This year’s book festival will be closed on the final night by none other than legendary Scottish conductor and raconteur Sir Sandy McStanley.

Or rather by another one of the brilliant, hilarious characters from the imagination of the wonderful John Sessions.

A true original, Sir Sandy will bring this year’s festival to a close on the Sunday evening at 9pm when he will be in discussion with festival director Alistair Moffat.

The Melrose audience will hear all about Sir Sandy’s privileged background and discover how he happened into the world of orchestras and operas.

Not one to keep his opinions to himself, Sir Sandy is set to share his somewhat “interesting” ideas on range of subjects and along with some hysterical reminiscences, there will be a chance to hear a few pieces of his favourite music.

Sessions has become an established Melrose book festival favourite in recent years and says he enjoys the Borders event atmosphere.

He commented: “I’m very fond of the people who run the Melrose festival – Jim Naughtie is there quite a lot and he’s a good friend of mine – and Alistair Moffat is now also a good friend and we generally have a great time.

“It is work – well it’s work when you’re doing shows – but we have a laugh as well.”

Sessions has performed the Sir Sandy character at previous events, albeit under a different character name.

“But Melrose being in Scotland, I decided to make him Scottish and I based his voice on that of Alasdair Gray,” said Largs-born Sessions, referring to the well-know Scottish writer and artist.

Describing Sir Sandy as a “third-rate hack” whose motto is “near enough is good enough”, Sessions, a long-time classical music enthusiast, promises the show will be full of jokes.

A panel-show favourite, Sessions has appeared in numerous episodes of QI and Have I Got News For You and earlier this year played the part of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in ITV’s Mr Selfridge.

There have also been big-screen performances as Edward Heath alongside Meryl Steep’s Iron Lady, and former prime minister Harold Wilson in Made in Dagenham.

But he says he feels no pressure to constantly be funny when meeting people: “No, not really – I don’t burst into rooms singing and dancing!

“But I’m looking forward to Sir Stanley’s appearance in Melrose later this month.”

Sessions will be at the Brewin Dolphin Borders Book Festival (June 13-16) in Melrose on Sunday, June 16, at 9pm.

For tickets (£14, £12 conc.) contact 0844 357 1060 or visit www.bordersbookfestival.org for online bookings.

Harry Truman had a sign on his desk which famously read: “The buck stops here”.

It was perhaps stating the obvious, since the desk in question was in the White House’s Oval Office and Truman was president of the United States.

Yet it would be nice if our SNP lords and masters at Holyrood were at least occasional visitors to the well of responsibility.

This week, despite vociferous opposition from across the Borders to the closure of courts in Peebles and Duns, Tweeddale and Lauderdale MSP Christine Grahame, chair of Holyrood’s justice committee, voted to swing the axe. Pleas by various groups, including Scottish Borders Council which had beseeched Ms Grahame to “stand up and be counted for the Borders”, fell on deaf ears.

Ms Grahame says she was persuaded by Scotland’s top judge that the current network of sheriff courts is not fit for purpose, rather than the need to make savings.

And she blamed the need for cutbacks on the Conservative/Lib Dem coalition at Westminster.

So yet again the buck is passed to London. And at Westminster it is nimbly handed on to the previous Labour government.

Oh how British & Irish Lions rugby coach Warren Gatland must hope his players show such deft passing skills against the Wallabies a week on Saturday.

When an estate agent went to view a house, he found a cannabis cultivation with a potential value of £3,000 in a cupboard.

Police found 33 plants, a lamp and a thermometer in the property at Craigend Road, Stow.

Gordon McDonald admitted producing cannabis at the house between July 2, 2012, and January 9 this year.

“The house was subject of a let and was being viewed by a potential new renter,” explained prosecutor Graham Fraser at Selkirk Sheriff Court on Monday.

Mr Fraser told the hearing: “A representative of the estate agent was going round the premises and went into an upstairs bedroom, and in a walk-in cupboard found green plants in pots with a lit lamp above them.

“He suspected it was a cannabis cultivation and told his boss, who contacted police.”

Officers found a letter addressed to the accused on the doormat and he was contacted, attending voluntarily at a police station.

Mr Fraser said police found 33 cannabis plants, along with about 15 large plant pots filled with compost in an upstairs bathroom.

McDonald, 36, who lives at George Grieve Way, Tranent, said he grew cannabis to self-medicate, as he suffered from cluster headaches.

Mr Fraser said the plants could be worth up to £3,000, or as little as £900.

Defending, Iain Burke said the value was much nearer the lower end of £900.

He said his client had been growing the plants as he suffered from migraine-type headaches for which he had previously been prescribed injections and painkillers.

Sheriff Kevin Drummond deferred sentence until July 8 for reports, commenting: “The scale of the operation is significant, as is the period over which it was carried out.”

A confrontational remark to the sheriff who remanded him saw Scott Morrison jailed for three months.

As he was led to the cells at Duns Sheriff Court last Wednesday, Morrison directed his frustration at Sheriff Derrick McIntyre, calling him a “w***er”.

Explained defence solicitor Ross Dow: “He agrees there was contempt, and is candid about it and sorry for what he has done.”

At Selkirk Sheriff Court on Monday, Sheriff Kevin Drummond found 26-year-old Morrison, of the town’s Bannerfield Drive, in contempt of court.

Imposing a three-month prison sentence, Sheriff Drummond told the accused: “Proceedings in court can be emotionally charged as people face losing their liberty and from time to time express an opinion on the outcome.

“But any deliberate flouting of the authority of the court has to be dealt with. I am satisfied the remark was deliberate, confrontational and personally insulting.

“You have eventually apologised for that and had you not done so the sentence would have been double.”

TOOLED UP FOR THEFT

A man caught trying to break into two Hawick flats during the early hours of the morning was jailed for 80 days.

Christopher Scott had spanners, bolt cutters, and a Stanley knife at Stonefield Place on May 21.

The 30-year-old, of Orchard Terrace, Hawick, admitted committing two attempted break-ins with intent to steal.

Prosecutor Graham Fraser told how a resident was wakened by the sound of banging and kicking around 4am, and heard footsteps outside the flat. A neighbour heard similar noises and saw the accused outside.

Mr Fraser went on: “He was in possession of spanners, bolt cutters, a Stanley knife and various other items. He said his reason for being there was for the theft of metal, adding that he was sorry, regretted it and said it was not something he would normally do.”

Iain Burke, defending, said: “I don’t put forward his drug use as an excuse, but he was under the influence of drugs, which may have influenced his behaviour.

“He went prepared, although there was no forethought over what he was going to do after.”

NEWTOWN DRUGS FACTORY

Police found a cannabis cultivation with a potential value of £1,000 at a house in Newtown St Boswells after being told about it by the culprit himself.

Officers were speaking to John Mercer about an unrelated matter when he volunteered the information.

“He openly and voluntarily told the officers that there was a cannabis cultivation in the rear room of the property,” explained prosecutor Graham Fraser.

Police found seven fully-grown cannabis plants and eight seedlings, along with related equipment, including radiators, transformers, lights and timers.

“He accepted some involvement, but put the blame for the cultivation on others,” added Mr Fraser, who valued each plant at about £150.

Mercer, 46, of The Hawthorns, Newtown St Boswells, admitted, while acting with others, producing cannabis at his home on February 10. He was fined £300.

His lawyer, Iain Burke, said his client’s position was clear to police from the outset.

“He said his wife suffers from a number of health problems and smoked cannabis to alleviate the symptoms. She had grown them in the house, with his full knowledge, so he has to accept some responsibility,” added Mr Burke.

Sheriff Kevin Drummond told Mercer, a self-employed joiner: “These are quite exceptional circumstances, beginning from the fact that it was you who drew the attention of the police to the existence of the cultivation.”

TESCO BAN FOR TEENAGER

A drunken teenager who assaulted a man in Tesco’s Galashiels car park has been banned from the store for 12 months.

Seventeen-year-old Daniel Bolton was also sentenced to a 12-month community payback order, with a condition he undertakes alcohol counselling and completes 64 hours of unpaid work.

“You will be excluded from Tesco and its car park for the duration of the order,” added Sheriff Kevin Drummond.

Bolton, of Weensland Road, Hawick, pleaded guilty to, while acting with another, assaulting a man by pushing him on the body and punching him on the head to his injury at the Paton Street car park on October 26 last year.

The accused also had sentence deferred for 12 months on a further complaint after he admitted threatening or abusive behaviour at Gala Park Court, Galashiels, on October 13.

RAPE-THREAT TO PC’S FAMILY

A drunken man who threatened to rape a police constable’s mother and daughter was ordered to pay the officer £500 compensation at Jedburgh Sheriff Court last Friday.

When the policeman arrested Sean Lamont, he launched into a tirade of abuse, including a homophobic comment.

Lamont, 39, said he would trace the officer’s family and find out where he lived.

The accused, who then lived at South Hermitage Street, Newcastleton, admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner in a police vehicle travelling between Newcastleton and Hawick on October 14 last year.

Prosecutor Kate McGarvey said police detained Lamont at about 4.30pm and put him into the police vehicle.

“He began a tirade of abuse towards the police constable, uttering a number of obscenities,” said the prosecutor, adding: “He said he would infect him with Hepatitis C, threatening to spit at him. He threatened he was going to trace his family and find his home, and that he would rape his mother and daughter when released.”

A spit mask was put on Lamont when he arrived at the police station where he then said: “I’m sorry, sincerely sorry.”

Ross Gardiner, defending, said Lamont had been out of trouble for some six years, but conceded his client had been “pretty feral in the van”.

“He doesn’t dispute that these things were said, although he can’t justify why. He was handcuffed, so no real threat to the officers, although he believed that the handcuffs were on too tight,” he added.

Ex-heroin addict Lamont was said to have been drunk at the time.

“He said some pretty nasty things, but has been in custody for eight days,” concluded Mr Gardiner.

As well as the compensation order, Sheriff Derrick McIntyre imposed a community payback order with 80 hours of unpaid work.

PRISON FOR ASBO OFFENDER

A WOMAN who breached an ASBO (antisocial behaviour order) by staggering about in the road, shouting and swearing, was jailed for four months.

Elizabeth McLean, 32, of Blair Avenue, Jedburgh, admitted behaving in a drunken and disorderly manner at Blair Avenue and Honeyfield Drive, Jedburgh, on June 4 while on an ASBO prohibiting such behaviour.

Defending, Ross Dow urged Sheriff Derrick McIntyre to impose a non-custodial sentence.

“I have dealt with her for about 13 years and never seen her so anxious about imprisonment. She has significantly changed her ways over the last two years and made significant progress,” added the lawyer.

Mr Dow described the offence as an isolated incident, adding: “She was apparently robbed the night before, and is vulnerable and an easy target for others. She felt low and took drink, and it a real source of regret to her that this happened.”

The sheriff said McLean had 11 pages of previous convictions and would “have to go back to jail”. The prison term was backdated to June 5.

OBSTRUCTED BGH NURSES

A man obstructed two nurses and threw chairs in Borders General Hospital.

Adam Blyth, 22, of Orchard Park, Kelso, appeared from custody and admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner at Rosewood Gardens in the town on Sunday. He also admitted obstructing two nurses and shouting and swearing in the hospital on the same date.

Sentence was deferred until July 5 at Jedburgh Sheriff Court, with Blyth released on bail.

Purse theft allegation

A Selkirk man who denied stealing a purse and contents from a dental practice has been remanded in custody for trial.

Christopher Griffin, 28, of Raeburn Meadow, appeared from custody facing an allegation of theft from the West Port practice last Wednesday while on three bail orders.

He will stand trial at Selkirk Sheriff Court on July 9, with an intermediate hearing on June 24. Bail was refused by Sheriff Derrick McIntyre.

RESET BREAK-IN PROCEEDS

A Hawick man who reset stolen property was jailed for 12 months.

Kevin Laidlaw, 26, of Minto Place, appeared on indictment and pleaded guilty to resetting property stolen from a break-in at a house in Melrose between May 25-28 last year.

BIKING in the Borders has never been as popular and last week yet another local youngster set out her stall on the national circuit.

At the Saracen British Downhill Series Round 3 UCI competition held at Innerleithen Rebecca Kennedy from Earlston won the senior women’s category in 3 minutes 47 seconds, a clear 12 second margin.

Rebecca, 18, has been competing in local and regional downhill competitions for three years and this year is completing the BASE downhill course at Borders College in Galashiels. She told TheSouthern: “I can’t believe I won. I came fifth at Fort William last month after falling off my bike at speed which winded me and shattered my confidence.

“I have been trying to calm myself at the start line, as I find the more relaxed the smoother my biking is and it is starting to work. I had no falls, and with perfect sunny weather for it, on my home tracks and supported by friends, college mates and tutors it was just wonderful. I cant wait to do it again.”

The local support for Rebecca doesn’t stop there as the youngster receives support from Lauderdale Renewables, Earlston, as well as Ettrick and Lauderdale Sports Council.

George Hardie, managing director of Lauderdale Renewables, said: “We have all watched Rebecca biking around Earlston with her long curly hair waving in the wind behind her for some years now. But this year it was clear that Rebecca was making a real step up in her efforts in the most extreme biking discipline there is.

“Not something many parents would be happy to support for their sons, yet alone daughters, but Rebecca’s determination, calmness, fitness and strength of attitude is starting to show through and Lauderdale Renewables are proud to help Rebecca in any way to reach her goal.”

The biggest week of the year for another Border town is fast approaching, with final preparations being made for Melrose Festival.

Taking place between Sunday, June 16, and Saturday, June 22, the highlights of the week are the rideout on the Monday and the installation of the Melrosian and crowning of the Festival Queen at the beautiful setting of Melrose Abbey on the Thursday.

This year it is Sam Thomson who will proudly lead the celebrations, with Graeme Crawford and Ruaridh Nairn by his side. Festival Queen is Zoe Palmer.

James Marjoribanks, the festival chairman, said: “As usual we have a fairly busy week with the main events being the ride-out on the Monday, the installation on Thursday, ball on Friday and Tour of Ceremonies and the sports on Saturday.

“The fancy dress is always popular on the Tuesday and this year we have introduced a festival family barbecue at Annay Road following the bike ride on the Wednesday.

“The BBQ is a new one for us and we hope to have up to 400 adults and children coming to buy freshly-cooked burgers, beer, wine and soft drinks where appropriate.

“It is not only open to bike riders, everyone is welcome, and if the weather is poor people can use the ball marquee which will be available, so we are hoping for a big crowd.”

Mr Marjoribanks added: “This is my first year as chairman, so fingers crossed we get good weather for our week, and as many people in the Melrose and surrounding communities as possible come out and support our Melrosian, Sam Thomson, and his Queen, Zoe Palmer, and also have a very enjoyable time.”

The official start of the festival programme is the laying of a wreath at the war memorial on Sunday morning, followed by the Kirkin’ of the Melrosian.

The five-a-side football at Gibson Park will follow on Sunday afternoon.

On Monday, the ride-out leaves from the Greenyards at 6pm, with the concluding ceremony in the Market Square at 9.30pm.

The fancy dress kicks off in Gibson Park at 6.15pm on Tuesday, followed by a disco in Melrose RFC clubrooms.

The popular bike ride takes place at 6.30pm on Wednesday, with the barbecue at 8pm.

After the installation on Thursday, the Festival Ball takes place on Friday night.

On Saturday, Sam and his followers will carry out the Tour of the Ceremonies, leaving at 9am.

The sports take place at 2.30pm, the pipe band will entertain from 7pm and the festival concludes with the annual dinner at 8pm.

The Borders’ only CrossFit gym is holding an open day next Saturday.

RDAS CrossFit at Weavers Court, Forest Mill, in Selkirk will be open to anyone interested from 10am to 3pm when trainer Neil Davidson will answer questions about fitness and show what he and the gym have to offer.

He said: “Folk can come down, talk fitness, talk CrossFit and talk about their fitness goals.”

CrossFit is a strength and conditioning brand that combines weightlifting, sprinting, gymnastic moves, powerlifting, kettlebells, plyometrics, rowing and medicine ball training.

Neil, a former Marine, started doing the high intensity workouts, which originated in the US in 2002, about two years ago.

He said: “CrossFit workouts are constantly varied, they are functional movements which you use in everyday life and it’s all high-intensity. It makes workouts shorter and you gain benefits in strength and flexibility. I wish I’d discovered it earlier, I’m the fittest I’ve ever been. It’s good.”

The 47-year-old dad had already done a distance learning diploma in health, fitness and nutrition before starting up outdoor circuits at the town’s Riverside in autumn 2010.

He completed the CrossFit level one instructor course in London the following year before opening the gym that September.

The trained bodyguard also runs self-defence classes and recently introduced a kettlebell class. There is also 24-hour access to the gym for ‘CrossFitters’.

He plans to attend a session with self-defence guru Tony Blauer, who trains special forces around the world, at the end of the month to train in a new system combining fitness and self-defence.

At the gym next Saturday, there will be discounts for CrossFit inductions and for PDR self-defence courses booked on the day.

And money from refreshments, a raffle, a 500m rowing competition and CrossFit workouts during the day will go to Help Our Wounded Royal Marines.

The charity will also have a stall at the event.

Meanwhile, people of all abilities are invited to outdoor circuits practice at Yetholm later this month.

Anyone who wants to enjoy getting fitter is welcome to the session at noon on the village playing fields.

For more information email salgillespie@yahoo.com

Hawick nutrition and fitness enthusiast Bob Mitchell talks about his return to health...

Without fitness, health and vitality we have little to look forward to and/or little to strive for.

Do you leap out of bed in the morning full of the day’s hopes and dreams and wanting to reach for the sky? This is vitality and this time last year I had lost it.

Being a 60-year-old granddad, I felt I had achieved everything life had in store for me and vitality was just a memory. One day, however, I stopped, saw my expanding waist line and asked myself: “Bob, are you living or just drifting through life?”

Weight loss is 80 per cent nutrition and only 20 per cent exercise, so getting good nutrition was key.

In fact, I found this easy, delicious and sustaining. However, fitness? I knew that I needed a challenge to waken up both my brain and my body, but what? I wanted to get fit, but running was out of the question (oh my aching knees). Returning to the gym was a possibility, but I wanted fresh air and to see that sky I was aiming for, so … I bought a bike, even though I had never cycled seriously and, indeed, hadn’t cycled at all in more than 20 years.

But cycling was not enough, I needed that challenge for my tired old brain. What did I decide? Only to cycle solo to a conference I wanted to attend in Barcelona.

Cycling was literally a breath of fresh air. It had everything – getting the lungs working, getting the legs working and even getting the brain working.

Planning my nutrition, planning my training and planning my route all made me excited to wake up every morning.

Did I manage it? Yes. I cycled more than 1,400km from Holland to Barcelona solo, carrying my own tent, my sleeping bag, food and water.

Did I achieve vitality? Yes, in fact, I felt as if I could reach for the stars not just the sky.

So could you do it? Of course. One of the things I learned is that no matter your age, anything is possible if you want it seriously enough.

HAWICK & WILTON made it five in a row in the East League Division 7 with a victory over Edinburgh CC at Buccleuch Park.

The visitors won the toss and chose to bat first. The opening partnership ended on 74, with Gary Alexander removing the batsman lbw for 49, his replacement going on to make 36 before being dismissed by Paul Rayner.

Ronan Alexander came back into the attack and got his first wicket of the match and the visitors closed on 218 for four.

Hawick built up a steady total with their openers, but still lagged behind until Bruce MacTaggart joined Allan Moffat at the crease. The pair batted aggressively to keep the Teries in the match.

Moffat was caught for a solid 43 and MacTaggart for 47 with the hosts still requiring six runs per over.

Dean Anderson and Ryan Johnston got the home side over the line in the last over with Anderson keeping his nerve for an unbeaten 15, Johnston finishing 3 not out in what was a great victory for Hawick as they continue their push for promotion.

KELSO CC won their second game of the season on Saturday with a dominant away performance over Freuchie Seconds.

The Tweedsiders lost the toss and were asked to field, but were quickly into their stride with a wicket in the first over. Freuchie continued to lose wickets on a regular basis, with Stuart Cessford and Steven Patterson taking seven between them.

Chasing a total of 86, Kelso eased their way through with Dougie Wilson and Mark Henderson having a partnership of 61, bringing them within sight of victory. Ben Grindell and Steven Patterson finished off for the Tweedsiders, who won the match by seven wickets.

FORMER Olympic swimmer, Kris Gilchrist, has added his name to the line-up of renowned coaches at this year’s Scottish Borders Sports Academy.

Around 100 of the region’s most promising athletes aged 12-17 will attend the event, run by Borders Sport and Leisure, which features seven different disciplines (tennis, rugby, cycling, football, athletics, swimming and hockey) and will take place in the Scottish Borders Campus, Galashiels, from August 4 to 7.

Gilchrist is the latest coach to be secured for the Academy, which is now in its 12th year, and joins an exceptional team of coaching experts, including Vickey Bunce, current GB hockey player and club coach, tennis expert Adrian Nicklin who has many years experience in developing young players, athletics coaches Michael Johnson and Sandy Robertson (former Scottish Champion and international 400m hurdler) and former international footballer Keith Wright.

Gilchrist said: “The Academy is a great initiative which allows athletes access to experienced coaches and support that is not available on a daily basis.

“The timing is perfect for swimming as it coincides with the transition into a new season. This will ensure that the athletes gain fresh ideas, self management strategies and an increased level of motivation at a stage in the calendar where the biggest changes can be made.”

Ewan Jackson, chief executive of Borders Sport and Leisure added: “The young athletes will gain an incredible amount from this unique opportunity to work with and learn from some of the finest instructors in the country.”

Gala progressed to the regional semi-final of the Murgitroyd 20/20 competition when they squeezed past Melrose at Huntlyburn.

Batting first, the home side got off to a solid start before Neil Crooks and Dean Moir saw the visitors make a breakthrough.

Gala lost their openers in the first three overs before Duncan Millar and Josh Irvine picked things up. Teetering at 44 for five, Kenny Paterson calmly picked off the runs and, along with Scott Paterson, took the score to 67. Halls and Dinesh Tharanga kept their cool to see Gala home with 10 balls to spare.

FOR the second week running, Gala took on a table-topping unbeaten side and knocked them off their perch with a solid all-round performance.

Being asked to bat first against a good Marchmont side, Gala lost Stevie Halls early and David Boland and Josh Irvine had to work hard against an accurate opening attack from Loeffen and Macksimczyk. Having seen off the opening bowlers though, Irvine fell lbw to Granger for 17 with 39 on the board.

Boland and Duncan Millar took the score to 73 before the former was bowled for 32 just before the interval. Neil Crooks joined Millar in what proved to be the main partnership of the innings, with the pair slowly increasing the tempo and adding 95 runs, before Millar was deceived by a slow ball from Rees and was caught behind for 52.

Crooks also reached his half-century, but was sent back to the pavilion soon after by Loeffen. Graeme Ormiston and Kris Mein perished in the final overs in the chase for quick runs and Gala ended their 50 overs on 203 for 7.

As he has done regularly this season, Mein struck early to remove Rees, Loeffen and Sardesai in a fine opening burst. Scott Paterson from the other end then picked up two wickets to reduce Marchmont to 56 for 5.

Crooks removed Ahmed and Wilson in quick succession as Marchmont slipped to 85 for 7 and Gala looked to clean up the visitors’ batting quickly. Dean Moir removed Macksimczyk before Mein returned to pick up his fourth wicket, bowling Sheikh. Moir ended the visitors’ resistance by hitting Sardesai’s stumps as Marchmont were dismissed for 155 in the 47th over.

A YOUNG Langholm team, without several regulars, including the Park brothers, gained a fine 10-wicket win over Lowther at a sunny Castleholm.

Andrew Paisley was in superb bowling form for the Muckle Toon and finished with figures of seven for 16, and Lowther were all out for 43.

The home team’s openers had no trouble in reaching the visitors’ total in only eight overs, with Gregor Masterton hitting 37 not out and Duncan Elliott on seven not out.

Lowther had only three runs on the board when they lost Tallis to a catch off the bowling of captain Duncan Elliott. There then followed some deadly bowling from Paisley.

He skittled Ward with the score on seven and Jackson followed in similar fashion.

With the score on 13, Birkett was caught for a duck and Lowther were in serious trouble at 13 for four. It did not get much better when Paisley clean-bowled Robinson for seven.

Paisley claimed his fifth and sixth wicket with the visitors on 22 for seven before Euan Wilson was introduced to the home bowling attack and had Nounsey caught by Dominic Little, and then secured the wicket of Tallis to a catch by Scott Weir.

Brownrigg, who was the only visiting batsman to reach double figures, fell for 23 when caught off a deadly Paisley delivery and Lowther were all out for 43 in 17 overs.

Langholm surpassed the Lowther total for a very comfortable win to keep them undefeated in Division Two of the Eden Valley league. Teenager Masterton included six fours and a six in his score.

Gala Under-15s edged out their Hawick counterparts in a tight match that saw the home side reach their target with two balls remaining.

Hawick batted first and skipper Rowan Alexander provided the substance to their innings with an unbeaten 43. Alex Hastings and Alistair Crooks took two Hawick wickets, while Jack Halls, Robbie Irvine and Lawson Marr all put in tight spells.

In reply Halls took charge with an undefeated 51 before retiring with the hosts just a few runs short.

A nervy end saw Hawick take the match into the last over before a ball flicked off Alex Hastings’ pad for a leg-bye to end the match.

A year ago, Greg Turnbull of TLJT gave a first-class account of himself when winning the 110m handicap at Selkirk Games.

On Saturday, the flying policeman returns to the pastures of Philiphaugh to defend his sprint title. Turnbull runs from a backmark position of 1m in the 12-heat event.

Teenager Kerr Gerrard (9m) is one of four Selkirk sprinters gunning to do well on their home town track, the others Colin Bruce (9.5m) and his son Craig Bruce (13.5m) plus Geoff Keen (11.5m).

Borders lady runners set to go down on their marks are Mhairi Henderson, TLJT (20.5m); Martha Douglas, Jed AC (20m); Holly Mackay, Jed AC (20m); Megan Shiel, Hawick (19.5m); and Amy Clancy, Peebles (17m).

The marks for the vast majority of runners involved in Saturday’s event are more or less the same as that of last week’s Hawick handicap. Amongst Border runners going in the 1,600m handicap are Kelso’s Colin Welsh (50m) and Wayne McIntosh (170m); Dean Whiteford of Innerleithen (155m); Ryan Milligan of Langholm; Gavin Tait of TLJT (320m); Rory Anderson of Hawick (135m); and Andrew Thomson of Jed AC (135m).

A big entry has been received for the junior and youth races with the junior 90m consisting of six heats – heats that no doubt will bring about plenty of fine running and excitement as has certainly been the story so far this season.

Sarah Davenport, TLJT (13m); Brodie Cowan, Jed AC (11m); Callum Anderson, Selkirk (6m); Molly Falconer, Moorfoot (7m); Fraser Clyne, Hawick (11m); Ellie O’Hare, Leithenburn (6.5m); Archie Fuller, Gala Harriers (13.5m); and Samantha Turnbull, Peebles (4m) are just some of the local youngsters in action.

Anaerobic digestion could potentially be the next big thing for Borders farmers.

That’s the view of Scottish Borders councillor Alastair Cranston, who has returned from his third trip to Germany in connection with the latest in renewable energy technology.

Mr Cranston, who represents the Hawick and Denholm ward on SBC, was one of the founders of the Borders Machinery Ring, which he managed until 2002.

Since 2005, he has been involved in rural recycling and renewable energy initiatives and says anaerobic digestion has the potential to make a big impact locally.

“I was across visiting anaerobic digesters near Munich,” he told The Southern. “It was a private visit, with the idea of promoting farm-scale anaerobic digestion plants.

“The big benefit is that they can create a new source of heat and power in a local area.”

On-farm renewable energy and anaerobic digestion is more commonplace elsewhere in Europe, particularly in Germany and Denmark.

But the UK and others are lagging. Despite setting ambitious targets, the current reality is just around the 100 mark in the UK, while Germany can boast about 1,000.

The benefits are not only that biogas can be generated for on-farm use, but it can also be turned into cash with a connection to the grid and the leftover material used as fertiliser.

Mr Cranston was one of 12 farming sector representatives from across Scotland and the north of England who made the trip to Germany.

“We have formed a liaison with a cross-party group from across Britain and can now solve problems like grid connection, feedstock, planning and there’s funding for it,” he explained.

“Anaerobic digestion can create new business and new opportunities for income for farmers, from producing suitable crops and generating heat and power for themselves. They can also develop greenhouse activities and this source of heat and power could even be linked to local villages.

“This is a potential new industry in the Borders – potentially the only new industry.”

Mr Cranston says the technology behind anaerobic digestion is now scaleable, meaning plants can fit what is locally available.

“Once you put the material in, whatever it is, and then once the bugs have taken the methane out, it actually produces better fertiliser, so the farmer is in a win-win situation.

“The potential is definitely there. There is the old farming adage that once you get one started, it could lead to something else.

“As a potential new industry in the Borders, I think this could be very significant.”

It’s hardly surprising that things have changed in 170 years. But it is still a sobering thought that in 1841 one in four people in Britain were employed in farming, while now it is less than one in 100.

That compares with four out of five, 81 per cent, in the services sector, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. No wonder that the tens of millions of shoppers who live in towns and cities think that supermarkets produce as well as sell our food and drink, and have only a tenuous idea of what farmers do.

As with all statistics, totals and averages don’t apply evenly. More than one per cent of the workforce is engaged in farming in the Borders and Northumberland, for example, although even here the steady decline in the number of full-time farm staff seems to have accelerated in recent years as machines have become bigger and the average acreage farmed has increased. And yet, here and across Britain, small-scale farms hang on, such as the Yorkshire hill farmer with a 40-cow dairy herd I met recently.

Almost half a century ago I spent several months working on a dairy farm with about 40 cows and that was a modest size then. Now we’re told than anything below 150 cows isn’t viable and there are herds of 1,000 cows. Yet my Yorkshire farming acquaintance and his brother contrive to make a living by running several hundred Swaledale ewes and selling milk from their small herd to the local cheese factory, even though he said: “They’ve got us over a barrel on prices, like.”

Living quietly with a lifetime of milking cows and shepherding behind him, along with winter work beating and loading on a local grouse moor to pay for a fortnight’s holiday each year, he seemed happy enough, a detail that doesn’t show up in statistics.

Also, almost 50 years ago, the first question our farm management lecturer asked us as new, keen students was whether we thought farming was a business or a way of life? To a man – about 120 of us, all male, a sign of other times – we said: “Business, of course.”

Live and learn, because in spite of farmers’ traditional doom and gloom outlook and dire warnings from the National Farmers’ Unions about the future, many on the fringes of profitable farming try to hang on and prospective new entrants are still desperate to get a start. And, in spite of everything, the most committed and dedicated can succeed often by accepting living standards way below what they could achieve in a job. Never mind 170 years ago, it’s remarkable that in the 1960s there were no girls in our college class. Now I guess that, quite rightly, they comprise at least half an agricultural course intake.

It’s also pleasing to see that, for example, the new chairman of the National Sheep Association’s Scotland division is a woman, as is the chairman of the Scottish Association of Young Farmers’ Clubs, and that Professor Julie Fitzpatrick, head of the Moredun Research Centre, Louise Welsh, agricultural manager with the Morrison supermarket group, and Sarah Mackie, farmer and head of local sourcing with Tesco, have been appointed to the board of Quality Meat Scotland. Some day we might even see women near the top of the NFU.

Shopping. Love it or loathe it. There’s no in between. It’s something that has to be done and for me that actually means a trip to the shops.

I have never shopped online and never will. The idea of sitting down at my steam-driven computer at home and ploughing through a seemingly-endless list of groceries, toilet rolls, cold meats, tins of this and bottles of that after a day sitting in front of a computer at work ploughing through a seemingly-endless list of options for this and that, and boxes that need ticked, holds no appeal for me whatsoever.

So online shopping, for me, stays firmly on the shelf.

Love or loathe, it has to be done. I don’t love it. The supergiants that are Asda and Tesco are alien beasts to me. They are too big and I find myself wandering aimlessly among similarly-lost souls along aisles stacked with things I don’t need, but which I know if I stay long enough I will buy.

I can find no pleasure in traipsing round what is no more than an overstocked warehouse where boxer shorts and vests via for space with cheese, pork chops, tatties, onions, kettles, irons, mobile phones and condoms.

Vests should be bought in a drapers, tatties and onions at a greengrocers, chops and sausages at the butchers, kettles at an electrical outlet, and condoms at the chemist or from your discreet barber. Something for the weekend indeed.

There was a wee corner shop close to where I once lived in Galashiels. It was renowned for its boiled (home-boiled) ham which you could smell from the other side of the Public Park.

The two men who ran this outlet were characters indeed. One had a message bike which he pushed but rarely rode.

When the shows came to the park for the Braw Lads’ Gathering there were extra ham joints to be boiled...the show folk loved that meat.

This was a shop where you could buy groceries ‘loose’ and have placed in a brown paper poke that was then twirled a few times to ensure they remained secure for the journey home.

I remember when that shop bowed to progress and acquired a chest freezer. It looked out of place and the storekeepers found it difficult – or perhaps were just reluctant – to move too quickly with the times. I clearly recall being in a rush and decided to opt for frozen chips instead of the real kind.

I delved into the freezer and retrieved a packet and had to suppress a grin when the senior of two gentlemen dropped them into a paper poke – and, yes, gave them a couple of twirls. I laughed when I left the shop. But he obviously wanted to cling to the era of shopping that both he and his customers loved. That wee shop is a house now and the show folk have to find their boiled ham somewhere else.

Talking about shops and houses – what about those that were combined. They were dotted all over every town in the Borders. One little room full of sweets and various varieties of Heinz’s. All gone. And there’s no penny tray in Tesco’s.

One pleasure I do get from shopping – and you can’t do it online – is the search for the yellow labels.

A Kelso woman, who recently celebrated her 100th birthday, has beaten more than 200 other entries to scoop a major care sector award.

Janet Gray won the Individual Service User of the Year Award at this year’s Scottish Care – Care at Home & Housing Support Service Awards 2013, held in Glasgow at the end of last month.

The awards were judged by Marcia Ramsay of Leonard Cheshire Disability, Claire Dodds of Elearning For You, and Stan Smith of the Government’s Joint Improvement Team. It was Lynsey Bowling, Kelso supervisor for the Scottish Borders (Hawick) Branch of Allied Healthcare, who nominated Janet, telling The Southern: “Janet is an extremely special service user who is an inspiration to us all. Her attitude to life is fantastic – she’s such an intriguing woman.

“At 100 years old, Janet has recently written a Gaelic dictionary. Her achievements in life so far are astonishing – she thoroughly deserves the award.

“I felt Janet deserved to be nominated for this award, as recognition for her ongoing interest in learning and for the contribution she has made throughout her life in this sphere.

“Janet worked as a classics teacher and continues to be passionate about language.

“She attended a Gaelic group at age 99, in order to continue to develop her understanding and knowledge of the language.

“Very recently, Janet and her grandson produced a phonetic Gaelic dictionary – an undertaking which would be ambitious for someone much younger, let alone an individual who has now reached 100 years of age.

“I am thrilled Janet has won this award, as she’s a truly outstanding person and an excellent example of the qualities of hard work, dedication and the drive to live life to the full at any age.” 
The 2013 awards have been hailed a huge success with more entries than ever flooding in from service users, employers and employees nominating staff and colleagues.

This year, the awards followed a conference and exhibition event for the care at home and housing support sector, organised in partnership with the Scottish Government.

The conference is designed for both those working at senior level in commissioning, developing and planning services and those providing care and support to families, children, older people and adults across health and social care in Scotland.