Former Jedburgh Games 110m handicap winner Keiran Kivlin is backmarker for the Meadowmill Games 100m handicap on Sunday.

Kivlin runs from a mark of 1.5m in the three-heat event.

Kelso’s Andrew Hogarth (14m) and Euan Pettigrew (8.5m) as well as Jenna Gillan (21m) and Lee Goodfellow (11m) from TLJT, plus Hawick pair Ryan Elliot (5.5m) and David Lauder (10m) are amongst the Borders sprinters set to be in action in East Lothian.

In the 1,500m handicap, TLJT twosome, Adam Craig (80m) and Gavin Tait (260m), Cameron Burnett, Chirnside (140m); Wayne McIntosh, Kelso (180m); and Alistair Laurie, Selkirk (325m) are the Borders representatives.

The Meadowmill card brings about a joint junior/youth 100m handicap which consists of six heats.

Kieran Munro, TLJT; (22.5m), Robbie Renwick, Peebles (6.5m); Euan Hood, Moorcroft (16m); Josh Abbot, Kelso (18m); Fraser Clyne, Hawick (24.5m); Joey Brown, Gala Harriers (23.5m); Archie Fuller, Chirnside (29m); and Cameron Tindle, Berwick (scratch) are some of the Border youngsters included in this one.

Borderer Stevie Scott has been officially named as assistant to newly-appointed Edinburgh Rugby head coach Alan Solomons.

A product of Earlston High School, before learning his trade at both Melrose and Gala rugby clubs, Scott had been interim head coach for the capital outfit since the end of the Six Nations campaign this year and has now been rewarded with the full-time assistant (forwards) role.

He said: “I’m delighted to extend my term with Edinburgh Rugby, a team which I have a long association with and a huge amount of passion for (Scott made 99 appearances for the pro team as a player).”

Capped 11 times for Scotland, Scott’s coaching career was also kicked-off in the Borders – he headed up Selkirk in 2006 before spending three years as a coach for the national academy, promoted to specialist coach to the Scotland national team from 2008 to 2010 and assistant coach to the Scotland A team for spells in 2010 and 2012.

In 2010, Scott left Scotland to secure a senior professional club appointment in the English Premiership as Sale Sharks forwards coach, where he remained until September 2012, brought back to the national set-up by interim Scotland coach Scott Johnson as an assistant coach for the 2013 RBS 6 Nations, before returning to Edinburgh Rugby this year.

“I’m looking forward to building on the work done since the tail end of last season with a highly experienced coach,” he added.

“We’ll put everything into getting this club back into a position we can all be proud of.”

Edinburgh Rugby managing director David Davies said: “I’m very pleased to retain the services of Stevie, whose work on and off the field in pre-season has been exceptional.”

New head coach Solomons, a former South Africa assistant, who has steered the Barbarians to wins over five top tier nations (England, Scotland, Wales, South Africa and New Zealand) and led clubs to silverware in both hemispheres, will check into Murrayfield next Friday.

“I’m very much looking forward to arriving in Edinburgh, teaming up with Stevie and meeting the challenges head on,” he said.

That was the heatwave that was, I guess, not quite lasting until the end of July.

For the whole of Britain it was the longest hot spell since 2006 and for some areas, although not ours, the longest consecutive spell with daily temperatures at or above 28C since 1976. There was also speculation that it might be the driest British July since 1835 until the weekend thunderstorms and heavy rain.

It was probably predictable that the heavy rain hit our area a few hours after I saw the first combines cutting winter barley. It’s quite possible others had been at work elsewhere earlier last week, but Saturday was my first sighting.

With the wisdom of the roadside pundit I’d say the yield was not too exciting, while farmers I spoke to at the weekend who hoped to start combining this week were not optimistic about likely yield or quality of winter barley crops that had struggled through the coldest spring in half a century before getting a chance to grow and fill.

However, there is more optimism than I expected about spring barley prospects and the possibility that winter wheat crops, with their remarkable powers of recovery and compensatory growth, might produce better results than seemed possible in the dark days of March and April. Now that the first winter barley fields have been cut, some already cleared, ploughed and drilled with oilseed rape, we can say that harvest and the late summer/early autumn rush is under way. Weather permitting, of course.

The bicentenary Border Union Show was as successful as the hard-working show committee hoped it would be. Car parks filled quickly in the morning sunshine, while visitors were still arriving in mid-afternoon. Hot, dry, weather always helps an agricultural show, not least because most rely on temporary grass field car parks that can be a nightmare in wet weather.

Special events such as the History of the Horse, the Story of Wool, trial plots of crops, vintage farm machinery, the story of the Tweed and cookery demonstrations were a draw, although the sheep and cattle judging rings, traditional mainstays of the Border Union, were as popular as ever.

There were also more politicians at the show than I’ve seen before with the “Yes, Scotland!” and No to Independence campaigners making their case. As there is still more than a year to go before the referendum vote, can we expect even more political activity next year?

That’s possible, but I suspect that the main topics of conversation among those who think of the Border Union as a good social gathering more than anything else will remain the livestock judging results, the weather past and present, lamb and cattle prices, harvest prospects and neighbours’ doings and foibles.

But as usual at a farm show these days my abiding impression is the sheer size and sophistication of tractors and machinery compared with 20, or even 10, years ago and the skills needed to operate them.

How much benefit machinery dealers and makers get by supporting their local show is a moot point, but the stands certainly attract lots of attention.

A Fell pony took the supreme championship at the Newtown St Boswells and District Farmers Show at St Boswells Auction Mart on Saturday, July 20.

A good crowd enjoyed a high standard of entrants including 20 ridden hunters, when supreme champion judges, Mr and Mrs Sandy Scott, awarded the top ticket to the mountain and moorland champion, Michael Rawlinson’s Lunesdale Limelight. Reserve supreme was Marion Fairey’s Knockavalley Paddy, a five-year-old Connemara gelding.

Yetholm’s Clive Storey took two championships with his handsome coloured gelding, Masquerade, who stood overall in the hunters and the coloureds.

Best in the ridden pony section was the leading rein winner, Dukeshill Marietta, ridden by Lucy Goldie. Lilliesleaf-based Mary Douglas took the tricolour in the working hunter pony classes aboard Elcon Mr Chatterbox and Katy Lowthian was overall winner in the Pony Club Pony classes on Chianti. New class this year, the Retrained Racehorse Challenge, went to Jo Luton on Presenting Edward, while Rachel Robson and Harrys Double headed a strong Retrained Racehorses class.

Farm results: Best Field of Sheep – Alan Cowans; Cows – Ron Shaw; Grazing Cattle – Graham Dagg; Winter Barley – Peter Wilson; Spring Barley – Tom Stewart; Wheat – Robert Bruce; Oats – M Stewart; OSR – J McCorquodale; Grass – Grant Todd; Failed Field – Peter Wilson; Longnewton Cup for overall winner – Ron Shaw; Agricultural Exhibit – E Marshall. See more results at www.thesouthernreporter.co.uk

Kelso farmer John Elliot has received a national award for his contribution to livestock breeding. The Aberdeen Angus breeder of Roxburgh Mains is this year’s winner of the prestigious Sir William Young Award from the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS).

Fellow Kelso farmer, RHASS chairman Allan Murray of Redden presented Mr Elliot with the award last month.

Mr Elliot, who also writes a column for The Scottish Farmer, said: “My reaction was extreme surprise,” but he added: “It’s pleasing.”

The former commercial cattle and sheep producer of Rawburn near Duns decided about 50 years ago to concentrate more on breeding pure-bred Aberdeen Angus (AA). And he started his herd with stock from the Cape Wrath herd founded by his grandfather in 1913, which he boosted with quality females from other herds.

Mr Elliot started performance recording – regular weighing and ultrasonic scanning – more than 30 years ago and sourced top genetics worldwide to work with the highest performing cattle within the breed. He did a Nuffield Scholarship in 1982 when performance recording was in its infancy.

“We have used a lot of embryo transfers and modern techniques where we could,” he said.

His work paid off when in 1997 he bred Rawburn Transformer, a bull that broke every record as a yearling and recorded a Signet Beef Value of £55, unheard of at the time. Over the next decade, Transformer outperformed all other contemporary sires with a third of the top 100 Angus bulls in the UK, including the top 10, sired by him.

Concerning performance figures, 18 months ago, 12 out of the top 15 AA males were Rawburn-bred cattle, as were 14 out of the top 15 females.

Mr Elliot explained how he came to champion the breed: “The Aberdeen Angus was at a very low ebb, the breed had got far too small and people were leaving it in droves. But however poor they were – and they were – they had bits other breeds couldn’t reproduce.”

And, of course, Aberdeen Angus had a worldwide reputation for quality beef, and they were instantly recognisable.

Mr Elliot added: “So there were possibilities, because it was such a big breed worldwide, that we would find animals that would get us out of the hole we were in.

“My ambition then was just to try and get something that would suit me commercially and it’s developed from there. I have been involved with a lot of breeds and I don’t think there are any that pull so many things together as the Angus.

“I just really worked on them. We’ve doubled the individual sizes of them and the performance figures are unbelievable; I never envisaged where we could get with them, but we are not there yet, we’ve a lot to do.”

The citation for his Sir William Young Award states: “Top drawer Rawburn cattle continue to command the premium that they have built up over many years through the strict criteria that has been the backbone of John Elliot’s breeding policy. His success with his beloved Aberdeen Angus cattle is legendary.”

Son John said: “It’s really the highest award a livestock breeder in this country can achieve and it’s voted for by other farmers. The family is very proud and I think he himself (when presented with the award) was very quick to say we have great staff who really help us achieve what we are trying to do here ... and he thanked my mother.”

A frontline member of staff within NHS Borders has told The Southern that hospital services are chronically understaffed.

The employee, who wished to remain anonymous, said last week’s story on the £8.5million NHS Borders has spent on agency and bank staff in three years did not reveal the true costs, with contracted staff often picking up extra hours.

They said: “NHS Borders has its own nurse bank and only in exceptional circumstances are they allowed to employ agency staff.

“But staff who have contracted hours are often asked to do extra, so that the spend doesn’t show up in the totals, and of course doesn’t quite highlight the chronic understaffing of NHS Borders.”

The employee added that morale was ‘fairly low’ and is concerned that staff working extra hours will lead to increased sickness leave.

In 2011/12 nurses worked 1,284 hours above those contracted, at a cost of £28,177 to NHS Borders. However, between just April and September 2012, nurses worked 1,137 extra hours, costing £45,913.

NHS Borders chief executive Calum Campbell responded: “Safe levels of nursing and midwifery staffing are well defined and are required on wards. NHS Borders meets these standards.”

He added that there have been ‘significant challenges’ with frontline staffing due to maternity leave, sickness absence and annual leave cover.

Mr Campbell said such gaps are offered to contracted staff initially, before being offered to bank staff to fill.

He added: “Staff are not obliged to work additional hours. All staff are contracted to work in line with the 48 hours working time regulations. At present, workers can choose to work more than their contracted hours, only if they want to.”

The former Scottish Borders Abattoir in Galashiels has been attacked by metal thieves.

Police are seeking information after cable was taken from the building on Winston Road in the last month. The quantity of metal stolen is not known, but enquiries are ongoing, said a Police Scotland spokesman.

A Hawick man has been charged with possession of drugs after being caught with cannabis and diazepam in the town last Friday.

The 33-year-old was stopped in St George’s Lane at around 11.15am.

A Police Scotland spokesman said the man will appear in court at a later date.

A crackdown on people carrying drugs and those committing driving offences in the Borders has been highlighted in the latest police results.

The statistics are to be revealed to councillors at a meeting of the Police, Fire and Rescue and Safer Communities Board tomorrow (Friday).

Chief Superintendent Jeanette McDiarmid, police commander for the Lothians and Borders, is due to present the report.

Between April and June this year the number of people stopped and searched for drugs in the Borders was more than double that in the same period in 2012.

This has been put down to ‘proactive targeting of individuals’ and resulted in a total of 125 being found with illegal substances, four times that caught the previous year.

The clampdown on drivers using mobile phones while driving and not using a seatbelt has also produced significant results.

The number of seatbelt offences more than doubled, and the number caught on their phones increased by more than 50 per cent compared to the same three months last year.

Chief Supt McDiarmid will also tell councillors that the number of anti-social behaviour incidents fell by almost 13 per cent in the first three months of the current financial year.

The drop has been attributed to early intervention efforts by the police and partners.

It was fitting that the sun shone for The Animals at Traquair House to bring down the curtain on this year’s 1960s inspired fair.

The House of the Rising Sun rockers performed at the historic Tweeddale home on Sunday, after torrential rain in the morning looked like it would lead to a damp conclusion to the two-day event.

Traquair House owner Catherine Maxwell Stuart said: “Saturday was brilliant with lots of happy festival goers who really enjoyed the swinging 60s atmosphere.

“The weather on Sunday was disappointing but the sun came out for The Animals in the afternoon to end the weekend on a real high.”

In a first for the Fair, it stepped back in time to the decade which is made famous for relaxation of attitudes to sex and drugs and the rise of rock music.

On Saturday, The Troggs performed, while garments from leading 60s Borders fashion houses - Bernat Klein and Pringle - were on display in the house.

There was also music from various other groups, including Peebles band The Beggar Girls, as well as the screening of the 1969 film Tamlin, shot at Traquair and starring Joanna Lumley.

The usual craft stalls, and food and drink ensured the Fair goers did not go hungry or thirsty.

Innerleithen hero tot Rowan Rychel is set for another honour, writes Kenny Paterson.

Rowan was two when she helped save her mother’s life back in September 2011.

Having already picked up a police award, she is now to be recognised by the Royal Humane Society.

Rowan dialled 999 after her mum Francesca was knocked out after fainting at their Ballantyne Street home.

She raised the alarm by telling an operator that ‘Mummy won’t wake up’, resulting in a police officer attending the house and calling for an ambulance.

Dick Wilkinson, secretary of the Royal Humane Society, said: “She is a truly remarkable girl who kept calm in what must have been the most terrifying day of her young life.

“Somehow she made the vital call that ensured her mother received medical attention.”

“They (parents) had clearly taught her well what to do in an emergency.

“She richly deserves this award.”

The Royal Humane Society is a London-based charity that grants bronze, silver and gold awards for acts of bravery in the saving of human life and, also, for the restoration of life by resuscitation. Its patron is The Queen.

The appointment of a new archbishop for Edinburgh and St Andrews will bring new direction for Catholics in the Borders.

That is the view of the priest in charge of Our Lady and St Joseph’s Church in Selkirk, Father Robert Afayori, after Monsignor Leo Cushley was announced as the new man for the role, six months after Cardinal Keith O’Brien stood down following allegations of sexual impropriety.

Mgr Cushley had already admitted it is a “delicate” time for Catholics in Scotland, before allegations of physical and sexual abuse by monks at a former Highlands boarding school were revealed on Monday.

Admitting the 52-year-old has a lot of work ahead of him, Father Afayori said: “Everything was on hold while an archbishop was not in place – no major decisions could be made. That will change now.

“I think Leo Cushley will bring a new sense of direction and purpose.

“He will have a vision that he is going to lead us on. Every bishop has a vision and if his is to move priests on, then he will do that. Without a bishop there, this cannot happen.

“There are events that have to be put in order as well and I am sure he will get this done.”

Father Afayori expects the four other vacant Scottish bishop posts to now be filled.

He said: “Mgr Cushley has been living and working in the Vatican for 20 years and will have learned a lot. He will bring something new.”

A Glasgow cemetery was last week’s setting for a reinterment service for the remains of a Spitfire pilot killed during a wartime crash in the Borders.

Malcolm Robertson was a 20-year-old sergeant pilot serving with the Royal New Zealand Air Force and attached to the Royal Air Force’s 65 Squadron based at Drem, in East Lothian, when he was killed after his single-engined fighter crashed near Westruther during a training sortie in January, 1943.

His remains were buried in Glasgow’s Craigton Cemetery followng the crash but last year’s excavation of the crash site, which recovered pieces of the Spitfire, also uncovered human bones.

Last Thursday, these additional remains were also interred in Sgt Robertson’s grave in the cemetery.

The service was conducted by RAF Prestwick chaplain, Rev David Ness, with the RNZAF represented by Squadron Leader Susie Barns.

“The rededication service was a poignant time to reflect on service and sacrifice.

“Sergeant Robertson has now been reburied with the honour and dignity befitting an RNZAF pilot,” said Sqn Ldr Barns.

Kenny Walker, of the aircrash investigation group that excavated the site, also attended the service and represented Sgt Robertson’s family.

He recited the family’s eulogy, speaking of the family’s visions of Sgt Robertson’s final flight.

“We visualise how it probably was for you when, in October 1942, you were posted to RAF 65 Squadron at nearby Drem.

“Constantly training, flying exercises, more operations, the cold of a Scottish winter and plying the skies in a Supermarine Spitfire,” Mr Walker told those present.

“We have thought about you as we think you might have been at 1540 hours on 16 January, 1943, when you powered Spitfire AR403 into cloudy skies for a one-hour practice flight.

“Our vision is that the challenge in completing your flight far overshadowed the sound of the mighty Rolls Royce Merlin [engine] and any fleeting moments of exhilaration before you plunged through the cloud layer.”

Also present was Iain Anderson of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, members of the Air Crash Investigation and Archaeology Group that excavated the wreck, and members of the Scottish Police.

Sgt Robertson had enlisted in 1940 shortly after his 18th birthday and trained at flying training schools at Whenuapai and Ohakea in New Zealand before leaving for Britain. The salvaged parts of Sgt Robertson’s Spitfire were put on display at a museum in Haddington, north of the crash site, earlier this year to mark the 70th anniversary of his death.

BERWICK’S speedway Bandits achieved a solid victory over Glasgow Tigers last Saturday – but this week’s visitors, also from north of the border, will prove a sterner test.

Edinburgh’s all-conquering Monarchs are currently just one point from the top of the Premier League table (they stand just below Workington Comets, but with two matches in hand) and can boast by far the best away-track record of any club in Britain.

“Yes, they are a powerhouse team” admitted Berwick director George Hepburn. “They have lost just one away match in the league all season, and will fancy themselves hugely to add to their fine record on Saturday, and go to the top of the Premier League.

“But over the years our Bandits have had a pretty good record of giant killing, and I believe we can maybe pull off another victory, no matter how much these Monarchs fancy their chances.”

The capital club’s hopes of victory, and of hitting the top rung of the league table, will bring hundreds of Scots south on the A1 on Saturday, with one of the biggest speedway attendances of the regular season in prospect.

“Edinburgh are led by Craig Cook, probably the top man in the whole league just now,” said an admiring Bandits’ spokesperson.

“He’s a rocket of a rider, a class act, although one who proved just last week at Ipswich he can also be a bit of short-fused firework at times.

“Who knows which Cookie will turn up on Saturday?”

Team manager Ian Rae will have a full-strength team of Bandits in the pits for the first time since June, with tall Danish starlet Nicki Barrett now recovered from his lingering shoulder injury.

“This will be tough match all right,” admitted Rae. “But we’ve beaten the Monarchs here in the past when they arrived expecting to beat us, and with all guns blazing, I’m sure we can do it again!”

Saturday’s teams

Berwick: 1, Ricky Ashworth; 2, David Bellego; 3, Robin Aspegren; 4, Matty Wethers; 5, Kozza Smith (captain); 6, Nicki Barrett; 7, Paul Starke.

Edinburgh: 1, Craig Cook; 2, Mx Fricke; 3, Theo Pijper; 4, Jozsef Tabaka; 5, Claus Vissing; 6, Derek Sneddon (captain); 7, Mitchell Davey.

Ipswich “Sackers Witches” 56 Berwick “New Holland Bandits” 37

Premier League

The long, hot trip to Ipswich for the travelling Berwick Bandit supporters ended five minutes into the Premier League match at Foxhall stadium after their coach was hit by heavy debris at Gosforth, shattering it’s windscreen.

A replacement vehicle pushed the weary fans a good 90 minutes behind schedule, but it was all worth it to see Frenchman David Bellego destroy the tough field in Heat One to take the three points ahead of England International Ben Barker in a 3-3 match.

Berwick Bandit’s Supporters’ Club representative Lisa Youngman was keen to praise their coach driver saying: “Our driver was a real hero to get us to the stadium only five minutes late for the start after a traumatic day that had seen him showered in glass only 60 miles into the journey, but once the replacement coach came we couldn’t fault Glenn Valley Coaches who really did all they could for us, and we didn’t even miss one race!

“We also would like to thank the Ipswich promotion who were aware of our plight early on and were aware of our late arrival, and made sure we didn’t miss any of the action.”

Bandits were brought back to Earth in the second heat with the burgeoning talent that is Adam Ellis taking the race easily as injury returnee Nicki Barratt struggling in the race with Paul Stark retiring on the third lap in a home 5-1.

Heat Three was hauled back when Rohan Tungate tried a big outside pass on bend one only to pick up too much drive and almost launch himself into the crowd, crashing instead to the ground to be excluded, whilst in the re-run Morten Risager nearly did the same, but just controlled it but Matthew Wethers was away and took the win in the Berwick 2-4 with guest Ben Morley (in for Robin Aspegren who had unexpectedly been recalled to Sweden for a match three) taking third to push the score to 10-8.

Kozza Smith made a great gate in Heat Four to take a good win over home expert Leigh Lanham as Starke held out Ritchie Hawkins to the end to level the score 12-12, but Ipswich eased two back into the lead again after Tungate took Heat Five over Bellego who blocked Risager at every move.

Skipper Smith made another blinder of a gate in the sixth, but Barker, determined not to be outdone again blasted round the Bandit - and the other two in the race - round bend one and two to take another home 4-2 to put the home side 20-16 ahead.

Morley’s bike blew up at the start of Heat Seven and was duly excluded from the re-run, Wethers ended up going way too wide on the opening bend to allow Hawkins through to join Lanham up front for another Witches’ 5-1 taking the score to 25-17.

The score jetted away to 30-18 after Heat Eight’s home maximum with Ellis taking his second straight win of the night as Bellego ended in third behind Cameron Heeps allowing Smith to take a tactical ride for double points in Heat Nine to desperately halt the Witches run.

Too eager however was the cry as Smith jumped at the start to be recalled with an official warning for moving, whilst in the re-run Smith made another fast, but legal gate and took the doubled six points, but Barratt fell restricting the advantage to a 3-6 result taking the score to 33-24 as a few spots of rain began to fall.

Barker and Heeps hammered home another Ipswich 5-1 in Heat 10, briefly threatened by Wethers leading to Bellego being nominated as Berwick’s second and final tactical ride in Heat 11, but the race was initially halted when Ellis ran out of room on the opening bends and laid his bike down with Ashworth being forced wide into Lanham who fell but the referee excluded Ashworth despite the fence damage from Ellis’ fall which was the initial cause of the stoppage.

In the re-run Bellego made a ghastly start and ended up stone last and whilst he was reeling Ellis in he was in no danger of passing the youngster in another Ipswich 5-1 to take the score to 43-26 before a Tungate/Hawkins 4-2 split by Stark took the home side into an unassailable position with the win firmly in their hands with three races to go and dark clouds brewing overhead as they did over Berwick’s attempt to take a good result at Ipswich.

Berwick Team manager Ian Rae said: “We showed some good promise early on in this match but the home side soon found their feet and took advantage to grab the points, and whilst a refereeing decision or two didn’t exactly help we needed more fire power from our lads which was lacking at times.”

Union officials say all options are being considered – including the closing of police stations – in an ongoing review of the service in Scotland, writes Kenny Paterson.

Unison Scotland representatives met with Police Scotland officials last week following the announcement of the review into the use of public desks at stations.

Among the possibilities is a reduction in the opening hours or turning stations into part-time units, which has led to fears facilities in the region could be affected.

A Unison official told us: “Everything is being looked at.

“We expect to hear more from the police at the end of August as the review gathers pace.”

Michael Moore MP met Borders Police Commander Chief Superintendent Jeanette McDiarmid at the end of last month to discuss the possible changes.

He said: “Access to the police is very important for local people so I urged Chief Superintendent McDiarmid to ensure that my constituents’ concerns about cover at our local police stations are listened to.”

Mr Moore added: “Centralisation of police services by the Scottish Government is a real worry for local people and I will remain vigilant to ensure that police cover in the Borders is not reduced.”

Confidence has been expressed that negotiations over the purchase of a site for the planned new Kelso High School will soon see an agreement reached.

A pre-planning application for the new £14.8million secondary on a site in the town’s Angraflat Road has already been lodged by Scottish Borders Council.

Edinburgh-based Clarendon Planning & Development are agents for the site’s owners, the Duke of Roxburghe, Lord Ralph Kerr and the Fernie­hirst Trust.

Back in April, Clarendon said negotiations between the landowners and council were “progressing positively”.

However, three months on and with no deal over the sale of the land yet reached, there are rumours the two parties are still some way off from reaching an agreement.

Asked to comment on the state of the negotiations, the local authority said it could not make any statement due to what it described as their “commercial sensitivity.” And quizzed for their views, Kelso’s three SBC councillors all said the matter was being left to local authority officers.

However, Councillor Simon Mountford (Con) was prepared to say that it was not unusual for there to be a mismatch between two positions when it came to such complicated negotiations.

“And I am confident an agreement will soon be reached which is acceptable to both parties,” he said.

The Heritage Hub in Hawick has been recognised for leading the way in capitalising on the growth of ancestral tourism in Scotland.

A new guide was launched this week by John Swinney MSP, which helps businesses take advantage of the sector.

VisitScotland believes ancestral tourism has the potential to grow significantly in the next five years, from the current 800,000 visitors per year to 4.3million visitors.

The hub features in the document as a case study.

A spokesperson for the Heritage Hub said: “We’re delighted that the Heritage Hub’s contribution to Scotland’s ancestral tourism has been acknowledged by VisitScotland.

“A steady increase in the number of visitors whose holiday focuses on researching their ancestral heritage has allowed us to develop the services we offer to ancestral tourists, and establish long-term links with our visitors though our ScotlandsPeople centre, social media channels and excellent access to records.

“The Heritage Hub is part of the outstanding success that is Heart of Hawick, a regeneration project designed to make a substantial contribution to Hawick and the Borders’ social, cultural and economic environment.”

The guide provides tourism operators with the latest intelligence on Scotland’s ancestral tourism markets. There are also a raft of practical hints, tips and ideas to help businesses make the most of the year-round opportunities.

Genealogy is one of the fastest growing hobbies globally, dramatically increasing in popularity as access to the internet and ­online resources become more plentiful.

Linda McPherson, director of tourism at Scottish Enterprise said: “We know that these tourists often visit outside of peak periods, so this can offer a route for businesses to extend their season.

“There are also excellent opportunities to collaborate with other tourism businesses to develop a fuller package that can help extend visitor stay and spend within the local area and beyond.”

The guide, based on research commissioned by VisitScotland, shows that some 10million people worldwide with Scottish roots are interested in finding out more about their ancestry, with around two-fifths planning to visit Scotland in the next two years.

Based on these figures, the opportunity to capitalise on these visitors is estimated at £2.4billion. Research shows that ancestral tourists spend significantly more per day than the average tourist, and stay for longer.

Pop-up shops could appear on a high street near you and help turn around the fortunes of town centres, a small business owner has said.

Mark Timmins, who runs Dizzymafella, producing upcycled and recycled gifts and cards, spent a week in 1 Tower Street, one of two pop-up shops in Selkirk.

A Creative Arts Borders Network mentor, Mr Timmins also offered business advice.

He praised the Selkirk Chamber of Trade initiative, and said it made people think differently about what retail is about.

Mr Timmins said: “I had people in from across the Borders, and a few went away talking about taking the space, and that is very inspirational.”

He added: “With the railway coming and Abbotsford reopening, we have got to up our game with what we do with retail.

“People will be coming from a very different retail scenario – America, London – and they want the timeless quality of Selkirk and the Borders, but also to have things individual and about the locality.”

Mr Timmins said businesses which have been successful in the pop-up shops would benefit greatly, and could grow further because of it.

He added: “It is great for small businesses that perhaps have never thought about doing retail or have only been selling on the internet.

“You could have a pop-up shop in every town in the Borders and it would just be amazing.”

Project manager Margaret Sweetnam said: “The chamber of trade has been quite innovative in their approach.

“Selkirk has some brilliant shops here all the time – we are just adding a bit of variety. It is absolutely meant to be about complementing what is here already. It is about mutual benefits.”

Mrs Sweetnam added: “I feel we are doing something that would be of benefit to other communities and hopefully at the end of it we will have a toolkit there to take it forward and that could be used elsewhere.”

The two pop-up shop spaces are available for businesses from across the Borders. For more information visit www.facebook.com/popupselkirk

A disabled man was left homeless after being discharged from hospital, as his family was told he was dying three months earlier.

The man, named Mr A in the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman’s report, was fit enough to be released from Borders General Hospital three months after relatives were recommended that he be transferred to another hospital for end of life care.

However, in that time, the family had given up his tenancy and some of his belongings, believing he was soon to die. It meant the man, suffering from dementia and other health problems, had to stay in a nursing unit rather than his former home.

Although he died two months later, the man’s sister (Mrs C) complained to the ombudsman regarding her sibling’s care and treatment, also claiming he was not dressed in warm clothing when transferred to the nursing home on a “very cold and snowy day”.

She was also critical of NHS Borders’ lack of communication and consultation with the family.

While refusing to uphold the complaint, ombudsman Jim Martin recommended NHS Borders reviews its policy on informing relatives in such situations about the option of NHS continuing care – free treatment provided outside of hospital.

Mr Martin wrote: “Our investigation, which included taking independent advice from two of our medical advisers, found that the care and treatment provided to Mr A had been reasonable overall.

“However, the advisers raised some concerns over a lack of clarity on issues of Mr A’s lack of capacity, the waiting times for outpatient investigations and information for relatives on NHS continuing care provision.”

Calum Campbell, chief executive of NHS Borders said: “We are pleased that the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman’s found no evidence that our care of Mr A did not meet the expected standards and satisfied with the decision not uphold this complaint.

“We are considering the recommendations suggested by the ombudsman, listed in the report, and will take appropriate actions to address them.

“NHS Borders takes every complaint very seriously and uses the lessons learnt to improve our services.”