said: “Scots-born naturalist, explorer and writer John Muir inspired the creation of the world’s first national parks in 19th-century USA and is known as the Father of National Parks.

“It would be a fitting tribute to his memory if the Scottish Government committed to more National Parks in 2014, the Year of Homecoming and the centenary of Muir’s death.”

The report argues that the designation of more national parks would bring about a wide range of environmental, social and economic benefits.

It concludes that more national parks would “bring additional resources to places which deserve them, strengthen Scotland’s international standing for environmental protection and support our crucial tourism industry.”

In 1945 the Borders was the focus of suggestions for national park designation, with St Mary’s Loch on a reserve list put forward by The Ramsey Report.

Allow me to introduce myself – wife (of The S0uthern’s long-serving reporter, Mark), ex journalist/bus driver/tour guide/florist, mum of two (The Young Master and The Young Mistress), general fixer-upper and everyday household marshaller.But most importantly of all, a wannabe smallholder.

It’s a disease, turning ordinary, reasonable folk into coveters/collectors of everything from chickens to mini-tractors, and rarities such as small square straw bales. “Aaaaah, my precious, my preh-shussssss” (in your best Gollum voice).

It started off with four chickens (“Won’t it be great to collect and eat our own eggs, straight from the hen’s bahookey?”), which multiplied slowly, but surely, into 30-odd. Gulp.

Then it was a hunt for planks of wood so thick and heavy you could have fashioned a Tudor warship out of them, and needed someone as hefty as Henry VIII to lift (“Raised beds would be just brilliant, so easy to manage”). Great for growing veg to feed the family... and the ever-growing flock of hens. Ahem.

The chickens were joined by turkeys, and then quail. And then at Christmas, some of the turkeys went... into the oven. We wondered how The Young Master and Mistress would take this. However, as even most vegetarians drool when a turkey dinner’s cooking on Christmas Day, after a brief explanation of how it works – we get the turkeys, we feed them, they live a great (if short) life and then (said whilst twisting hands in a gruesome neck-wringing demo), bam, that’s it, very quick (well, no-one’s ever going to tell a seven-year-old and a four-year-old it was a slooooow, lingering death, are they? And it isn’t) – they picked up their cutlery and tucked in with relish. Verdict? The best turkey – ever.

Then we moved on to Scratch and Sniff, two Tamworth piglets who made fantastic characters – and fantastic pork chops. In the words of The Young Mistress, whilst tucking into a belly roast one Sunday: “We get the pigs. Then we kill them. Then we eat them”. Sage nods from The Young Master. As the meerkat says: simples.

We tested their laissez-faire attitude to raising our own meat to the max recently. The turkeys and the pigs came from elsewhere, youngsters but recognisable as what they would grow into – dinner.

But this time on the menu it was cockerel. Or rather, cockerels. Cockerels which had once been our own eggs, incubated by our broody hens, and hatched into ickle fluffy chicks we ooh-ed and aah-ed over. Most had grown into fine big hens. But five grew into strapping big boys who started to crow and strut.

We separated them off, gave them a few lay-dees for company and a couple of weeks ago, we killed and ate two of them.

The verdict? Delicious. The family dogs are now looking quite nervous.