A Hawick woman who admitted breaching a community-based sentence for the third time was jailed for four months at Jedburgh Sheriff Court on Friday.

Emma Elliot’s solicitor maintained her client had made significant changes to her life during the past year, but Sheriff Derrick McIntyre said continued breaches made a complete mockery of the system.

Twenty-four-year-old Elliot, of Princes Street, also had sentence deferred until June 28 on two further complaints after she pleaded guilty to buying alcohol for two children and resetting a stolen mobile phone.

Elliot claimed to have succumbed to pressure when she agreed to buy a half-bottle of Buckfast for an 11-year-old and a 12-year-old at the Co-op supermarket in Kenilworth Avenue, Hawick, on September 30, 2011.

The court heard how the two children had clubbed together for the alcohol which they drank in a nearby car park.

Elliot reset a stolen mobile phone at Melrose Court, Hawick, on May 8 last year.

Man assaulted teenager, 15

A teenager was treated for a sprained wrist after a drunken man twisted her hand as he tried to retrieve his mobile phone.

Robert Easton, 36, of Princes Street, Hawick, also shouted and swore, throwing items around a house in the Borders.

Easton admitted causing fear and alarm, and assaulting a 15-year-old, on December 30 last year.

Defending, Greig McDonell said his client, a first offender, appreciated his behaviour was out of order.

Sentence had previously been deferred for Easton to be of good behaviour.

Sheriff Derrick McIntyre fined the accused £250, telling him: “You have been of good behaviour for six months, but this was an assault.”

Did not provide information

Failing to provide information relating to child support regulations cost Paul Richardson a £160 fine.

Richardson, 39, of Drumlanrig Place, Hawick, admitted failing to provide information at his home on September 7, 2011.

Caught with knuckleduster

Caught with a knuckleduster, Christopher Davidson claimed to have found it outside his flat during the early hours of the morning.

But Sheriff Derrick McIntyre pondered: “Is it credible to find a knuckleduster in a flower bed in Hawick?”

Davidson, 25, of Dickson Street, pleaded guilty to having an offensive weapon in Albert Road, Hawick, on January 6.

“His position is that he found it outside his flat in the early hours of the morning,” said defence lawyer Alison Marshall.

Miss Marshall added: “He no longer associates with the people he did.”

Miss Marshall stressed that while her client had the knuckleduster, there was no question of him using it.

Sentence was deferred until August 2 for good behaviour and to monitor Davidson’s compliance with current community payback orders.

A thief who stole equestrian items and tools worth more than £2,000 from a Hawick farm avoided custody with an alternative community payback order (CPO).

Kyle Lawrie was also told to complete 200 hours of unpaid work, with a warning that any lapse could cost him his liberty.

Lawrie, 24, of Church Lane, Hawick, admitted breaking into a stable tackroom and three stables at Wellogate Farm, Wellogate Brae, on March 6, and stealing equestrian and first aid items totalling £40.

He also pleaded guilty to forcing open a storage container and stealing tools and building material worth £2,470.

Lawrie was found at the scene and the property recovered. The poultry worker was said to have acted out of character after taking diazepam.

Lawrie’s lawyer told Jedburgh Sheriff Court on Friday: “His grandmother was seriously ill, and died the day after, and he decided to take Diazepam to help him cope. He acted out of character, is very remorseful and will not consider taking anything again.”

Sheriff Derrick McIntyre told Lawrie the offences were too serious to be dealt with by fines. After imposing a CPO, he also warned the accused: “If you don’t do the work, you can expect a custodial sentence.”

A Callum Peoples strike against his home town club Kelso United gave Selkirk a 1-0 win in the East of Scotland League First Division last night.

The result is a welcome win for the Souters, being only their fifth in the league this season.

Peebles Rovers suffered their fifth defeat in just ten days with a 4-0 drubbing at home to Leith Athletic, with the Edinburgh side now a point behind second placed Coldstream.

Gala Fairydean were disappointing in a 0-0 draw with Ormiston at Netherdale 3G Arena.

At the top, Craigroyston moved four points clear of Coldstream with a 5-1 Burntisland Shipyard win.

Tomorrow night sees the Sanderson Cup final between Hawick Legion Rovers and Gordon at Yarrow Park. The match kicks off at 6.15pm.

Unex Canaletto defied his 25-1 odds to land the Hunter Property Fund Management novices’ handicap hurdle race at Kelso yesterday for Langholm trainer James Ewart.

Relishing the better ground, the gelding was always handy, and cruised up the run-in for a four-length success.

The four-year-old carries the colours of the Craig Farm syndicate.

Ewart was deprived of a double when De Boitron held Beneficial Reform to take the feature Bedmax handicap chase (for the Haddington Jubilee Cup), scoring the first of two wins for trainer Ferdy Murphy.

Recording his first success in some four years, De Boitron seemed to appreciate the step up in trip, and stayed on strongly in the hands of Sam Twiston-Davies.

“He is a good ground horse and the ground made all the difference,” explained trainer Ferdy Murphy.

“Sam said the trip helped him, and he was always travelling easily today.

“He might go for the Perth Gold Cup,” he added.

Kelso’s final fixture of the season takes place later this month with Ladies’ Day on Sunday, May 26.

Full report in next week’s Southern.

RESULTS

2.05 – JACK THE GENT (B Keniry) 5-4 fav; 2, Rhymers Ha’ 4-1; Robbie 15-8. Five ran. G Moore, Middleham.

2.35 – UNEX CANALETTO (B Hughes) 25-1; 2, Academy 12-1; 3, Glasson Lad 7-1. 12 ran. J Ewart, Langholm.

3.05 – BOBBLE HAT BOB (P Buchanan) 12-1; 2, Carrigdhoun 6-1; 3, Markadam 7-1. 10 ran. Miss L Russell, Milnathort.

3.35 – DE BOITRON (S Twiston-Davies) 12-1; 2, Beneficial Reform 6-1; 3, Lets Get Serious 20-1. 10 ran. F Murphy, Leyburn.

4.10 – ENDEAVOR (T Kelly) 7-2; 2, Musnad 9-4; 3, Smart Ruler 15-2. Six ran. D Sayer, Penrith.

4.45 – BOROLEE (T Kelly) 9-1; 2, Silver Steel 28-1; 3, Solway Donal 28-1. 14 ran. F Murphy.

5.20 – SECRETE STREAM 9-1 (B Hughes); 2, I Got Tower 13-2; 3, Ollie G 10-1. 13 ran. M Jefferson, Malton.

The council is introducing chip-and-PIN payment technology this month, reducing the risk of card fraud.

The new payment machines will be rolled out across council sites from Tuesday, May 21.

Because of the changes, card payments will not be available between midday on Monday, May 20, and mid-afternoon on Tuesday, May 21.

Stroke survivors are not getting the emotional support they need according to findings by the national charity Stroke Association.

The charity’s Feeling Overwhelmed survey of 2,700 people, including 166 from Scotland, found the emotional impact of stroke can be as devastating as the physical effects and was underestimated and sometimes overlooked by health and social care services,

Over half of stroke survivors (65%) felt depressed and two thirds (65%) experienced anxiety as a result of their stroke. They also reported high levels of fear of a recurrent stroke (55%), anger (53%) and lack of confidence (73%)

Over a third of stroke survivors (37%) said they felt abandoned after leaving hospital and nearly half (46%) had received no information or practical advice to help them cope with the emotional impact.

Heiton’s Jessica Connor was just 21 when she had a stroke on a day off from her beauty therapist’s job at Haggerston Castle in Northumberland.

Now a 26-year-old mum, Jessica said: “You think you are invincible at 21. It was a shock. I cried for a couple of days then I was determined to get over it and do what I always did.

“My reaction was disbelief. I don’t really remember the first few days because I think I blocked it out of my mind. I didn’t really know what a stroke meant, I thought ‘oh well, stroke, whatever’.

She was in hospital for three weeks, having occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech therapy. She regained the use of her right leg and arm and learned to talk again.

“I wasn’t very confident anyway as a person and it knocked my confidence. I’m quite a shy person. I didn’t want to speak to anyone or phone anybody.

“I didn’t get depression, but I did get a bit anxious about making phone calls because I couldn’t think of the words I wanted to say. But you have to get on with it.

“I was just determined I was going to get back to being as normal as I could be.”

She and her fiance, technical manager James Cunningham, with whom she has 20-month-old daughter Isabella, get married next month.

“For the most affected farms there will no immediate relief in 2013 and there will be a hard road back to perhaps more normal production in 2014.”

So said NFU Scotland president Nigel Miller in his most recent blog before going into stakeholders meetings this week to thrash out details of where the £6million aid package for farmers, announced by Scottish Government last week, should go.

“Today, in May, many farmers are still buying feed and striving to support stock. The aid package provides a potential lifeline that can bridge the hardest-hit businesses into summer weather,” the Stow livestock producer wrote. The public cash is for farms hit by bad snow in March, though others have also been identified, he said, adding: “There are extreme situations in other sectors, including crop losses, which have the potential to threaten the future of businesses.”

The challenge to this week’s industry group is to identify all the farms “where weather has significantly eroded the capacity to produce” and to come up with a way of responding quickly “at an appropriate level”, he said.

“Aid is not a total solution, but it can inject funds to pause cashflow pressure and provide a pathway forward.”

And he urged banks to be flexible with overdrafts and restructure lending.

Fellow Borders farmer and NFU Scotland vice-president, Rob Livesey, said the job of deciding where the aid money should go would be “extremely difficult”.

“If the funds are spread too wide then the benefit will be too small to make a difference to those businesses.”

He expects Borders farmers to qualify for some help: “We probably suffered more than many in the last 12 months, but were less affected than the west by the March storms.”

Latest figures show a surge in sheep and cattle deaths from the start of the year, with Scotland hit worst, recording fallen stock up by over 35 per cent on last year between January and April.

NFU Scotland’s livestock policy manager John Sleigh said causes would be disease, nutrition and the weather, but that “a significant number” will not be accounted for because they may still be lost, under snow, eaten by wild animals and, where the snow hit worst, farmers were allowed to bury dead stock.

The statistics also exclude special pick ups of larger than usual numbers, likely after the March snow.

Last year Peeblesshire, Selkirkshire and Berwickshire were the wettest since Met Office records began, while in Roxburghshire rainfall was the third highest the area had experienced.

And Gatepost, RSABI charity’s confidential listening service, saw a “significant acceleration” of calls from October, receiving four times as many in February from farmers in financial and/or emotional difficulty, compared to the previous year.

Fluke has had a “devastating” impact on Borders sheep flocks in the last six months, according to a former NFUS livestock committee chairman.

Union vice-president and Lilliesleaf farmer Rob Livesey’s comments follow a call by NFUS for farmers to tackle the “alarming” increase in the disease where fluke parasites attack the animal’s liver, causing it to lose condition.

The problem is so bad abattoirs are rejecting increasing numbers of cattle and sheep’s livers from the food chain because of fluke damage, say ­union officials.

Rob said: “Liver fluke has had a devastating affect on many Borders sheep flocks in the past six months and has caused major problems with cattle, too.

“Death and ill thrift has been widespread, made worse by the poor nutritional value of fodder made last year.”

Scientists last week warned the problem could get worse.

Researchers at Scotland’s Rural College and York University combined disease forecasting techniques with climate change projections and concluded that by 2020 “serious liver fluke epidemics” could be the norm.

Veterinary investigation officer at SAC’s Disease Surveillance Centre at St Boswells, Dr Elspeth Scott said more cases of fluke had been brought in this year, but also that farmers are now better at recognising what had traditionally been a west coast disease.

“Conditions have been absolutely ideal for fluke and the impression is there is more of it out there,” she said.

Figures for the first quarter of this year showed Scotland had the highest incidence of liver fluke in the UK.

IF YOU don’t know your pygmy shrew from any other small furry, Borders Forest Trust’s (BFT) Mammal ID day could be a diary date.

The short walk (one kilometre return) will be at the Devil’s Beef Tub, north of Moffat, which is part of the trust’s Corehead Farm, on May 18, when county mammal recorder Andy Riches will talk about animals found there.

A spokesperson for BFT said: “It will be a case of playing detective, as most of these mammals are nocturnal, looking for signs of their presence like where they have been feeding and taking shelter, but Andy will also explain about DNA analysis of droppings as a method of surveying wildlife.

“It is important to protect numbers of small mammals because they are a food source for larger animals such as owls, buzzards and other birds of prey.

“Andy predicts an increase in badgers, squirrels and otters in the area thanks to the ongoing conservation work. He hopes to also see more water vole, which are suffering from the introduction of non-native mink to the UK.”

The Ancrum-based conservation charity bought the 1,580-acre farm in 2009 after an 18-month campaign to raise the £700,000 needed and has been undertaking conservation work since.

For more information on the mammal day, visit www.bordersforesttrust.org/news-events or ring Corehead site manager Phil Roe on 07713 566295 for details and to book a place.

SATURDAY, MAY 11 – Wildlife Photography River Walk along the Tweed at Cardrona (KLAWED Project):

This stretch of river really starts to liven up during the early evening and there should be plenty of opportunities to catch the antics of the local oystercatchers, swans and sand martins on camera.

A brief dip into the forest later on in the walk might even treat you to a glimpse of a red squirrel.

Booking is advisable – please contact Rachel on kailzieofficer@gmail.com or on 07792 033331 to book or for more information.

JEDBURGH firefighter Carl Stephenson is kayaking, running up Ben Nevis and cycling with friends and colleagues to raise money for charity.

The 340-mile extreme challenge this October is in memory of a friend, Peter Metcalfe, who died within two weeks of finding out he had cancer, at the age of 35.

A colleague came up with the four-day Strong Arm Challenge 2013 and now 23 Tyne and Wear Fire Brigade officers and friends hope to raise £10,000 for the charity of Peter’s choice, the Make A Wish Foundation – which makes dreams come true for children with life-threatening illnesses – and the Fire Fighters Charity.

The team are going to kayak the 23-mile length of Loch Ness and bike the 31 miles to Ben Nevis on September 30.

The following day will see them ascend Ben Nevis then run 26 miles to Kinlochleven.

On day three, they will bike 140 miles to Peebles before cycling 100 miles back to their brigade’s headquarters in Wallsend, Newcastle, on day four.

The 33-year-old is the only Borderer among the group.

He moved from Newcastle to Jedburgh in 2003 and usually plays football for Jed Legion, although he has taken this season off to train for the upcoming event.

He said:“I haven’t done a challenge like this before,”he said before admitting he’d come up with Strong Arm’s bike route.

“The challenges we’ll face are the Loch Ness monster, the Scottish weather, injuries, fatigue, blisters, blisters and more blisters!”

Two years ago, he was part of a trio of Jedburgh athletes who raised £2,000 for charity doing the Helvellyn Triathlon of a mile’s swim in Ullswater, a 38-mile bike, including the steep Kirkstone Pass, and a nine-mile run up Helvellyn. Carl is doing the triathalon again this September.

And what he is most looking forward to about the Strong Arm?

“Finishing it and raising money for our charities.”

Anyone wanting to sponsor the event should contact Carl on carlosnesta@hotmail.com

WHAT do you think is the biggest killer of poultry? Foxes? Avian ’flu? Wile E. Coyote? Nope. Round our way it’s Jock, the Patterdale terrier.

And Jock doesn’t just stick to chickens. His repertoire extends to all creatures sporting fur and feather. To date, he has been responsible for the demise of chickens, a turkey stag, countless baby birds (various species), a red-legged partridge which foolishly strayed into the garden, a rabbit having a nibble, and even a couple of Zhu-Zhu pets.

Jock was ‘free to a good home’, and came to us as an extremely cute, 12-week-old puppy.

He was smooth of coat and cute of eye, in a Disney way. Our existing dog (the Big Brown One) mingled quite happily – after a bit of familiarisation – with the (then) free-ranging hens. But not wee Jocky.

Even as a puppy, Jock had the killer instinct. An introduction led to him wildly chasing them about as fast as his little (at the time) legs could carry him, an evil glint in those Disney eyes, pin-sharp puppy teeth snapping. It was a short introduction.

Needless to say, subsequent attempts to help Jock befriend the chooks similarly failed. They had feathers and moved – they deserved to die. Small children running with teddies would find Jock clamped to a foot. Of the bear, I hasten to add.

So fences were erected and the chooks are now protected by around 6 feet of wire and a double-gate entry system. He likes to fling himself at the boundary wall when other dogs pass by on innocent walks with their owners. So the fencing was extended right around our boundary. With flat, wired baffles on the top like the ones you have at zoos to stop lions jumping out. Our very own Whipsnade.

The Young Mistress’s Zhu-Zhu pets are a favourite. If he breaks into the conservatory where the toys are kept, he goes on a fake fur rampage. Zhu-Zhu pets move erratically and take a long time to ‘kill’. Perfect for Patterdales.

But size isn’t a problem for Jocky Boy. The aforementioned turkey stag was caught during a fence ambush, when Jock sprang up and nabbed its wing tip through the wire. He then proceeded to try and drag it through in order to consume it. Quite ambitious, as he is the size of a Parson Russell terrier and the turkey was 22lbs.

So our charming pup grew up and grew long legs, a hairy coat with a Mohican up his back and a wispy beard. Best of all, long, wispy white eyebrows which (in conjunction with the beard) make him look a little like Fu Manchu.

But best of all are the teeth. The huuuuuuge teeth. He’s the Ken Dodd of canines. It looks like they came first – and the dog was arranged around them as an afterthought.

Horse behaviourist Richard Maxwell will give his only demonstration in Scotland this year in the Borders.

The visit is a coup for the renowned Borders Festival of the Horse and will see the successful natural horseman demonstrate and pass on skills and solutions to horse-related problems near Kelso later this month.

On his website, the expert says: “I will hopefully be working with a loading problem, a schooling problem and also groundwork with an unbacked youngster, so something for everyone.”

The ex-military riding instructor was introduced to natural horsemanship whilst in the Household Cavalry and the former competitive eventer and showjumper spent many years exploring it.

“After nearly 20 years I have developed a process that is a mix of the best of natural horsemanship and traditional horsemanship, “ he says on his website.

Horsewoman Polly Fraser, who has seen Max before, is organising the visit for the festival.

She said you watch some experts who are amazing, but you go away feeling inadequate.

But she told us:“When you see Richard Maxwell, you go away thinking ‘I could do this’.

His demonstration will be at Nenthorn Equestrian Centre, near Kelso, on Monday, May 27, in the evening.

“He wanted it to be small and to be able to talk to his audience. He’s a fantastic communicator, both with the horse, and with people. His methods are so hands-on and user-friendly,” she said.

“There will be plenty of opportunity for people to ask questions. He loves talking about what he does.”

The tickets, sold on a first-come first-served basis, are available from Polly on 01835 862501 or pollyafraser@live.co.uk

Another first this year will be tilting demonstrations from Danish riders and a tilting-at-the-ring competition in the art, dating back to the Middle Ages, of galloping with a lance to spear a ring in a gallows, with the ring starting with a diameter of 22 mm and gradually reducing to just 6mm to leave the ‘King’ (winner) remaining.

Another highlight will be the Duke of Buccleuch opening Bowhill to give festival-goers a rare opportunity to see the family’s sporting paintings on Sunday, May 19, in the afternoon.

Popular perennials are back: the well-subscribed guided rides; a car boot sale; an evening with heavy horses at Gilmanscleuch, Ettrick; horse logging; and the grand competition day at Newtown St Boswells.

And, once again, the festival dates cover the Floors Castle Horse Trials, Kelso Races, Oxnam Gymkhana and the Duke of Buccleuch’s lurcher and terrier show.

The Horse Drawn, Drawn Horse mixed exhibition at The Pottery, Smailholm opens next Friday, and other events include Eildon endurance rides, shows and practices by the Jedburgh-based horse stunt troupe Les Amis D’Onno, cross-country schooling, an equine reiki demonstration, talks by vets including an update on sarcoids, a vaulting demonstration, an introduction to radionics, a visit to the Scottish Borders Donkey Sanctuary and local performers giving readings, music and songs from the Horse Tales and Saddle Songs anthology compiled by Judy Steel in Hawick. For more information and to book, visit www.bordersfestivalhorse.org

LOCAL chartered surveyor Nick Green and auctioneers Border Livestock Exchange have joined forces to create a new regional property auction venture.

Lomax Lang provides a property auction management service to the Borders property market by working in partnership with local solicitors and estate agents and holding regular regional collective property sales.

Mr Green, director of Lomax Lang, said: “The quick timeframe and transparent nature of buying and selling at auction has meant this method of buying and selling has become increasingly popular and more mainstream over the last decade.

“Modern auction terms also allow time for the purchaser to arrange finance after the auction date.”

The creation of Lomax Lang will enable local auctions to take place, which will benefit sellers in particular.

Logan Brown, auctioneer and fellow director, said: “Initial support from the region’s solicitors and estate agents has been encouraging, giving us the potential to catalogue a broad range of properties for the inaugural sale.”

Lomax Lang’s first sale will take place on June 6 at Kelso Racecourse.

Included in the catalogue is a seven-bedroom farmhouse at Eastfield of Lempitlaw, Kelso.

THE Upper Tier Tax Tribunal has considered the criteria for the letting of furnished holiday accommodation to be considered a business, in order to qualify for Business Property Relief from Inheritance Tax (IHT).

IHT is chargeable on a person’s estate when they die and is also sometimes payable on trusts or gifts made during someone’s lifetime.

The tax is payable at 40 per cent on the amount over the Nil Rate Band threshold (currently £325,000) or 36 per cent if the estate qualifies for a reduced rate as a result of a charitable donation.

Business Property Relief can provide relief from IHT at rates of up to 100 per cent and consequently it is a very valuable relief.

Prior to 2008, HMRC were generally content to accept that these lettings qualified for relief, on the basis that holiday letting was not a business of ‘wholly or mainly holding investments’.

They changed their stance, in late 2008, when they announced that they had been advised that their previous practice was incorrect in law and they stated that they intended to litigate a suitable test case on the issue.

The test case chosen was the ‘Pawson case’.

Mrs Pawson died in 2006 and had owned a share in ‘Fairhaven’, which was let as furnished holiday accommodation prior to her death.

The property was furnished and equipped with a telephone and television. Additional services such as cleaning between lettings, gardening, heating, hot water (which was turned on before guests arrived) and a welcome pack were provided to holidaymakers.

The First Tier Tribunal found for the taxpayer and held that the business should not be considered an investment business for IHT purposes and that Business Property Relief was available.

This decision was recently overturned by a High Court judge sitting in the Upper Tier Tribunal. The HMRC successfully argued that holiday lettings should be categorised as investment activities, along with other rental property, and therefore may be liable to IHT on the owner’s death.

The Upper Tribunal found that the approach to be taken in assessing whether a holiday letting business was an ‘investment business’ was to ascertain whether or not the activities which related directly to the supply of the use of the property (such as finding occupiers and maintaining the property) outweighed the additional services and facilities (such as cleaning, heating, hot water and telephone).

The Upper Tier Tribunal found that the additional services did not outweigh the property related services in the Pawson case.

It is understood that the executors of Pawson are planning to take the case to the Court of Appeal.

This is not good news for owners of holiday lets and may result in a high level of uncertainty. Owners may wish to review their circumstances and take appropriate steps to protect their estate. Our tax department can provide support in all aspects of tax planning.

If you require further information please telephone Mairi Drummond on 01573 224391 or email mairi.drummond@renniewelch.co.uk.

A former gym instructor has retrained and is offering Nordic Walking in the region.

Earlston’s Careen Paterson is running two classes in her home village and in Melrose so far and is enthusiastic about the whole body exercise.

She said: “It burns more calories than ordinary walking, tones your whole body and feels easier than walking. It’s sociable, as you can chat as you go, and it’s easy to learn and keep up.”

Nordic Walking dates back to the 1930s when competitive cross country skiers in Finland started to use poles in their off season training when there was no snow.

“They realized this was giving them a massive advantage and that the technique was a perfect training aid which kept their heart and lungs in top condition and ensured upper and lower body muscles remained in top shape, “ explained Careen.

The activity grew in popularity over mainland Europe and is catching on in Britain.

“Nordic Walking is one of the fastest growing exercise activities in the UK, “ said Careen.

She became an instructor through Nordic Walking UK, explaining: “I qualified as a fitness instructor in 2010, and after having worked at a small private gym for some time, I wanted to add to my skills and start my own business.

“Nordic Walking is an enhancement of ordinary walking, it makes something everyone can do twice as effective. It does this by the 
use of poles to engage the muscles of the upper body as you walk.”

The activity should not be confused with trekking she warned, explaining: “The poles are not planted in front of the body, but in a specific way that increases the use of the upper body.

“It is a fitness technique, a healthy walking concept, a rehabilitative tool, and a highly effective exercise for sports conditioning and cross training. Learning the correct technique is essential to get the most out of the activity.”

What she loves also about it, aside from its help with core strength and back mobility, is that it can be done anywhere, by all ages and fitness levels and no specialist clothing is required.

The marathon runner, who works as a guide in Bowhill House during the summer, has competed in local triathlons and also runs kettlebell classes in Earlston.

Anyone interested in trying Nordic Walking should contact Careen through her Facebook page – Nordic Walking Borders- or at nordwalkbord@gmail.com

Lilliesleaf’s Rosie Kennedy is one of only two antenatal Lazy Daisy teachers in the east of Scotland using several techniques to help pregnant women.

The method combines yoga, self hypnosis, breathing and relaxation techniques along with peer support for those expecting and for mums after the birth.

And the first Lazy Daisy Borders baby was born to a first-time mum on Sunday.

Rosie said: “She sent a message saying ‘tell the others it works’! I was just thrilled.

“It’s such a special time in someone’s life, I feel so privileged to be involved and to have a positive influence.”

The technique was started by mum-of-five Julie Long in 2004. Mum-of-two Rosie came to it after the birth of her first child: “I thought I would be fine but it wasn’t how I expected, I found it really traumatic and I was terrified when I became pregnant with my daughter.

“But I got some really good advice from a friend who had been to Lazy Daisy classes and I couldn’t believe the difference, I felt calm and in control. I worked with my body and gravity, not needing any pain relief.”

One of the aims of the classes is for women to learn through movement and build up muscle memory so their bodies go into ‘auto-pilot’ and give birth more easily.

The 32-year-old decided to train after she became pregnant for a third time 
and still couldn’t find a class in the area: “I decided that if no one else was going to 
bring a class here than I would!”

The second six-week session starts next Thursday (May 16). The classes, currently at the Chaplaincy Centre at Borders General Hospital, are suitable from about 14 weeks pregnant to birth. Rosie hopes to take classes also to Kelso and Peebles. To book or for more information contact Rosie at rosie-kennedy@lazydaisybirthing.co.uk or on 07803 515994 and see her Facebook page Lazy Daisy Scottish 
Borders.

Those who know my musical capabilities – and even more so my lack of ability – will realise I have no aspirations to fame on the great scale that is music.

In fact I know very little about scales. I gave up standing on them long ago, and the move to kilos and grammes from pounds and ounces meant years ago I simply used my eyes when buying mince or anything else that had to be purchased by weight.

Hospital visits also confuse when I am given my weight in metric. My height I can understand at just on the six-foot mark. Unlike my poundage (or kiloage), it hasn’t varied since I was about 17. But time to move from weights and measures to matters musical.

I had a great uncle called Bob who lived by my lovely great aunt Lizzie up the Fifth Ward in Galashiels opposite Bristol Mill – right across from that great silver boiler-like thing that dominated that wee bit of Gala.

Uncle Bob liked his music. He’d played the side drum in the local Ex-Servicemen’s Pipe Band and he could also rattle the ivories.

New Year in our house was a brilliant sing-along with Uncle Bob at the piano and other family members providing vocals. The vocals were pretty bad, but the ivories were brilliant. And Uncle Bob had never trained. He was one of those people who could listen to a tune and simply transfer it as if by magic to the piano.

Now Bob wasn’t alone in his love of music. Few people will not have heard of Jimmy Rae, the piper who piped at the first Braw Lads’ Gathering in 1930, round umpteen mill chimneys before they were demolished, along the Great Wall of China and at the first Burns supper to be held in Moscow.

He also played with Uncle Bob on a stairhead during a flitting that I believe lasted two days because of the musical interludes that punctuated the shifting of tea chest, wardrobes, china cabinets and iron beds. Can you imagine Pickfords men pausing to belt out the Green Hills of Tyrone on bagpipes and piano?

I mentioned tea chests because we need one – we being Selkirk’s skifling sensation, the six-piece Bogie’s Close Stompers. It includes a tea chest bass played by my pal Digger who can wring incredible sound from it using a besom shank and some parachute cord. Anyway, this chest has seen better days and has so many repairs that all that this is left of the original is the fresh air that’s inside it.

So the Stompers are on the lookout for a new one – or at least a replacement, because ones will be pretty difficult to come by now that tea comes mostly in perforated bags.

My instrument in this motley outfit is a well-based washboard, a semi-punctured bicycle horn and a cow bell.

Well, the bell is a bit of an exaggeration because it fell off and is now lost. The losing fall was slightly safer than the first time it took a tumble. On that occasion it narrowly missed the resident of an old folks’ home where we were performing. And I mean narrowly.

The Stompers were formed in 2000 – and thanks to Lottery funding, we enjoyed a four-month, world-wide tour of the Borders.

We’re still around.

Author Eddie McGarrity will be at the Burgh Hall in Peebles on Saturday, signing copies of his books.

Eddie is the writer of titles such as The Village King and Eizekiel Forth: The Afterlife Detective.

The free event has been organised by Lothian Events and will run from 10am to 4pm.

An exhibition of work by controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe goes on display on Saturday in Old Gala House.

The original pieces are on loan from the Tate Gallery and the National Galleries of Scotland.

The showcase is seen as a coup by Scottish Borders Council, which has secured the gallery in Old Gala House for the next three months.

SBC assistant curator, Phoebe Stewart, said: “We have been working with National Galleries Scotland and the Tate Galleries in London to get a final list of Mapplethorpe works together.

“It has not been an easy decision as his works are pretty powerful images and can easily overwhelm each other.

“However, we have a finalised list of works and think this is going to be a really strong and exciting show.”

One of the most provocative photographers of the 20th century, Mapplethorpe is renowned for his large-scale black and white photographs.

The exhibition will include iconic self-portraits and pictures of many influential artists, writers and musicians.