A last-ditch plea from ex-British Lion John Rutherford helped convince Scottish Borders Licensing Board not to kick Selkirk Rugby Club’s early-morning application into touch.

Fans were able to enjoy pints from 9.30am last Saturday, ahead of the Lions’ 23-21 victory over Australia, despite opposition from both the police and Scottish Borders Council’s licensing standards officer.

Just 24 hours beforehand, members of the licensing board heard from ex-Scotland star Rutherford, now vice-president at Selkirk, with the club’s previous good record taken into account.

Inspector John Scott had said the application for June 22 and 29 and July 6 would increase its sales hours from 14 to 15-and-a-half, which he said was contrary to the licensing objectives of protecting and improving public health.

And SBC licensing officer Ian Tunnah believed the extension was “unnecessary”.

Despite the successful application, Selkirk RFC will be opening at 11am for this Saturday’s second test, but plan to resume the breakfast function for the final match on July 6.

Breakfast organiser Mick Craig said: “There was a great atmosphere in the clubrooms. We couldn’t have asked for a more exciting game, either.”

Households across the region will benefit from a £1.3million funding allocation for energy efficiency work from the Scottish Government.

The announcement of the £1,332,506 windfall, through Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland, has been welcomed by the council and a local MSP.

The Government expects local authorities to target areas of fuel poverty and work with housing associations, energy companies, installers, owner-occupiers and private rented landlords to ensure all households in those area receive an offer to have the energy efficiency of their home improved.

Locally, the money will be used to fund specific projects targeting parts of Hawick and Denholm and Galashiels.

A council spokesman said: “We are delighted with the announcement from the Scottish Government that SBC has been awarded £1.3million in funding to improve the energy efficiency of homes across the region.”

Referring to the areas where the money will be spent, he added: “These areas have been selected in accordance with Scottish Borders Council’s local housing strategy and according to a combination of vulnerability to fuel poverty and potential for energy efficiency measures.”

A variety of improvements will be available to certain householders, including loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, external wall insulation, connection to gas main, and double glazing.

The funding for the region has been welcomed by local MSP Christine Grahame.

She said: “This money will see many homes in my constituency receive new measures like solid-wall insulation, which will help drive down the number of people living in fuel poverty.

“It will also generate work and support jobs, which will provide a much-needed boost to the local economy.”

Ms Grahame added: “Basic energy efficiency measures can make a huge difference to families in my constituency who are struggling to make ends meet.”

In the Borders, the latest figures showed that 37 per cent of households were classed as being in fuel poverty, spending at least 10 per cent of their income on heating.

Pensioner households suffer from fuel poverty particularly badly, with 62 per cent of those households in the area defined as being in fuel poverty.

A licensee has denied her application to open up the ground floor of her Hawick function suite was an attempt to turn it into a nightclub.

Michelle Walsh’s bid to allow the lower level of the Bridge Function Rooms to be used as a bar and include a DJ box for alcohol-free under-18 discos was thrown out by the Scottish Borders Licensing Board last Friday.

Members were told of complaints from a number of neighbours who believe the facility would become a regular late night venue and cause disturbances for households.

And in an objection letter, Inspector John Scott noted officers had attended the suite twice in May due to drunk revellers causing noise outside following a DJ set.

But Ms Walsh, who transformed the former bingo hall into a function suite in December, told us: “We had a couple of DJ nights and had a big volume of people coming out at the one time and that prompted a few complaints, but that would happen anywhere.

“We never had any intention of running the place as a nightclub, we just wanted to have a different theme downstairs to host events such as birthday parties.

“The disappointing thing is we had fitted out the downstairs but now it cannot be used. We will have to think about what we do next. The under-18 discos would only have been held four times in the year and would have given the children something to look forward to. It is a real shame as there is nowhere for the youngsters to go.

“We have just tried to 
bring an empty building back into use.”

One of the incidents included in Inspector Scott’s report was from the early hours of May 5 when smokers were obstructing traffic outside the front of the building.

But Ms Walsh, who will continue to operate an upstairs suite, replied: “We had an area at the back of the building, but were told by the licensing board we couldn’t do that so we had to make it out the front.”

David Parker has defended a new £9,000 bus shelter – which took three council meetings to be approved – in his home village, writes Kenny Paterson.

The Council leader was also supported in his opposition to a proposal, by head of the Conservatives Michelle Ballantyne, to split the £48,000 Small Schemes budget equally between the three wards of Selkirkshire, Leaderdale and Melrose and Galashiels.

Eildon’s May meeting had thrown out the application for the galvanised steel bus shelter in Tweedbank –to be paid for out of the Small Schemes budget – and put forward Selkirkshire Councillor Ballantyne’s suggestion.

However, as no councillor from Leaderdale and Melrose was present, including Mr Parker, the meeting was deemed inquorate and discussed at full council on May 30. But with no agreement on both issues, the decision was referred back to Eildon Area Forum’s special meeting in Galashiels last week.

At it, Newtown CC vice chair Roger French pointed out the cost of the shelter was almost 20 per cent of the Small Schemes budget for the whole year, while Selkirkshire councillor Gordon Edgar supported a cheaper aluminium cover at £5,000.

But Mr Parker replied: “This is the busiest bus shelter in the village and follows a petition by a number of people in Tweedbank to get a new one.”

On the issue of splitting equally the Small Schemes fund, a method used by Teviotdale, Councillor Parker said: “I have had to intervene from 2008 to 2011 to stop Teviotdale losing their carry forward of money from one year to the next.

“If we support this, it will set a dangerous precedent.”

Kelso councillor Simon Mountford is seeking to find out if Scottish Borders Council plans to provide Borders festival dates to the RAF to avoid planes flying low overhead.

He said: “I know ex-SBC convener Alasdair Hutton used to tell the RAF. These planes are dangerous if horses get spooked.”

Borders police officers have carried out a operation to put the brakes on criminal activities on the region’s roads.

In conjunction with Northumbria Police and Cumbria Constabulary, Police Scotland carried out searches of vehicles utilising the routes between both countries on Monday.

Entitled Operation Overlord, police stopped around 250 cars, vans and lorries to check for various motoring offences including speeding, drink/drug driving without a seatbelt and driving without a valid licence; MOT or insurance.

Partner agencies from VOSA, HMRC and the DWP also assisted with roadside inspections to ensure all vehicles stopped were roadworthy and those driving for work purposes were not currently claiming unemployment benefits or similar aid.

As a result of the activity, 36 Immediate and Delayed Prohibition Orders were issued for 47 various vehicle offences that were detected.

In addition, 10 vehicles were seized under the Road Traffic Act after police enquiries revealed they were being driven while uninsured.

Furthermore, four people were arrested for offences including alleged breaches of warrants, while various pieces of intelligence were also gathered and will be progressed in due course.

Road Policing Inspector, Richard Latto from Police Scotland said: “The majority of motorists who utilise the road network between Scotland and England do so while obeying the law.

“However, a small number of people use these arterial routes to commit crimes north and south of the border, or are committing a crime by driving in the first place.”

This week I’m feeling quite smug. I am at that stage of the grow-your-own process which I love the most – the one where the raised beds are more or less planted up.

For just a few weeks they look like the real deal – lush and green and full of promise.

I start to imagine the finished product. Plump veg, lying in a rustic arrangement in a large trug, just like on Gardeners’ World, with the twinkly-eyed Monty carrying it along with a swing in his step, a ‘wheep, wheep, wheep’ sound as it gently brushes his corduroy trews.

Well, as I say, the beds are almost planted. I’m not a fan, but I have to agree with the mighty Meatloaf here, Two Outta Three Ain’t Bad.

Beds one and two contain chard (because the chooks, turks and quail love it), raspberries and strawberries (because the blackbirds love them), sprouting broccoli and cut-and-come-again salad (because the mice love both and have become adept at nibbling them down just enough not to kill them, so they grow back to be cropped again – even the mice are better smallholders than me), and Chinese cabbage.

This is our dark horse veg this year. I will report back on developments – that’s if some other passing small woodland creature doesn’t take a fancy to it and decide to cultivate it for its own consumption.

The exciting bit for The Young Master and Mistress is the planting of stuff. Once it’s in, it’s a Donnie Brasco – fuggedaboudit. They feign something bordering on interest when I (very) occasionally kneel there, pulling out weeds or replanting stuff the small creatures have dug up.

Bed three has just a couple of rows of mixed leaf salad in it. This is because a) we will plant out more later, so it doesn’t all get ready at the same time. Not that there’s ever much danger of us looking after our veg so well that we have an actual glut of anything, and b) because this bed is in the chicken run and we need to see if (despite all the netting around it) the chooks can breach it before we commit to large amounts.

But amongst the chaos every year is the perfection of Gamford’s prized tattie crop.

From the careful selecting of varieties at Potato Day every year, to the use of valuable egg boxes to chit them in , to the military precision employed in lining them up when planting, not to mention the hiring of a mini-digger to bank them up when they start growing (OK, OK, that last bit was made up), the care lavished on Gamford’s tatties knows no limits.

Out in the car he is no idle passenger, letting his gaze drift and his thoughts wander. His mind is like a steel trap. He is judiciously eyeing up the commercial crops in the local area, noting their successes and failings.

While I manage to produce the odd strawberry that the birds have missed and a couple of part-nibbled broccoli heads, Gamford always has a good crop of tatties.

There is a lesson there, but I like to think that while my way may not be the most productive it is very, ahem, wildlife-friendly. And low-maintenance.

I refer you back to Meatloaf: “I want you, I need you, but there ain’t no way I’m ever gonna love you”.

Former Borders doctor Andrew Murray is set to run across East Africa in a bid to discover the secret of local runners’ success.

The endurance athlete will start the extreme challenge with former Marine Commando Donnie Campbell on Monday (July 1).

The pair will scale Mt Kenya and Africa’s highest mountain, Mt Kilimanjaro and run with world-record holders and world champions during the expedition.

For Andrew’s aim is to find out what the East African athletes do to be the best endurance athletes in the world. He hopes to use the information to help Scottish middle and long-distance runners ahead of this year’s World Athletics Championships and next summer’s Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

The 18-day mission will take place at an altitude consistently above the height of Ben Nevis. And the pair will be running more than an ultramarathon (50km) a day.

Andrew, who works as a general practitioner, as well as a sports and exercise medicine doctor with the sportscotland institute of sport, said: “There is no better way to find out what makes these athletes so fast, than to spend time in their company and take on some of the biggest challenges East Africa has to offer.

“It’s all about learning from Africa: 66 of the best 100 marathon runners in the world are from Kenya – is this due to the training regime, genetic factors, the food that is eaten, the altitude, or other factors? We aim to find out what lessons we can learn from the Kenyans’ incredible success and then apply those to help Scottish high performance athletes.”

Andrew will spend the first five days acclimatising. The run begins on the July 5 in the Kenyan Highlands. The pair will climb the 5,000m Mt Kenya in a day, run the Lewis glacier, through the Great Rift Valley and towards Lake Bogoria and head to Iten, the capital of distance running and home to the High Altitude Training Camp where he and many world and Olympic champions will be training. They will run Kilimanjaro from base to summit in a day.

They will run more than 1,000km and climb over 120,000 feet, more than four times the height of Mt Everest. They will burn 7,000 calories a day and run on terrain ranging from glaciers to desert to mountains.

Now living in Edinburgh, Andrew, a former doctor at Galashiels and Hawick health centres and Borders General Hospital, grew up in Kenya but did not start running long distance until his late 20s.

He shot to fame in 2011 when he ran 4,290km from John O’Groats to the Sahara desert. The following year he won the North Pole Marathon, the Antarctic Ice 
Marathon, and completed a world record seven ultra-marathons on seven continents in under a week.

The pair are raising money for the African Palliative Care Association (www.justgiving.com/RunningHighAfrica) and hope to take 500 pairs of trainers out with them to give to runners.

Anyone with old but useable trainers should take them to Footworks, 14 Bruntsfield Place, Edinburgh.

Berwickshire-based gardener and carpenter Richard Yeo has written his first novel.

The retired naval officer, who lives near Coldingham, will be signing copies of ‘Hadrian’s Trader’ at the Slightly Foxed book stall he used to own in Berwick and at the town’s W H Smiths on Friday. And he will be at Galashiels’ W H Smiths between 10am and noon the following Saturday (July 6).

The story of Lucius, a young Roman Centurion, based at Trimontium, near Melrose is published tomorrow (June 28) and sees Lucius fall in love with Aithne, daughter of a Celtic chieftain who commands the hill fort on Eildon North. They marry but she dies in childbirth and Lucius then works for Hadrian, becoming the great leader’s eyes and ears.

Richard said: “Fifty-five years ago I heard a dramatisation of Rosemary Sutcliffe’s ‘Eagle of the Ninth’ on Childrens’ Hour and became captivated by Roman Britain. Many years later I stood in Trimontium Fort, pivotal to the plot of Sutcliffe’s romance. I looked around from the Eildons to the Tweed and all the summer landscape in between and imagined what it must have been like to be a Roman soldier here, two thousand years before.”

A navigation specialist, Richard was in the navy for 21 years before retiring in 1987 and training and working for six years as a thatcher in Devon and Cornwall. He then studied for three years and spent a year from 2003-04 in New Zealand working on organic farms. He moved to Berwick-upon-Tweed and was a volunteer gardener at Lindisfarne for five years and started the Slightly Foxed second-hand book stall in the town, which he sold two years ago. He is also a carpenter, creating items for the garden, such as pergolas, and farms, such as sheep troughs. He is at work on his second novel.

Published by Roundfire Books, Hadrian’s Trader is available in most Borders bookshops and online.

Many of us mourn the passing of Andrew Buckham on the day before the Selkirk Common Riding.

Andrew was definitely the epitome of a Scottish lad o’ pairts – firmly true to his Souter roots, but with a huge breadth knowledge of the world beyond, especially the natural world, almost all self-taught, together with his great understanding of international philately.

He was totally alert, almost bird-like in his accumulation of knowledge, which clearly started at ‘the schule’, in Selkirk and then with his forestry apprenticeship on Buccleuch Estates at Bowhill, under Duke Walter – himself a great forester.

During the Second World War, Andrew was a gunner in the navy on tankers in the Far East and into the Pacific. His descriptions of seeing men drowning in burning oil after their ships were sunk, and the quite incredible experience of being in the main gun turret with deafening noise and flashes, was as realistic and vivid as any film.

He used his shore leave to investigate the local wildlife and recalled when in the Burmese jungle, he put out his hand to pick up a small snake for examination. As he did so, a brown hand emerged from an adjacent bush and stayed his action, a voiced whispering “Nah, sahib!” He had been about to pick-up a deadly Krate!

I first met Andrew more than 40 years ago when he was head forester on Wells Estate at Bedrule where his knowledge of all wildlife – but especially moths and butterflies – blossomed and was prodigious. He could converse easily on the finer points of plants, beetles and other insects, as well as birds and mammals, and related them to the wider ecology.

He did so easily with everyone, from children to zoological experts and learned professors and lairds, scientists from schools, universities and museums. His knowledge of agriculture and forestry was great too.

Andrew was the first Countryside Ranger for Borders Regional Council, under the Countryside Commission for Scotland, and he took on that difficult task enthusiastically – not only for primary and secondary schools and their teachers, but also for all Borderers and visiting tourists.

A day in the field with Andrew, whether on the sub-arctic plateau of Broad Law, or in the crashing surf below the cliffs at Burnmouth, was always a delight and a breathless education.

He is survived by his dear spouse Anne and his daughter Carol. Our world is a much poorer place without him.

A total of 138 horses made the trip to Lindean via the River Tweed on Monday night as Braw Lads’ Week got fully under way.

And upon reaching Lindean Kirk, a short service was held by the Reverend Duncan McCosh in dry conditions.

After a wreath was placed on the Preachers Cross by Braw Lad Daniel Whitehead, the horses returned to Galashiels, via Hollybush for the annual Chase Races.

Predictably, Ryan Mania, Grand National winner and last year’s Braw Lad, won the Prinicipals’ Race.

Other results: Ex-Principals – Chris Mackenzie; Pony – Aidan McDonald; Ladies – Becky Johnston; Over 45s – Nick Mills; Gents – Mikey Turnbull.

Braw Lads’ celebrations started last Wednesday when supporters swapped four hoofs for two wheels for the second annual bike ride with the Melrose Festival.

The event, supported by Borders Railway contractors BAM Nuttall, DS Dalgleish, Diamond Cycles and William Pate, attracted 248 riders, an increase on last year’s total.

Two cups were also provided by past principal Ian Hume, in memory of his late wife Janet. The youngest rider was three-year-old Greg Anderson, while the oldest was Alex Shields.

The bike ride is looking for a new route for next year, with the Black Path set to be out of use because of ongoing work on the railway.

Last night saw the fancy dress parade and Torwoodlee rideout, while the Braw Lads’ Gathering is held on Saturday.

The Sports Day last Sunday was abandoned due to a torrential downpour, and is not expected to be rescheduled.

Braw Lads’ Council chair David Houston said: “The problem was the grass became very slippy after the heavy rain, so for safety we had no other option but to call it off.”

THE men behind QubeGB, which has its headquarters in Galashiels, have their sights set on a prestigious awards ceremony in London after securing two Scottish awards.

Darren Bunker and Raymond Kerr, co-founders of the communications engineering firm, were delighted to win the Ernst and Young Scottish Emerging Entrepreneur Award at Gleneagles recently, and will now go on to represent Scotland at the UK finals in October.

In addition, the pair also collected the prize for best small to medium-sized business.

The judges said the firm had demonstrated ‘impressive growth’.

QubeGB are a nationwide communications engineering and installation service provider, with 39 hubs across the UK.

The pair paid tribute to their employees in Galashiels and across the country.

The awards are run in 50 countries around the world.

THE Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) is an incentive to invest in new small company businesses and allows equity investors to obtain immediate tax relief of up to 78 per cent.

The investor’s tax liability is reduced by 50 per cent of the investment, up to £100,000. The relief can be carried back to the preceding tax year. Relief from Capital Gains Tax is also available, providing an additional tax incentive of up to 28 per cent and the actual shares can be CGT free.

Further reliefs are available in respect of Inheritance Tax and possible scope for loss relief against income should the investment fail. By maximising the tax breaks there may be little or no loss to the investor if the business flounders.

Shares must be held for at least three years. The investor cannot be an employee but can be a director. The investor, with ‘associates’, must not own more than 30 per cent of the company.

Associates include immediate family members, but siblings, unmarried couples and parents in law are not excluded and could qualify.

The business must have less than 25 employees and assets of up to £200,000. The investment must be spent on qualifying activities, which excludes some land-based businesses. There is significant scope for the start-up businesses to benefit from the scheme.

Investors can benefit from tax breaks, which help ‘de-risk’ the investment. Some ‘crowdfunding’ platforms are also now facilitating SEIS, allowing individuals to invest small sums, providing useful funding for the business.

For more information contact me on mark.thompson@renniewelch.co.uk or 01573 224391.

HISTORICALLY, more businesses fail during an economic recovery than during a recession. So what steps should owners of small businesses take to survive the upturn that appears to be under way?

With confidence among small firms at its highest level for three years, according to the latest Small Business Index, Gordon Henderson of the Federation of Small Businesses, which publishes the index, says the time to act is now, “rather than after your competition has done so”.

These tips may help:

1. Monitor workloads. As business picks up, staff may be working longer, which in turn can lead to mistakes and even accidents. Remember, your staff stuck with you during the hard times, so support them as things improve. By monitoring their workloads, you can avoid absenteeism and accidents.

2. Review suppliers. Your business needs will almost certainly have changed during the past five years, so check that suppliers, and their prices, are still appropriate.

3. Manage your finances. Strict credit control is vital. Why should you pay interest to the bank because your customers are slow to pay you? Banks are, in any case, still reluctant to lend, so cash is important to fund increased working capital requirements. Mr Henderson adds: “Successful businesses will make sure they are ready for the recovery by getting their finance and capital investment in place now. This will enable them to react quickly to opportunities as they arise.”

4. Maintain machinery. Capital expenditure budgets will have been cut and maintenance schedules may have slipped. But you can’t afford to have it break down when demand is picking up, so getting maintenance programmes on track should be a priority.

5. Be ready. Make sure your business plan is up-to-date and able to guide you in day-to-day decision-making. This should help identify and exploit opportunities that arise.

By adopting the right strategy now, you should survive the recovery and not be left behind as economic growth accelerates. Contact me on simon@simon-mountford.co.uk

A businessman who seized the opportunity to set up his own business near West Linton has scooped a national tourism award.

At this year’s Moffat Travel and Tourism Awards, Jamie Flynn, 23, won the Personal Growth and Development Award and a £1,000 prize.

Flynn owns Don Coyote Outdoor Centre in Lamancha, which has grown thanks to his determination and the support of The Prince’s Trust Youth Business Scotland (YBS).

The YBS helps 18-30 year olds start up and grow their own businesses by providing financial support and guidance from business mentors.

Flynn, who set up the outdoor centre in 2010, said: “Since the outset the business has grown and developed year on year and looks set to continue to do so. With the help of YBS the business is in a state of growth and expansion.

“Without both funding and advice I feel I would not have been able to make the business a success.

“My family had always run this sort of thing, but it had stopped for a while. However, after high school I went to university to do a business degree to get the know-how to run a business successfully.”

After initially offering off-road karting, the centre has slowly expanded to include clay pigeon and target shooting, and he plans to offer archery and Zorbing (rolling down hill strapped in a large inflatable ball).

The Moffat Awards are run by YBS thanks to generous support from The Moffat Charitable Trust, which has pledged almost £300,000 to support young people demonstrating outstanding talent in the Scottish tourism and travel industry.

Flynn said: “I was quite surprised to win the award. They are Scotland-wide, so it was really nice to be recognised, and the money will be put to good use.”

On behalf of the trust, Jamie Moffat said: “Young people are the lifeblood of the Scottish tourism industry and we want to be able to support them in their future goals and aspirations.

“It is encouraging to see so many young people in Scotland have a passion for business and this must be nurtured in order for them to thrive.”

IN last Saturday’s Centenary Cup, sponsored by Jim Farrell, Nod Purves lifted his game and the trophy after finding his short game which had been hiding for a while.

Results: 1, N. W. Purves nett 64; 2, R. Pow 66; 3, D. Cassidy 67; 4, J. Farrell 68. Twos: S. Henderson, S. McCall, J. McLaren, A. McVie and W. S. Walton shared the sweep. Ian Stephenson, who had a two at the par four first hole, wins nothing, but gets his name in the paper. On Sunday, Alison and John Rutherford were singing in the rain after winning the mixed greensomes sponsored by that nice man Alan McGhee. Results: 1, A & J. Rutherford; 2, L. Robertson & J. Coyle; 3, A & K. Allan. Scratch: C & N. Purves. AM

l AFTER a few years’ absence the ladies hosted their popular invitation greensomes in pleasant conditions. The victorious couple were lady captain Carol Purves & Grace Black from Torwoodlee.

Last week the ladies played for the President’s Prize.

After a lovely supper, lady president June Robertson showed her generosity by presenting the lucky winners with cases of luxurious wines.

Carol Purves continued her good start to the season winning the silver division with an 81 (11) 70 bih, while, in the bronze division, Anne Allan triumphed returning a 92 (21) 71. The scratch prize was claimed by Diane Cassidy with a 77. All entry money on the night and a donation by the ladies was sent to MS Borders Branch.

l SATURDAY was Championship Finals day at The Woll and all four games were close and very enjoyable to watch despite the weather.

In the Ladies Club Championship M. Innes played J. Cambridge with Janice winning on the 19th. The Gents Championship S. Watson won over J. Nelson. It was a nail-biting 36 holes with Scott winning the title for the first time.

A hoard of 228 Roman coins found on Synton Hill, near Ashkirk, in 2011 has gone on display at Melrose’s Trimontium Museum.

The coins, dating from the 1st to 2nd centuries AD, and depicting Roman Emperors from Vespasian to Commodus, as well as their wives and children, were unearthed by Hawick metal detectorist Jim Middleton.

“This is a feather in our cap, so we’re really pleased,” the Trimontium Trust’s Donald Gordon said. “The gods are on our side.”

Jim Middleton, who found the silver denarii coins, explained: “At first glance they looked nothing special – encrusted with dirt, some stuck together and all the coins discoloured and green with oxidation.

“However, I thought they might include something interesting, so I gathered them all up for safekeeping in a takeaway tub while I sought further advice.

“They turned out to be extremely important and the rest, as they say, is history!”

The antique hoard was brought to the attention of local historian and Trimontium Museum trustee Walter Elliott and the hoard was claimed by the Crown under the Treasure Trove allocation process.

In order to secure the coins for the Borders, a fundraising and education campaign was started by the council’s museum and gallery service and the Trimontium Museum Trust.

The cost of acquisition from the Crown was £10,000, with essential cleaning and conservation work estimated at another £1,200.

Half the cost was awarded by the National Fund for Acquisitions and from the council’s Community Fund, as well as generous donations from individuals.

Councillor Vicky Davidson, executive member for culture, sport, youth and communities said: “The coins offer a fascinating insight into coinage produced under 11 of Rome’s emperors.

“It is very fitting that the Roman silver coin hoard is placed on display in 2013, as this year marks Trimontium Museum’s silver jubilee.

“I would encourage everyone to go along and see this silver hoard as a unique part of the Borders’ history and heritage.”

Fiona Colton of the council’s museum service devised a clock-shaped display ‘tray’ with its 14 compartments separating each Emperor’s coins.

The coins’ designs highlight emperors’ achievements and families, and date from Emperor Vitellius (69 AD) who reigned for one year only, to Crispina, the long-suffering wife of maverick emperor Commodus (177-192 AD).

The entire hoard is on display at Trimontium Museum in the Corn Exchange, Melrose, and will be available for the public to view there until the end of October.

Thereafter the hoard will be exhibited at Halliwell’s House Museum, during Scott’s Selkirk weekend, and later as part of an education programme and exhibition in Peebles.

Councillor Jim Torrance, who represents the council on Trimontium Museum Trust’s board, said: “I have followed the progress of acquiring and conserving the coins with great interest and I’m delighted to support the vital partnership between SBC’s museums service and Trimontium Museum to secure this important permanent addition to Roman collections in the Borders.”

The 41st Earlston Civic Week kicks off next week, with Earlstonians hoping for better weather than the soaked but successful ruby anniversary last year.

The week starts on Sunday with the traditional service at Earlston Parish Church, followed by a family walking quiz from 1:30pm to 2:30pm, and football fives from 2pm at the home of Earlston Rhymers Football Club, Runciman Park.

The next day local music artists will play at the Monday night concert at 7pm in the marquee outside Earlston Rugby Club at The Haugh. The pet show on Tuesday begins at 6pm in the Square, followed by the White Hill Race at 7pm, and the Black Hill Race at 7:30pm.

On Wednesday it’s ‘Kids Party Time’, with entertainment from Alan Duncan and face painting, and then adults can enjoy some fun time at the quiz night from 7:15pm in the marquee.

Thursday features bowling at Earlston Bowling Club at 7pm (where The Southern’s sports reporter Fiona Scott will be defending her champion title), and bingo in the marquee - also at 7pm.

Earlston scored a coup by securing Scocha for the Friday night concert in the marquee from 8pm to 1am, but for those looking for a quieter day, the senior citizen’s entertainment and afternoon tea begins at 1:30pm in the rugby club.

The fancy dress parade starts on Saturday morning, with judging at 12pm. Melrose Pipe Band leads the procession through the Square and down to the rugby club, where the pigeon liberation and kids’ races start at 2pm. At 10:15 in the evening, the torchlight procession begins at the East Green, led by the sounds of the bagpipes back to The Haugh for the grand firework finale at 10:45pm to bring the week to an end.

Lesley Stone of Lauderdale Community Choir presented a cheque for £886 to Will Roberts of MND Scotland at an event in the Lauderdale Hotel last week.

The motor neurone disease charity was selected as the choir’s annual beneficiary this year, and a concert in the spring raised the fantastic sum. In Scotland, 130 people a year are diagnosed with the disease.

A £10,000 hoard of 228 silver Roman coins found on Synton Hill in 2011 was put on display at Melrose’s Trimontium Museum on Friday.

The coins, dating from the 1st to 2nd century AD, and depicting Roman Emperors from Vespasian to Commodus, as well as their wives and children, were unearthed near Ashkirk by Hawick metal detectorist Jim Middleton.

The Treasure Trove panel awarded the artefacts to the Trimontium Trust and Scottish Borders Council (SBC), who raised £11,000 to clean and display the coins in the Borders, from Acquisition Trust grants and a legacy from the Melrose Song composer Rev Jack Drummond.

Fiona Colton of SBC Museums Service devised the clock-shaped display ‘tray’ with its fourteen compartments, separating each Emperor’s coins. The Trimontium Museum’s exhibition at The Ormiston in Melrose’s Square joins the Lockie Bronze Collection of Roman and Greek coinage.

“This is a feather in our cap, so we’re really pleased,” the Trimontium Trust’s Donald Gordon said. “The gods are on our side.”