Experts are exploring what needs to be done to repair the Mercat Cross in Galashiels which was damaged by a van last week.

It may have to be dismantled and might not be restored in time for the Braw Lads’ Gathering on June 28.

The base of the sandstone pillar was partly dislodged when the vehicle crashed into it last Wednesday morning.

A spokesman for Scottish Borders Council told The Southern: “It is likely that the Mercat Cross will need to be taken down and rebuilt. We envisage it being removed from its current location to allow us to check the stonework and repair it as necessary, prior to rebuilding. We are in discussion with the van driver’s insurance company, but it is too early to determine the extent or cost of the damage.”

But the spokesman admitted: “We will endeavour to make sure it is ready for the Braw Lads’ Gathering, although we are unable to guarantee it at this early stage.”

David Houston, chairman of the Braw Lads’ Executive Council, told The Southern they were not unduly concerned at this stage.

He told us: “The council knows the significance of this monument and I am sure they will pull out all the stops to have it ready for the Gathering.”

But he said if it wasn’t ready, the executive would make contingency arrangements.

Brownies from Galashiels district celebrated the 100th birthday of their movement by inviting Rainbows, Guides, senior section and leaders to their party in the town’s Volunteer Hall on Saturday.

Everybody sang “Happy Birthday” before the cake, made by Rainbow leader Lindsay Stavert and senior section member Allanah Fox, was cut by Alison Henry, district commissioner, and Brownie Erin Stoddart, whose birthday it was.

During the past term all sections have worked towards the Janet Mackie Memorial Shield competition, with this year’s theme being “Easter”. Prize winners –Rainbows – Emma Duncanson (2nd Gala Rainbows); Brownies – Ceilidh Anderson-Hardie (3rd Gala Brownies); Guides – Rosie McLeman (1st Gala Guides); senior section – Cara Smith (1st Tweedbank senior section).

Gail Fox, county commissioner for Tweed Valley, announced that Morag McCormick will be the new district commissioner for Galashiels for the next three years. She also presented Alison Henry, outgoing district commissioner, with a certificate and badge of thanks in appreciation of her support for Girlguiding.

Parents were then invited in for the rest of the afternoon to see different activities that all the girls take part in at their weekly meetings – from creating an elephant from empty plastic milk cartons to making balancing parrots. On display were uniforms from the past, and photographs of past and present Brownies and Guides in Galashiels.

After enjoying a stag night, Andrew Schiebe was caught drink-driving when he lost control of his car on the outskirts of Galashiels.

Schiebe, 32, of Mossilee Crescent, Galashiels, admitted driving on the A6091 Melrose-Galashiels road at Tweedbank roundabout on February 17 with an alcohol reading of 54mcgs – the legal limit being 35 – when he appeared at Selkirk Sheriff Court on Monday.

Police received a report of an accident and found a Honda Civic car which appeared to have skidded off the roundabout.

Schiebe confirmed he had been driving and was alone in the vehicle.
“Police noted his breath smelled of alcohol and his eyes were glazed,” added depute procurator fiscal Tessa Bradley.

Defence solicitor Greig McDonell said his client worked part-time in a Galashiels pub.

“He had been on a stag night in Gala and hadn’t intended to drive. He didn’t think he had drunk that much, and is extremely remorseful,” added the lawyer.

Mr McDonell said Schiebe had skidded and lost control of the car.

He was fined £250 and banned from driving for 12 months.

VISITORS are once again being urged to stay away from hospital wards following another outbreak of norovirus.

Wards at the BGH and Haylodge Hospital in Peebles are currently affected.

After a lengthy outbreak in January at the BGH, things improved greatly last month.

However on Friday, NHS Borders appealed to people not to visit friends or relatives in hospital unless “absolutely necessary”.

Evelyn Fleck, director of nursing and midwifery said: “In order to control the spread of norovirus we urge the public to comply with our request and to stay away from the hospital.

“The diarrhoea and vomiting illness is usually over within 48 hours, but is highly infectious, which is why NHS Borders needs to limit the number of people moving in and out of the hospital.

“The last time we issued a request of this nature the co-operation from the public was incredibly helpful, and we would be most grateful once again for people to take our advice and please stay away.”

Haylodge is closed to admissions, as are Cauldshiels and Ward 9 at the BGH. Bays in Wards 4 and 6 are also affected.

Delayed discharges left patients in Borders hospital beds unnecessarily for more than 7,500 days last year, new figures have revealed.

‘Bed blocking’, where patients are well enough to be discharged but have nowhere to go, increased throughout 2013. Most delays were due to community care assessment reasons and patients waiting for places in care homes.

Jane Davidson, NHS Borders’ chief operating officer, said: “ When we look back over the last three years, from January 2011 to December 2013, the total number of bed days occupied by patients classified as delayed discharges has reduced by over 40 per cent.

“This work continues to be of great focus for us. It’s important for our patients and therefore for our staff, and we will continue to collaborate with the council and other partners to give this careful attention.”

Responding to the delayed discharge figures, John Lamont MSP said: “This can cause a lot of distress amongst patients, who instead of being allowed to leave hospital are forced to stay far longer than necessary. It also causes huge problems for hospital managers who are having beds taken up when there are sick patients in need of care. It is entirely unacceptable to leave these individuals languishing in hospital.”

He has called on the Scottish Government to take “real action” to help patients.

A young Peebles florist who works from a shed in her back garden has scooped a national award for her wedding ­arrangements.

Emma McDonald only established Stems in April 2012, but is celebrating being named Florist of the Year at the Scottish Wedding Awards 2014.

Emma said: “I hoped I might win the regional award as it was just me against a florist from Edinburgh, but I didn’t even contemplate winning the overall title, so I hadn’t prepared a speech!”

The 23-year-old has built up the business from home, while also looking after her young daughter, whose birth was a catalyst for the creation of Stems.

Emma said: “When Shyla was about nine months old I was due to go back to work in a nine-to-five job at a hotel, but I decided I didn’t have it in me to put her into day care or have her passed around relatives.

“I had worked in a flower shop when I was younger and had also studied art at high school, so I had the knowledge.

“I bought a small amount of flowers from a supplier in Edinburgh and made up arrangements, set up the Facebook page and sold to friends and family.

“I made a small profit so I bought some more flowers and it has just grown from there.”

This week Emma moved in to a new purpose built workshop in her garden, as increasing demand meant she had gradually run out of space in the 12x8ft shed she had been working from.

The new, bigger shed, has been bought partly thanks to a grant from the Princes Trust.

Emma said: “The Princes Trust have been wonderful.

“A friend recommended them to me at the end of 2012 and I contacted them to see if I was eligible for some funding and I applied for a market test grant and then they advised me to apply for £1,000 towards the cost of the new shed.”

Emma added that her greatest achievement has actually been her selection to be included in the Good Florist Guide.

Stems is just one of two Borders florists to meet the very stringent criteria for inclusion.

Learning how to change a lightbulb or cashing up a tuckshop till are not the first things that spring to mind when it comes to youth clubs.

But then Hawick’s Escape Youth Cafe is about as far removed as you could get from the 1980s stereotype of youth clubs as just a place to get young people off the streets for a few hours, with the odd Friday night disco thrown in.

Set up as a drop-in facility in 2005, following a ‘youth summit’, the cafe in the town’s Commercial Road opens its doors five nights a week – including Saturdays – plus on Wednesdays at lunchtime.

During the evenings, the P6/7 age group use the cafe on Wednesdays from 6.30-8.30pm, while the S1 up age group are in on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7-9.30pm and on Fridays from 7-10pm.

Saturdays see all those in the age group from P7 upwards able to use the cafe from 7-10pm.

The cafe gives young people the chance not only to be involved and consulted on what activities they want to see, but to also take part fully in the management and growth of the establishment.

The 156 members come from Hawick and the surrounding area and, as well as having their own space to meet and socialise with friends, the cafe also creates opportunities, supports development and maintenance of social, domestic and educational skills, and promotes healthy lifestyles and leisure pursuits.

Members pay 20p per night, after which everything – except obviously food from the tuckshop – is free, including the use of computers, pool tables, air hockey game, Playstation and X-Box games.

These are the things that draw young people in, but once through the doors they find a world of opportunities opening up to them.

Outreach work, residential trips and creative media workshops in music, poetry, film and drama are all avilable, as are various sports, crafts and other activities.

Sian Snowdon is the Voluntary Youth Work Services Manager at the cafe and is supported by part-time senior youth worker Wendy Fiddes and nine volunteer staff.

“We want the young people to see this as their project and involve them as much as possible in the decision-making process about what is offered and how the place is run,” Sian explained.

“Whether they want to do football, craft work, any other kind of sport – anything they can come up with, we will look at if the resources are there.”

Although young people can come and go as they please to the cafe, Sian and her staff usually find that once inside, the young people tend to stay for the majority of that evening’s session.

“Each session is usually two-and-a-half to three hours and we offer at least one activity they can opt into if they want.

“It is up to the young people, but it’s our role as staff to try to encourage them to try new things they’ve never done before and to engage in new experiences.”

In the summer months, the cafe even organises outdoor activities and trips, while workshops were held last year on such diverse subjects, such as graffiti art and cookery.

Cafe staff have also performed valuable work with young people experiencing attendance issues at school, as well as with local primary seven classes, helping them prepare for the move up to the town’s secondary.

With Hawick being a very sports-orientated town, there are those youngsters who come to the cafe because they want something different.

“We get a mixture. We tend to get the sporty ones more in the winter when the weather is not so great, and their attendances tend to taper off as the weather gets better in the summer,” said Wendy

“But we also get young people who don’t access sport for a variety of reasons, including a lack of money, disability or because they’re just not interested.”

And it’s not just young people who are benefitting from the cafe’s existence.

Those offering their services as volunteers often find that it leads to new qualifications, improved CVs and even employment in the youth work sector.

Youngsters also have already found that their experience at the cafe of working a till and being responsible for handling money can open doors, with several obtaining part-time jobs as a result.

“We’ve even had a session on how to change a lightbulb because someone asked about that!” added Wendy.

The Galashiels Burns Club-supported Celebration of Scots Language and Culture Primary School Competition was held at the town’s academy.

All schools in Galashiels and surrounding area took part in the written and the recital parts of the event.

The standard of entries made judging a difficult task for Alan Sleater, the Academy’s principal teacher of English, Grant Lees, Burns club past president, and Keith Cowan, Burns club president.

Results – writing – P1-3 – 1, Maya Troczynska (St Margaret’s RC); 2, Courtney Duncan (Burgh); 3, Sam Glennon (Stow). P4-5 – 1, Molly Darling (St Peter’s); 2, Louis Mackenzie (Stow); 3, Paddy Lynch (Clovenfords). P6-7 – 1, Casey Bunker (St Peter’s); 2, Meghan Campbell (Burgh); 3, Zara Elliot (Clovenfords).

Recital – P1-3 – 1, Tom Firth (Fountainhall); 2, Evie Renwick (St Peter’s); 3, Claire Webster (Burgh). P4-5 – 1, Joshua Miller (Glendinning); 2, Mya Lamb (Burgh); 3, Katie-Jane Saunders ( St Peter’s). P6-7 – 1, Ryan Woodburn (Clovenfords); 2, Lauren Hume (St Peter’s); 3, Talia Pettitt (Heriot).

The overall winners were the St Peter’s entry, pictured with Russell Robertson, Burns club secretary.

The Borders Brake-Away and Berwick and Borders Cyclists, informal groups of the Lothian and Borders branch of the national CTC cycling club, recently launched their combined 2014 programme.

Upcoming rides include a 53-mile section of the Borders Loop from Peebles to Tweedsmuir, the Gordon Arms and back via the ‘Paddy Slacks’ C road to Innerleithen and Peebles on Saturday, April 12.

And on the Sunday, the group will pedal 39 miles from Berwick to Etal and back via Barmoor. For more information on the rides, text 07763169896 or email bordersbrakeaway@gmail.com.

A spokesman said: “We enjoy cycle rides at a sociable, leisurely pace across the Borders or further afield, mainly on quiet country roads or good tracks, stopping at scenic spots and places of interest.

“Although we can’t guarantee the weather, we can guarantee friendly company, healthy exercise, great scenery and usually a tea room or two for lunch or cakes.”

And Kelso Wheelers Cycling Club’s Sunday rides resumed at the end of last month with any cyclist aged over 14 meeting for coffee at 9am at the Cross Keys Hotel in the town’s Square, before leaving at 10am to ride about 25 miles, with one longer ride a month.

The club says: “These rides suit all abilities and no-one will be left on their own.“

Anyone interested should contact Barrie on 07769 515555 or email him on sales@all
fitnesssports.com

What a difference a few sunny days make, not just to the general feeling of wellbeing, but to the advancement of the seasons into spring.

On one such day last week, I heard the first singing chiffchaffs of the year; saw my first bumble bees, butterflies and ladybird, and the frogs have started spawning in a neighbour’s pond, but so far, not yet in my new pond.

By Sunday, the cooler weather had returned with a stiff breeze, for the last of my monthly winter wildfowl counts.

At my first pond, where peace and tranquillity usually reign, noise and bustle were the order of the day.

More than 50 black-headed gulls had moved in and were beginning to argue over the best nesting sites, while two whooper swans tried to get a bit of peace and quiet to feed.

At my next, bigger loch, it was much quieter with no gulls present and here, the larger group of a dozen whooper swans were allowed to feed more serenely in the reed bed.

The only raucous sound came when an unseen water rail broke into its unusual squealing call.

The mating season obviously approaches.

Finally at Lindean Reservoir, which was my final port of call, I was surprised to find a sextet of greylag geese in residence for the first time.

Their residency, however, was short lived.

The two local mute swans were also feeling the approach of the mating season and were not at all happy at these six large interlopers on their territory.

The cob puffed himself up into full aggression mode and launched himself at the unsuspecting geese.

A mute swan in attack mode is a force to be reckoned with and proved to be too much for the visitors, who took to the air with much splashing and honking, never to be seen again.

Later the same day, I motored down to Newcastleton, intending to have a walk in the forest there, but the rain came on and I took shelter in The Grapes.

Suitably refreshed, I came out to find that it was still wet and windy, so a detour home via Langholm Moor was called for.

At a suitable location I pulled over to have coffee and a bun, hoping I might catch a glimpse of the speciality of the area – the hen harrier.

After about 20 minutes, I was considering moving on, when I spotted a bird flying low above the roadside verge, heading in my direction.

Once I had it in my binoculars I could immediately see that it was a pale grey bird with black, pointed wingtips and white underneath.

It was a male hen harrier!

It kept coming towards the car, eventually flying a few yards in front of the bonnet, before continuing along the roadside in the other direction.

It was only then I realised my camera was within reach on the back seat.

Too late!

I had missed the shot of a lifetime, but what a thrill it was to see such a magnificent bird at such close 
quarters.

Volunteers are invited to take part in community tree planting at Whitmuir Community Farm, Lamancha, next Saturday (March 22).

The award-winning organic farm’s staff, supporters and volunteers hope to plant 420 native broadleave saplings donated by the Woodland Trust over the afternoon, between 1-4pm.

Farmer Pete Ritchie said: “The trees will help to attract more birds, butterflies, bugs and small animals. They will provide cosy protected areas for our sheep and lambs in colder weather and more shade in hot weather, plus they will provide forage and fodder for our chickens, and protection from large bird predators.

“By adding more variety to our open areas, we want to encourage more people to come and enjoy the outdoors and learn more about nature, wildlife and the environment.”

Ritchie and his wife Heather bought the 130-acre former sheep farm in 2000 and have since set up a butchery, opened a restaurant and farm shop, and organised a supporters network, alongside sustainable farming.

Woodland Trust’s John Tucker said: “The UK has just 13 per cent woodland cover compared to a European average of 44 per cent and the trees we do have are under increasing threat from diseases and development. By teaming up with the likes of Whitmuir, the Woodland Trust is working to double our Native Woodland cover and enrich our landscape.”

Wear suitable clothing and take a spade to take part.

Spring has come to Chook Cottage. And the chooks neither know, nor care, if this is Real Proper Spring or Pretend Spring With Surprise Hard Frosts/Snow Later.

They are bounding out of the coop like spaniels on Red Bull, rushing to stuff their wee chops before shooting back in to lay, then spending the rest of their leisure time soaking up the sun – dust-bathing, lounging against tree roots snoozing, and generally enjoying the good weather.

As the days grow longer and Real Proper Spring is just around the corner, the happiness of chooks can be measured by egg production which, as many of you will already know, is a subject I hold very dear to my heart.

If my hens were on performance-related pay they would be raking in big, fat, RBS-style bonuses.

Suddenly, a run of fine days with real, live, actual sunshine (whoop!) has increased egg production overnight. They are fair popping them out now.

As a result, I have had to fit an egg label ‘print run’ into my day today. And then stick said labels on about 40 boxes. That should keep me going for, ooooh, a week... maybe.

And with spring on the way, another of my favourite chook tasks looms – will we get any broody hens and what will we do with them this year? It may sound odd, but when you put your hand in a nestbox to take out freshly-laid eggs then have to retract it immediately with an angry chicken attached to the end of your finger, I am extremely happy. It means we have a broody hen, ready to sit on some eggs and raise some chicks.

We are no strangers to hatching and raising our own chicks in this way, but this year Gamford – the chief chicken-wrangler – and I have been in deep conversations about getting in some new breeds (and therefore some lovely new egg colours).

Methinks as soon as a sweetie turns nippy and goes broody, we’ll be getting some eggs of the breeds we’d like and hatching those.

Of course, there will be a Mrs Merton-style ‘heated debate’ on this. And, of course, I will (pretend to) take others’ views into consideration before I have the final word.

(Miss Piggy voice) Autocractic, moi?

Will it be Scots Grey? Cream Legbar? Araucana? Ostrich? Hyacinth Macaw Parrot? Only joking, we already have Cream Legbars.

l’ll keep you posted, loyal readers.

The final speaker in the winter series of talks organised by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society is respected environment journalist Fred Pearce.

His most recent book – published in 2012 – was The Landgrabbers: The New Fight Over Who Owns The Earth and the title of his talk in Galashiels on Tuesday (March 25) will be the Rise of the Land Grabbers.

A Cambridge geography graduate, the 62-year-old award-winning author has reported on the environment, popular science and development issues from more than 80 countries.

London-based Mr Pearce won a lifetime achievement award for his journalism from the Association of British Science Writers in 2011, and was voted UK Environment Journalist of the Year in 2001.

The freelance writer told The Southern: “I do think environmental issues are the great agenda of the 21st century. We are messing with the planet on a huge scale now, messing with the planet’s life support systems. We are not doomed, but we are in peril. I also think the massive divide between rich and poor, the powerful and powerless is a major threat and that is mainly what Landgrabbers is about.”

He said he wasn’t sure about his proudest achievement ,“but way back when, my expose of dirty beaches in Britain cost the government a billion pounds to fix. That was when a billion pounds was a lot of money”.

The former news editor of the UK-based New Scientist has been that magazine’s environment consultant since 1992. He also writes for the Yale e360 web site in the US, the Guardian and other newspapers in the UK.

Other books, When the Rivers Run Dry and Confessions of an Eco Sinner, like Landgrabbers, have been translated into 22 languages. When the Rivers Run Dry was listed among the all-time Top 50 Sustainability Books by the University of Cambridge’s Programme for Sustainable Leadership. And he is a previous winner of the Peter Kent Conservation Book Award.

His talk at the Netherdale campus of Heriot-Watt University starts at 7.30pm

Saturday, March 22: Eildon Ramblers – Yair to Traquair via Southern Upland Way (car share required). 9.5 miles Grade B+. Start at 9.30am, take coffee and packed lunch. Contact walk leader on 07925 254116 to register intent to walk and get start location.

Sunday, March 23: Scottish Borders Hill Walking Club – Windlestraw (Thornilee) (73) 405363. Meet at High Street 
car park, Galashiels, at 9.30am.

For further information, contact secretary Evelyn Horsburgh on 01750 76214.

At a packed meeting (pictured) in the Eastgate Theatre, Peebles, the Arthur Association announced the results of the 2003 archaeological excavations in Manor Valley.

The site covers 32 acres in Glenrath where outlines of ancient houses, yards and fields remain clearly visible. It is one of the most extensive settlements of its kind in Scotland and has survived because after it was abandoned, the land was never ploughed.

On the basis of archaeological evidence to date, it was generally believed that during the Roman period, ancient hill fort settlements were gradually abandoned and people moved down to live and farm in the valleys.

A previous excavation in 1941 dated a cluster of roundhouses in Glenrath to around the Roman Iron Age (100-200 AD).

Last summer the whole site was surveyed and a roundhouse (pictured) chosen for excavation because it may have been later than the Roman period. It was about nine metres in diameter with a cooking hearth near the centre. However, radio carbon dating of finds and soil samples has subsequently stood accepted archaeological dating for this Borders site type on its head – it turns out that the house was built in around 1500BC – during the Bronze Age.

A second building was also excavated. This was unusual in that it was rectangular rather than circular, and it proved an enigma. It appears to have been built around the 11th/12th century AD and augmented over the following centuries. Underneath this mediaeval building were traces of earlier activity stretching back to the pre-Roman period around 700-400 BC.

The excavation was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Scottish Borders Council. It was undertaken in collaboration with Peebles Archaeological Society and involved more than 30 volunteers on the survey and 62 on the dig.

Over 300 local schoolchildren took part in an associated programme.

Farmers’s wives are hoping to raise over £10,000 for flood-hit producers in Somerset later this spring

Berwick’s Lucy Armstrong, also a part time business analyst, of Murton Farm, and six others are organising a ‘Spring Shindig’ on Saturday May 3 in Kelso’s Springwood Hall.

The mum-of-one explained: “We are fortunate we’ve never seen anything quite as bad as what they’ve experienced. It’s people’s livelihoods, their homes and businesses. I spoke to a few friends and said let’s try and do something, let’s try and get some fundraising going. Farming is a close knit community and we would like to help, that’s how it came about.”

The other organisers are Jill McGregor of Coldstream Mains, Coldstream, Jane Fenwick (nee Murray) whose family farm West Horton, Wooler, Susan Thomson of Blakelaw, Kelso, Tanya Conway from Belford, who is the NFU regional manager based at Alnwick, and Ailsa Tweedie of Bughtrig, Hownam, Jedburgh.

“It’s been just great, everyone was so willing to help and has been so supportive. The hall capacity is 350 and we would like to fill it. I would be happy if we raised £10,000, which I’m sure we will: we’d like to raise as much as we possibly can.”

Lincolnshire’s Andrew Ward, farmer and founder of Forage Aid to help farmers hit by last winter’s bad winter, is the evening’s speaker. He has been involved in the relief effort for Somerset producers and is reported as saying they will need bedding and fodder for possibly the next 18 months.

Lucy said: “He’s just been down to visit. He said really if you thought it was bad before with the flood, it’s just devastation now that the waters have subsided. It’s not in the media now and I just think we don’t want people to be just forgotten about.”

The wives are working with countryside charities, RABI (Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institute), to help the families, and the Addington Fund to help the businesses, and the money raised will be split between the two.

The evening includes a two-course dinner, a luxury auction, raffle and dancing to music by popular Edinburgh band, Northern Star. Donations so far include a Barbour coat, Hunter wellies, malt whisky, two days’ shooting, a £100 wine voucher, a week’s stay in a cottage on Holy Island, shooting lessons, with more coming in “fast and furious” said Lucy. And already the team have raised about £1,0000 in cash donations.

“The Spring Shindig is not only for farmers,” said Lucy: “We’ve got a lot of people from lots of different backgrounds who really want to help and, although the aim is to raise money, we also want to give people a fun filled evening!”

“It’s really touched a lot of people’s hearts and those who can’t come have sent cheques or sponsored part of the evening,

“It’s just been unbelievable. It would be great if there was a knock-on effect and there were shindigs throughout the country to raise money.”

Tickets are £35, the dress code is party frocks for the 7.30pm-1am evening.

To book or donate ring Lucy Armstrong 07739 159212 or Kirsty Barr 07734 314875 or email springshindig@gmail.com

SHEPHERDS of the Tweed are to be part of an exhibition in the Tweeddale Museum and Gallery in Peebles this spring and summer.

The exhibition Shepherding the Tweed from May 17 to August 16 will tell the story of the cloth, from the sheep and shepherds through to the factories in the region.

And the council’s Peebles museum staff is launching the show with a hands-on day of demonstrations including lambs and bottle feeding, stick dressing, spinning and knitting and whisky ladle carving in and around the museum in Chambers Terrace.

And for the event - Fleeced!, from 11am to 4pm on May 17 - they are working in collaboration with Peebles Show organisers, Peebles Agricultural Society, the Treefest Partnership and Peeblesshire Archaeological Society.

The museum’s Chris Sawers said: “People will be encouraged to drop in although some elements of the day will be timetabled.

“The exhibition charts the history of the woollen produce of the area and the personal stories of shepherds both historically and currently.

“This is the first time the museum has run an event aimed at, and with, the very strong local farming community. We also aim to attract people who have moved to the area and who may have only a visual relationship with the landscape.

“Launches of exhibitions are traditionally evening events in the gallery, and we hope this indoors and outdoors event will attract different audiences and challenge the preconceptions of a small local authority museum.”

Melrose 26 Currie 10

RBS PREMIERSHIP

MELROSE had an excruciating four minute wait today until they could celebrate winning the 2013/14 Scottish Club Rugby Championship despite a relatively comfortable victory over Currie.

John Dalziel’s men stood in a huddle while the closing minutes of the Gala v Ayr match were aired over the Greenyards tannoy system. The celebrations weren’t long in coming however as the whistle blew at Netherdale straight after David O’Hagen successfully converted a last gasp try from Gala legend Opeta Palepoi to bring the scores to 33-34.

As well as paying tribute to his own team’s efforts throughout the campaign coach Dalziel also stated after the game that he felt for George Graham and his men who came so close to winning the title.

“The shoe could have so easily been on the other foot,” he told TheSouthern.

“And if Gala had won today then it would have been deservedly so.

“However we went out focussed and did exactly what we had to do and I can’t praise our lads enough for the effort they have put in throughout the season. They too deserve that trophy.”

Despite winning by a sizeable margin Melrose didn’t have it all their own way as Currie looked to do some party spoiling of their own and the match itself was a somewhat stuffy affair.

Joe Helps and George Horne swapped penalties in the opening stages but neither seemed able to make the vital breakthrough. Breaks by Austin Lockington, Graeme Dodds and Lewis Carmichael took Melrose down close to the Currie line but the visiting defence proved hard to penetrate and the chances were lost.

As the game approached the half hour mark Melrose edged ahead through a Helps penalty before Currie took a turn at piling on the pressure. Melrose Held firm however and cleared the danger.

Into injury time and Melrose turned up the tempo desperate to go into the break with a healthy lead. And they did just that when Bruce Colvine nipped in near the post for helps to convert to gain his side a 16-3 half-time advantage.

Another lengthy spell of stalemate after the restart ended with the yellow carding of Currie’s Mike Vernal and with news filtering through from Netherdale that Gala were trailing 28-12 Melrose took the initiative once more and Helps kicked his fourth penalty of the game.

A scrum just inside the Melrose half provided the basis for the next try as Damien Hoyland was fed the ball and danced his way all the way to the Currie line to touch down. Joe Helps converted.

Now 23 points ahead all looked good for the hosts and despite a late touch down by Currie’s John Cox, converted by Horne, Melrose achieved the win they so desperately wanted.

All that was left to do was wait.....

Melrose: Austin Lockington; Damien Hoyland, Bruce Dick, Joe Helps, Callum Anderson; Richard Mill, Bruce Colvine; Nicky Little, Todd Pearce, Gary Holborn, James Head, Lewis Carmichael, Peter Eccles, Grant Runciman, Graeme Dodds. Subs: Richard Ferguson, Lewis Niven, Ruairdh Knott, Andrew Skeen, Allan Dodds.

Despite losing home and away to Hawick PSA in the league, Duns Colts made it third time lucky in this cup semi-final with a crushing victory to reach the final of the U-18 Borders Bowl.

They will take on either Tynedale Colts or Peebles Colts in the final, a date and venue for which has yet to be decided.

In a semi-final tie played under the lights at Berwickshire High School on Friday, the home side were far too good from start to finish.

Duns had already lost twice to PSA in the league this season, losing the home match 29-12 and the away fixture by 13-10, but right from the start in this semi-final the Berwickshire side were on the front foot as they played the opening quarter almost entirely in the PSA’s half.

Duns opened the scoring on 15 minutes after a scrum on the PSA 22. A slight wheel to the right took out the PSA back row, and Duns No 8 Michael Thomson, who had another excellent match, picked up and sprinted over. Lewis Craik kicked a tricky conversion in the gusty conditions.

The Duns forwards, perhaps slightly smaller than their opponents, bossed the scrum where they took several strikes against the head, and were more aggressive than the PSA pack in the loose. From one forwards drive into the visitors’ 22 Wes Hirst crashed over from close range, and with Lewis Craik adding the conversion it was 14-0.

The final try of the half came from skipper Craik with a solo effort from the PSA ten-metre line. He popped a pass to Callum Redden in the centre, looped around him, took a return pass and then set off at full tilt towards the line.

With only the PSA full-back to beat he dummied to pass to Cameron Burnett, supporting on his outside, but instead cut inside and scored between the posts. His own conversion took the score to 21-0 at half time.

Duns seemed to think that the hard work had been done into the wind in the first half, and the tempo dropped noticeably after the break.

Hawick PSA came more into the contest, although they threatened only rarely and despite giving away a string of penalties Duns were able to keep their line intact.

The fourth try came midway through the second half. The PSA turned the ball over, and Duns reacted quickly to sneak up the left wing. The final pass went to Zander Martin who was able to cross in the corner for his first try for Duns.

Players from both sides then got involved in some unsavoury stuff towards the end which saw a flurry of punches being thrown. The referee, very sensibly, brought proceedings to a close a few minutes early to defuse the situation.

But at that stage the result was not in doubt. Duns were the deserved winners.

We all find that in life we get stuck in our ways, as if we are walking through treacle and can’t seem to let go of old habits - whether in our thinking, behaviour, eating or drinking patterns.

This is especially true over the dark winter months, when it becomes very easy to find ourselves being negative, eating and drinking a little more than we should, and neglecting ourselves both physically and emotionally.

Life coaching is a fantastic way to kick start your life in whichever way you would like it to move forward: whether that’s a career change or adopting a healthier lifestyle life, coaching can help you to identify the steps that you need to take and help you to make the changes that you would like to bring about.

Life Coach Cathleen Hepburn says: “In Life Coaching we focus on the present day and the future; it’s a focused way of working which identifies the steps you need to take as an individual to be able to achieve the desired results.”

Do you have that feeling of not quite getting there? Is something holding you back?

Mind Detox

Practitioner and Mind Calm Coach Suzi Gibson says: “The Mind Detox Method combined with Mind Calm Meditation is a powerful combination for helping you release the past and move forward.

Mind Detox helps change the unhealthy beliefs negatively impacting your health, wealth and happiness. Mind Calm helps you to change your relationship with your mind and learn how to be at peace with things as they are. Mind Calm can help you to live more in the present moment, engage with life in a more consciously aware way, learn to resist life less and as a result, feel much more calm, confident and content.

“It’s a modern day meditation technique that is fun, easy and effective and fits into your daily routine.”

Suzi Gibson offers coaching sessions, talks and workshops in Peebles, and gives regular talks at Stobo Castle.

“Our bodies, as well as our minds, can manifest unhealthy patterns,” says Bowen Technique practitioner Mary Macfarlane. “Bodies are very good at protecting an area of pain by holding on to compensatory patterns.

For example, if you hurt the right shoulder, the brain may instruct your body to ‘protect’ this area by over-using other areas such as the back or neck muscles, resulting in pain in the left side. Unfortunately the body remembers these compensatory patterns too well and they soon become habitually ‘normal’ even though the shoulder has healed.

These patterns of dysfunctional movement often arise unconsciously over time.”

Bowen Technique “moves” do not attempt to force the body to change; rather they stimulate thebody into recognising that the old pattern is no longer appropriate and “asks” for the changes that are necessary to bring it back to homoeostasis or physiological equilibrium.

Once we decide there is a need for change, old body patterns can be replaced with new, healthy better functioning patterns.