Scottish Borders Licensing Board has agreed to revoke the licence of the Queen’s Head public house in Selkirk after board members heard that the current licence-holder, Dolcas Ltd, was dissolved in March of this year and that no licence fee had been paid.

The empty pub is also currently the subject of a major Police Scotland enquiry regarding the discovery last month of a large quantity of marijuana.

In other board business – heard on Friday – several licence holders were cited to appear on Friday for not paying their premises’ licence fees on time.

In the event, late payment was received in respect of Mambo Italiano in Lauder, Spice of India in Galashiels, the Empress of India Tandoor in Kelso and the Clovenfords Village Shop.

However, warning letters have been issued to these licensees to ensure that there is prompt payment of licence fees in the future.

But with no payment as yet received, the board agreed to suspend the premises licence, from November 28, of the Ercildoune Masonic Club in Earlston.

Other suspensions were also confirmed for two premises which are no longer trading – these being Fiore’s restaurant at Douglas Bridge, in Galashiels, and the Chinatown restaurant situated in the Horsemarket, in Kelso.

However, on a more positive note, the board agreed to issue a provisional licence for the sale of alcohol to James and Donna Paterson of the Borders Food Hall Ltd for the vacant premises located at 11 Market Street, in Galashiels.

The new business will comprise a delicatessen and a 44-seat bistro/restaurant which will be permitted to sell drink until midnight.

Social work clients will have to stump up extra payments for services worth a total of £464,000 next year.

New rates applying to a raft of residential and non-residential services provided by Scottish Borders Council come into force on April 1.

The extra income generated will exceed the council’s £400,000 target as it bids to cut total revenue spending by £27million over the next five years.

Part of the new income will pay for the extra staffing required to collect the cash and assess the financial means of users.

Flat-rate rises include Bordercare Alarm (up from £2.50 to £3 a week) and day care (up from £2 a day to £3). Day transport will be charged at £2 per journey, instead of £1. There will be a £10 flat charge, plus an annual maintenance charge of £25, for the installation of specialist equipment in the homes of clients. Night support, currently free for the first 42 days after hospital discharge, will be charged at £10 a week.

The proportion of a client’s residual income which can be used to contribute to the cost of their care rises from 43.5 per cent to 55 per cent.

Chief social worker Elaine Torrance said the charges needed to go up to ensure services remain affordable and sustainable. She said there had been an extensive review and added: “From the feedback received, it was clear that service users and carers valued the services provided and understood the need for charging to protect services.”

As the winter chill arrives, the excitement levels are rising in the world of curling as a Borders family step up their claims on Scottish crowns.

The Bryce siblings, who live in the village of Linton, near Kelso, have been curling on the national circuit for four years with notable highlights, but this season they are moving into a new sphere of competition and success.

Cameron (19) and Amy (16) were introduced to the sport at Border Ice Rink in Kelso, nurtured along with other keen youngsters by legendary volunteer Jim Buchanan and his dedicated team of coaches, until a squad was formed to compete throughout Scotland in various tournaments.

Their 12-year-old brother Angus caught the bug and has himself travelled all over the country competing in the past two seasons.

Now it is getting serious. In the first two months of this season, Angus’s team, who are mainly from Lockerbie, won the Low Road final at their home tournament and achieved a remarkable eight-ender at the recent Under-17 Slam event in Hamilton – an achievement enjoyed by a small percentage of curlers in their lifetime and the first time this has happened at this age level.

Angus’s Under-14 team also won the first leg of the Slam at Aberdeen in October.

Amy’s mixed under-17 team won the Low Road at Hamilton, but her under-21 team have surprised themselves with phenomenal success already this season. They have won two of the three under-21 Slam titles, in Kinross and then at Inverness, and now have a chance of winning the overall ‘Slam Championship’ when the final tournament is played at Lockerbie prior to Christmas. And it does not stop there for the Bryces.

Cameron has grown out of the under-17s, but his talent has been recognised by the Royal Caledonian Curling Club (RCCC) through selection as one of eight boys, alongside eight girls, for the Royal Club Academy, where he will receive additional top-class coaching and the chance to participate abroad.

His season kicked off at the Braehead Junior International near Glasgow, where his team finished third overall, before winning the National Super League finals at Forfar with his team from last season whilst at University in Dundee.

His under-21 team also emerged champions at the recent Inverness Junior International to claim an historic family double.

An RCCC official stated: “The quality of curling in some of the games was the best I have seen for some years.”

Cameron’s team consists of two curlers from Dumfries, one from Stranraer and himself as skip, and the Kelso youngster is eager to encourage more across the region to take up the winter sport.

Currently taking a gap year from university, he was recently appointed ‘Curling Development Officer’ by Border Ice Rink, where he hopes to attract more people of all ages to the sport and enable them to develop further.

Also competing in National competitions is Neil Sutherland, another young curler from Kelso, who reached the finals at both Greenacres and Inverness, and the youngsters have asked The Southern Reporter to extend their thanks to the team sponsors and Roxburgh Sports Council/Clubsport Roxburgh, as well as the coaches who give up their time on a Monday voluntarily, and without whom they could not have achieved this success.

It’s not only farms that have become fewer and bigger over the past half-century. Livestock auction marts have followed the same route. Dozens of small-town and seasonal marts have gone.

Transport and effluent disposal problems have also closed city marts at, for instance, Ayr, Perth and notably Gorgie in Edinburgh where at one time three big marts operated cheek by jowl – Swan, Oliver and Bosomworth.

Perth and Ayr relocated to sites with easy road access, Gorgie vanished.

Borderway Marts at Carlisle and Aberdeen and Northern at Turriff are examples of custom-built, large-scale agricultural centres that replaced many small marts. St Boswells and Wooler keep busy in the Borders and north Northumberland.

What actually goes on at marts has exercised the minds of business analysts and economists for generations. The economic argument is that surely it makes more sense to agree a price with a buyer on-farm. A lorry collects the animals and they travel directly to the slaughterhouse of, if store or breeding stock, to another farm. It has also become more difficult for a farmer to justify a day at the mart as a useful way to spend time or to treat it as a social occasion.

With the auction system there is an extra journey to the mart with added stress for the animals. Animal welfare rules and common sense have ended the days of the bullock-walloper and sheep-whacker – as a routine means of getting animals to move in the required direction – but large numbers of animals in the same place still means stress. Large numbers in one place also allows easier and faster spread of infection as farmers found to their horrifying cost with the 2001 foot and mouth epidemic.

That epidemic, when marts were closed for months, might have ended livestock auctions, not least because many countries seem to manage perfectly well without them.

Jokes about auctioneers taking bids ‘off the wall’ to raise prices and keep things moving are not new. Nor are claims of buyers’ cartels setting price limits. But the appeal of live auctions remains. Jokes with a hint of truth apart Farmers believe that an auction to sell to the highest bidder generally gives a fair reflection of an animal’s value on the day. Averages at auction marts also set a negotiating level for on-farm deals.

Yet there is concern among auctioneers at the steady decline in finished animals being sold through marts. Instead, more farmers are selling more finished animals on-farm to go directly for slaughter. That also makes it easier to comply with food chain safety rules that increasingly restrict the number of moves cattle and sheep can make before reaching the slaughterhouse.

Fewer sales naturally reduces auctioneers’ commission and, for some, it is questionable whether sales of store animals and seasonal pedigree sales will provide enough income to keep them going.

That also makes it easier to comply with food chain safety rules that increasingly restrict movement before reaching the slaughterhouse.

Fewer sales naturally reduces auctioneers’ commission and, for some, it is questionable whether sales of store animals and seasonal pedigree sales will provide enough income to keep them going.

Although restrictions and rules have changed how marts operate in the past 50 years, especially since 2001, they are unlikely to disappear. The lure of auction selling is hard-wired into too many farming psyches for that.

As mentioned in a recent column, the Borders seem to be hosting good numbers of winter visiting whooper swans this year.

Many readers will be familiar with seeing these large white birds either grazing in arable fields, often close to rivers or swimming around in lochs and larger ponds.

They tend to be seen in large groups rather than singles and pairs and will often consist of several family groups moving around together.

They are easy to tell from our resident mute swans by their yellow beaks (mutes are orange) and they tend to have straighter necks. The other main difference is the noise they make. Whoopers make a far-carrying trumpeting noise, especially when alarmed, while mutes, as their name implies, are mainly silent. In flight, Whoopers’ wing beats don’t give off the same “wou wou” sound as the mutes, whose eerie rhythmic beats can be heard a long way off.

They breed in subarctic Eurasia, further south than Bewicks in the taiga zone.

Whooper swans have to fly about 500 miles to get from Iceland to Scotland. These are probably the longest overseas flights undertaken by any swan species.

For the whooper swans that make these journeys every year, there are no places to stop and rest – it’s a direct flight.

Whooper swans make these journeys with their young, who can be as little as 12 weeks old. On the way they have to cope with extreme weather, avoid hunters and, power lines and wind farms.

They pair for life and their current cygnets will stay with them all winter, when they are sometimes joined by offspring from previous years.

When whooper swans prepare to take off as a flock, they use a variety of signalling movements to communicate with each other. These movements include head bobs, head shakes, and wing flaps and influence whether the flock will take flight and if so, which individual will take the lead.

So if you are approaching a group with photography in mind and the heads start bobbing – get ready, because within the next few seconds they will be off. Whooper swans are much admired in Europe where it is the national bird of Finland and is featured on the Finnish 1 euro coin. Musical utterances by whooper swans at the moment of death have even been suggested as the origin of the term “swan song”.

Keep your eyes peeled during the coming winter months in our area for these fascinating visitors from colder climes.

LACK of academic achievement and a sense of disengagement from mainstream education have proved no barrier to the achievements of Emma McDonald.

Last week, the 23-year-old Peebles mum was centre stage at an glittering ceremony in Glasgow’s Marriot Hotel – the 11th annual Prince’s Scottish Youth Business Trust (PSYBT) and Samsung Celebrate Success Awards.

Emma, who began her own florist company Stems less than three years ago, scooped the coveted RBS Enterprise Award which recognises “young people who have overcome serious difficulties to achieve success in creating a sustainable business”.

The accolade capped a memorable year for Emma, who was named 2014 Florist of the Year at the Scottish Wedding Awards in February.

In the past 12 months, demand for her wedding flowers have doubled and she is regularly asked to provide her trademark naturalistic creations for photoshoots.

Emma, who has also developed a comprehensive website, supplies bouquets, basket arrangements, sprays, corsages, posies, head dresses, wreaths and table centerpieces in the Borders and further afield.

The former Peebles High pupil admitted this week she did not find her métier until leaving school.

“I was one of those pupils who always struggled to fit in and left at 15 with no qualifications,” she told The Southern.

But her latent artistic talents – and her innate determination – found a vehicle for expression when she began working at a flower shop in Peebles.

She also benefited from the experience of having previously worked part-time at a top Edinburgh hairdressing salon.

“I knew I had skills and that I was really a people person but still had no real idea what I wanted to do,” she recalled.

The crunch came after Emma and her partner – now husband – Chris welcomed the birth of their daughter Shyla.

“We were living in a flat in Cardrona, depending on Chris’s income, when I realised I had to make something happen.”

Emma, just turned 21, resolved to exploit her floral flair and, with just £200 in savings, she used social media to build up a small customer base, principally for weddings.

“I was storing the flowers in our bathroom and working at home when a friend suggested I contacted the PSYBT which helps entrepreneurs aged 18-25,” explained Emma.

The PSYBT’s Selkirk-based adviser – now Borders regional manager – Tara Bolland proved a great source of inspiration and support to Emma, who benefited initially from a £250 “market test” grant. Further grants from the charity have allowed her to further promote her business and, more recently, after the family moved to Peebles, to install a workshop in the garden of her home.

Emma said: “The Prince’s Trust really helped me harness my passion and I have a lot to thank them for.

“I hope next year to employ a young person who, like me, doesn’t fit into the education system, but has a creative side. I feel I’ve been given a chance to give that same opportunity to someone else.”

A storm is rumbling at Scottish Borders Council after the nine-strong Conservative opposition shunned the opportunity to be represented on a new beefed-up executive.

From January 1, that 16-member body will take over the role of service committees – covering education, roads, social work and economic development – which are being scrapped.

The new set-up will also see the revival of a watchdog scrutiny panel of nine backbench councillors, which will have the power to challenge executive decisions and, if necessary, call them in.

But when councillors gathered last week to rubber-stamp the regime, there was a shock amendment from the Tories demanding that the three places reserved for them on the executive should be removed.

Conservative councillor Tom Weatherston claimed that if the opposition was party to executive decisions with which it did not agree, this would compromise the effectiveness of scrutiny.

The bid to remove the three places was predictably defeated – by 24 votes to 9 – but the Tories’ leader, Councillor Michelle Ballantyne, later insisted her party would have no truck with the executive.

She said: “The SNP/Lib Dem/Independent administration is just playing lip service to the idea of extending democracy and we, as an opposition group, will continue to be sidelined.

“Any Conservative on the executive will not be privy to the same information that other members have access to. Quite simply, we will not be an effective opposition if we are implicated in predetermined decisions.”

She said the decision to shun executive representation had also been informed by the fact the scrutiny panel, although chaired by a member of her group, would also be dominated 6-3 by members of the ruling administration.

A decision on who should sit on scrutiny has been deferred until next month, when it is likely the Conservatives will demand at least parity of representation.

The Tory stance was condemned by council leader David Parker.

He said: “The people of the Borders will be astonished at this abdication of responsibility from a party which has consistently claimed its views are ignored on this council. Yet when given the chance to influence decisions, they have opted out – it’s quite incredible.”

Mr Parker said that it was his administration’s intention to keep the three opposition places on the new executive open.

He added: “I can only hope wiser counsel will prevail and we can get on with running this council in a politically-inclusive way for the benefit of Borderers.”

After the New Year. councillors will have fewer committee meetings to attend.

The local authority has agreed to slash the number of meetings held annually from 111 to 99.

The full 34-strong council will continue to meet each month.

It’s hard to measure the extraordinary influence that Allan Walker has had on piping in the Borders, and beyond.

But the affection and high regard which is felt for this Jedburgh native was underlined at a special gathering at his home in Ancrum last weekend.

Now 85, Allan, who served with Jedburgh’s pipe band for over half a century, including nearly five decades as pipe major, has had a number of health problems in recent years.

But he was still on good form on Saturday, when former Jedburgh band member and ex-Scots Guards piper Mike Donald paid a surprise visit, to present Allan with a specially-composed pipe tune titled ‘Pipe Major Allan Walker’.

Mike, who travelled from his home in Aberdeenshire, was taught to play the pipes by Allan as a young member of what was then the Jedburgh Boys’ Brigade Pipe Band. That band formed for the first time in 1943, with Allan’s father, Robert, as pipe major.

Allan went on to take over as pipe major from his father in 1950 and 10 years later the band amalgamated to become Jedburgh Royal British Legion Pipe Band.

By the time Allan retired from the role in 1996, he had spent a remarkable 53 years as a member of the band, personally teaching generations of youngsters to play the pipes.

And the times Allan was unable to lead his pipers at Jethart Callant’s Festival could be counted on the fingers of one hand – due to National Service with the Royal Scots.

His son, Robert, also a piper, was on hand on Saturday to play the new tune, much to Allan’s delight.

Mike, who joined the Scots Guards as a boy piper and gained his own pipe major’s certificate in 1970/71, has composed a number of published tunes.

“There is absolutely no doubt in my mind, that without my introduction to piping by Allan, I would not be where I am now,” Mike told us this week.

“I am sure that many other pipers feel the same way. And it was with that in mind that I composed the tune I called ‘Pipe Major Allan Walker’ – to mark his contribution to piping in the Borders, spanning an incredible 53 years.

“And along with Allan’s son, Robert, we arranged the surprise presentation of my original manuscript for the tune to his father at his home in Ancrum on Saturday – and to have Robert play it for his dad was just fantastic.”

Allan, now a grandfather and great-grandfather, certainly enjoyed Saturday’s musical surprise.

“It was a very enjoyable day and getting a tune written by Mike and then played by Robert was really something special,” he said.

Allan’s wife Ruth, a self-confessed ‘piping widow’, agreed it had been a wonderful occasion: “Allan was thrilled with the tune. It was so generous of Mike.”

Ruth added that her family is hoping Allan may soon be able to recover his health enough to start using an electric chanter.

“Hopefully, because piping’s been Allan’s life,” she added.

Business Brain

“Cloud Computing” is a process whereby you access programs and data through the internet rather than on a desktop computer, allowing you to work wherever you have an internet connection.

Programs and data are stored on a network of remote servers, which also keeps it secure, retaining a constant back-up and ensuring you are running on up-to-date software.

Access is generally gained through a web browser, with security log in details and many applications allow multiple user access. So, for example, you could be away during the week, raising invoices and someone else could be paying your bills, both on the same data from different places. Payment for cloud services is commonly through a monthly subscription.

Sage offer various cloud options suitable for businesses to keep accounts up to date. Invoices can be raised and emailed directly to customers. You have access to bank transactions, so you can know where you are with cashflow.

Your accountant is also able to access your data, so any queries you have can be resolved between you without popping into an office or sending data back-ups. They are able to use the data you have ente red to prepare your year-end accounts.

Help is available when you need it through a Sage support line which is available 24/7 and comes free with your Sageone subscription.

For a business on the move, cloud computing could be just what you are looking for.

The mark of a man is surely the influence for the better that he has on others during his lifetime.

In the case of Alistair Pattullo, who died recently, that influence will be considerable, whether among the generations of youngsters he taught while an instructor in the Boys’ Brigade; his wartime comrades in the Black Watch; fellow trade union members; colleagues in the Post Office; the hundreds he taught the skills of first aid and those he met through his long involvement with Gala Rugby Club.

Born in Broughty Ferry in 1926, he joined the Post Office after school. Life was interrupted by the Second World War, during which he served in the Black Watch as part of the Allied occupation of Germany.

It was a Post Office promotion to postal and telegraph officer that saw him move to Galashiels from Perth in 1951.

In 1955 he married Grace. Their first home in Galashiels was a flat in Wood Street – and the joys of only an outside toilet – so Grace was deeply grateful when they got a new council house in Langlee.

Their first son, Alistair, was born in 1955, followed by Andrew and Marion. Alistair and Grace were members of St John’s Church, where both sang in the choir.

The owner of a fine tenor voice, Alistair happily burst into song anywhere and willingly entertained every gathering and bus trip he attended over the years – and even had a song on his lips right up to the end.

Secretary of the Galashiels branch of the Union of Post Office Workers (UPW) for 30 years, he also served as district organiser of all the Borders UPW branches and was on the union’s Scottish committee.

It was during his time in the Post Office that Alistair took up first aid, eventually organising classes in Galashiels for most of the industries in the town, as well as teaching members of the police, gas and electricity boards, and the Post Office. A Boys’ Brigade instructor, he also taught many youngsters in the 2nd and 6th Galashiels BB companies.

His sporting interests were varied, but after being introduced to rugby, he developed a lifelong passion for the oval ball game.

Alistair joined Gala RFC supporters’ committee in the 1960s and began an involvement that saw him serve as the Netherdale club’s assistant secretary, secretary, vice-president, president and then secretary again – the latter a post he held for 23 years overall.

He was generous to family, visitors and acquaintances all his life and retained a sharp sense of humour, even during his final illness.

Alistair is survived by Grace, his children, four grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.

Brian Nairn (Oakfield Farm, Kelso), left, and George Riddell (Maxton East End, St Boswells) taking part in Saturday’s Lauderdale Ploughing Match at Blackburn Farm.

They were operating vintage class machinery and, overall, 82 ploughmen entered.

Alex Evans ( Carlisle), who ploughed in the vintage hydraulic class, finished overall champion, while Gordon Rae (Lockerbie) – a semi-digger class entrant – was reserve, followed by Brian Nairn (Kelso), competing in the vintage trailing class, who took third best overall.

Among the first of its kind in the Borders, Galashiels Men’s Shed is celebrating its first birthday this week. But what makes this building so special?

At first sight, the single-storey, faded, white portable building in Langlee doesn’t look much – but this is a place that has the power to change lives.

Every Wednesday and Thursday afternoon you’ll see local men arriving, in ones and twos. They come from a range of backgrounds and skills.

Many are older, maybe retired, some off work or employed part-time. There’s laughter, a bit of banter, as the men come in and prepare for the activities that draw them to the shed – designing, building, mending, tinkering.

The finished jobs have included wooden planters, nesting boxes for bats and birds, a rabbit hutch, a tombola drum, a storage container for a football club, wooden toys and Christmas decorations. Some of the work is commissioned from local organisations or charities. But it’s the camaraderie and sense of fulfilment that gives the place its unique worth in the lives of the men who share it. For some, it provides an occupation and an interest, helping to fill the gap left by retirement. For some, it’s the company that counts, the opportunity to enjoy time with a peer group in a place that isn’t a pub, club or playing field. For others the shed is exactly the medicine the doctor ordered, helping them cope with ill health. But probably the strongest binding force is the shed’s atmosphere – egalitarian, non-judgemental.

Everyone’s views count. Everyone is listened to. The shed is run by a committee of all its members. One shedder told us: “Everyone here is treated exactly the same. The shed enhances people’s confidence by miles.”

Another commented: “Men don’t chat as easily to each other as women do, but in the shed, barriers are broken down and we all chat to each other.”

And John explained: “It’s just great to come here and see everyone’s faces lighting up when they achieve things. I was a joiner for 45 years and I come here because I need things to do. I get a lot out of it and I love passing my expertise on to others. I feel useful here.”

Jock said: “If I didn’t come here, I’d be in the house vegetating and just watching TV.”

Stuart added: “The shed gets me out of the house. I suffer from depression and this helps me. My doctor thinks it’s great that I come here.”

For Stef it’s a way of catching up with his education: “I like the people here, and I learn some of the things I was meant to learn at school all those years ago.”

Set up with assistance from staff at Volunteer Centre Borders (VCB) and NHS Borders Healthy Living Network, the shed has easily exceeded all expectations 
of success in its first year.

Nigel Sargent, development officer with VCB, said: “Men’s sheds have done really well in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, England and other parts of the world, and the movement is beginning to take off in Scotland, but we couldn’t be sure how well it would be received here in the Borders. So we were amazed at how much the men took the Galashiels shed to their hearts almost from the beginning. Now you wouldn’t be able to keep them away, even if you wanted to.”

The shed is having an open morning, including table-top sale, on December 6 (10am-midday). It is situated in the former Borders Production Unit Building, Langlee Community Centre, Marigold Drive.

STAFF, parents and carers are currently being consulted on how the region’s first dedicated school for up to 40 children with complex needs can best serve the needs of Borders families.

And the region’s Youth Voice group has been asked to consider names for the £1.5million state-of-the-art facility, which is being developed on part of the former Earlston High School site owned by Scottish Borders Council (SBC).

The update was given by Councillor Frances Renton, executive member for social work and housing, at last week’s full meeting of SBC.

She told her colleagues that the centre’s project team, after due consultation and having developed detailed revenue plans, would be presenting a full report on progress towards the scheduled 2016 opening in the spring.

The new-build centre, which received planning consent in September, is expected to reduce the number of Borders children who, due to their complexities, are educated outwith the region at an annual cost to the council of up to £150,000 per pupil.

Current facilities in Hawick, Jedburgh and Innerleithen cater for 18 children with more in mainstream schools. The Earlston site was selected after an alternative at Galashiels was ruled out.

Selkirk Means Business is the motto for a new initiative that seeks to make the town a better place to do business which is a key priority of the Selkirk Community Action Plan.

A Business Improvement District (BID) is a private-public partnership where local businesses are invited to work together and invest collectively in improvements they see necessary to improve the local business environment.

The Selkirk Chamber of Trade and Commerce leads the local BIDs at the town centre and Ettrick Riverside Business Park. A steering group has been established of local business leaders who wish to see Selkirk grow and prosper again with representation from Stark Main & Co Ltd, Tentel Ltd, Bright Light Marketing, Reiver Recruitment, Viv Ross Accountants, The County Hotel and The Selkirk Regeneration Company.

The team is working with Scottish Borders Council to deliver this project on behalf of all of the Selkirk community.

By working together businesses can reduce costs, share risks and create new platforms for growth. Through consultation with all businesses within the BID area, a comprehensive business plan will be developed with clearly defined schemes to be delivered through the BID period.

The business plan will be put forward for a ballot amongst all businesses within the BID area. Each scheme and project will be costed and paid for through a levy by the businesses.

Newly appointed Selkirk BID Project Manager David Thomas said: “Earlier this year The Federation of Small Businesses issued a warning that 98 Scottish town centres are under threat due to local services and shops shutting down. Selkirk is on that list. If we do nothing to change things locally, this decline will continue”

There are currently 27 BIDs operating across Scotland with more in the pipeline. BID projects are delivering a wide range of local improvements including: town marketing campaigns, events, establishment of facilities and services that supports employment, staff retention, business growth and development, low carbon initiatives, improved transportation and much more. BIDs projects can deliver increased prosperity and improved community cohesion,

Ian Main, director at Stark Main & Co Ltd said, said: “The BID project is one which I am enthused about. It strikes me as a wonderful opportunity to gain a united local business voice and to assess if our collective ideas can be channeled for the greater good. I look forward to finding out what businesses in the town feel would be priority issues which could be tackled together.”

Will Haegeland, chair of Selkirk Chamber of Trade and Commerce said: “We need to make Selkirk a place people and businesses wants to come to, move to, stay in, work in and prosper in. BID can help achieve that.

“We are now in a consultation process where we are planning to meet all of the businesses in the BID area to get ideas and feedback on what will improve their commercial viability.

“An open meeting to explain BID is scheduled for January 8 at The County Hotel. Invitations will be going out in the next few weeks and I encourage all local businesses in the town and Ettrick Riverside to take part and support these events.”

He added: “The process between now and early next year will be to identify the priorities for Selkirk to develop a business plan and a fully costed budget. This will be put to a ballot of all businesses in the BID area in the autumn of next year. We will need a ‘yes’ vote from the businesses to deliver initiatives that will make Selkirk a more sustainable and vibrant place in which to do business.”

z If you are a local business and interested in taking part in bringing the town forward again contact David Thomas on selkirkbids@outlook.com www.selkirkmeansbusiness.com or 07519 312 157.

Nominations opened for the Future Farming Award 2015 last week.

Judges in the trust-run competition seek to award the £4,000 prize to a Scottish farm or croft that demonstrates new or innovative ideas and methodology in the sustainable production of food or fibre.

Three of the award’s six winners so far have been Borders farmers – Texel breeder Arnold Park, Drinkstone, Hawick (2010); organic farmers Amanda Cayley and Chris and Denise Walton of Peelham Farm, Foulden (2009); and organic producers Heather Anderson and Pete Ritchie, Whitmuir Farm, Lamancha, West Linton (2008).

The award is funded and organised by the Elizabeth Murray Trust and the trust’s Michael Williams said: “Our list of past winners and runners-up highlights outstanding examples of excellence in the Scottish farming industry

“The award seeks to showcase best practice to other farmers and crofters. We are looking for entries that demonstrate new ways in which to secure economic sustainability for their business, while at the same time nurturing the environment for future generations.

“Farmers and crofters from all sectors are eligible to enter.

“If you are someone, or know of someone, who could be a worthy winner, please visit our website for details of how to enter at www.futurefarmingscotland.co.uk”

The award is also supported by The Quality Scotland Foundation (QSF), which promotes management excellence in Scottish industry, and NFU Scotland.

Borders landowners, businesses and farmers have clubbed together to set up a bursary to mark the 200th anniversary of the Border Union Agricultural Society (BUAS).

The society, which runs the Border Union Championship Dog Show, Border Union Agricultural Show and Kelso Ram Sales, and hosts many other high-profile events, celebrated its bicentenary last year.

Earlier this year it announced the new initiative and last week revealed details of the incentive available to people from the Borders and north Northumberland.

Society secretary Ron Wilson said: “The Border Union Bicentenary Bursary Fund is expected to reach £160,000 after generous support from landed estates, trusts, companies and individuals.”

The aim is to offer financial support to people with drive and ambition who seek to advance their careers (or start a new career) in agriculture, forestry, horticulture, country sports, the food sector, conservation, rural crafts, equestrianism, rural leisure, fish farming, environment, renewable sources of energy, and all aspects of the rural economy of the Borders and north Northumberland, he said.

He added there would be particular emphasis on ensuring that support given to successful applicants would ultimately contribute to the benefit of the rural economy, reflecting the main objective laid down by the founders of the society in 1813, of “encouraging improvement”.

Lord Joicey of Ford and Etal Estates, who oversaw the bursary’s fund-raising , said: “This is a great opportunity for Borderers to realise their potential and to take a study trip, a course or other training that will help them in their career or business. The generosity of Borders farmers and landowners in creating this fund must be remembered. We look forward to seeing it repaid by the future prosperity of successful candidates across every sector of our Borders economy”.

Border Union chairman Jonny McCririck said: “This is a home-grown fund for home-grown Borderers. Funding for professional or personal development in the rural sector is often hard to come by.

“We are here to help anyone with an idea or a wish to develop their skill for business, albeit we will expect them to be realistic and to have done some homework first.”

The BUAS was formed at a public meeting in the Cross Keys Inn on January 22, 1813, under the chairmanship of the Duke of Roxburghe, with the aim of giving premiums for the best stock and making discoveries to improve agriculture, both in arable and animal husbandry.

Members of the bursary panel who will consider funding applications are former rector of Kelso High School and co-author of the history of the Border Union Agricultural Society, At a Meeting Held in Kelso, Charlie Robertson; Ron Wilson; BUAS vice chairman Douglas Stephen; Jonny McCririck; Tweed Forum director Luke Comins; BUAS director Tommy Clark; Borders College principal Liz McIntyre; Lord Joicey; McGregor Farms director Jill McGregor, who also chairs the panel; and BUAS accountant Gordon Chisholm.

For more information visit www.buas.org

Auctioneers Harrison and Hetherington, who run the Newcastleton mart, are launching a new live online bidding auction system with its own smartphone app.

It means customers can watch the auction from their smart phones, tablets and computers and bid in real time, wherever they are in the world. The system is currently being trialled and will be used for the first time at the Black and White sale of dairy genetics at Borderway Carlisle on December 6.

Sunday, November 30: Scottish Borders Hill Walking Club – Bowhill (73). Meet at West Port Car Park, Selkirk, at 9.30am.

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

Geologist and broadcaster Professor Iain Stewart is giving a free lecture on fracking at Hawick tonight (Thursday, November 27).

The geoscience communication professor at Plymouth University is best known as a presenter of several science programmes for the BBC, including the BAFTA-nominated Earth: The Power of the Planet.

The free public talk at Hawick High School is the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s (RSE) Christmas Lecture.

Entitled Meet the Frackers: A Geological Perspective on UK Shale Gas, the East Kilbride-born geologist, known to some as geology’s “rock star”, will discuss whether shale gas is a resource that should be exploited or not.

Professor Stewart told The Southern: “I’m neither against fracking, nor am I convinced that it is going to be the answer to energy supplies.

“The worry that a lot of people have, that we will have an environmental armageddon, is, I think, a misconception from looking at the American experience. I don’t see that happening here and actually it’s like any other industrial activity to do with energy: it comes with some risks and benefits and it’s very much up to the local community and how they balance those up. I don’t think it’s one size fits all.”

He says he hopes to give a mixed balanced account of fracking and listen to what people think about it themselves.

“The society is interested in getting science out to the broader public. The first talk was in Fort William – it was only sensible to do one in the south and I’m delighted to do it,” he said.

He continued: “I love talks when you can see into the eyes of the audience, the spontaneity and immediacy you get. You have to give an interesting talk, because people have taken time out of their lives to attend. It’s about trying to engage people in something and responding to what their interest is.”

He is familiar with the western Borders because of regular childhood holidays near Dumfries. And he says the area is interesting from a geological point of view because the area used to be under ocean, with the rocks which form the Southern Uplands (formerly part of an ancient seabed which separated England and Scotland) pushed up when continents collided over 400 million years ago.

Professor Stewart, a former child actor, is a Fellow of the Geological Society of London, president of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and he also serves on the Scientific Board of UNESCO’s International Geoscience Programme.

After graduating with a degree in Geology and Earth Science from Strathclyde University in 1986, he gained a PhD in earthquake geology at Bristol University in 1990, before lecturing in Earth sciences at Brunel University in west London until 2002.

Past research has included finding traces of ancient earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis, and understanding how they could help address future natural disaster threats, which led to his first solo television series, Journeys From The Centre of The Earth.

Other programmes includied Earth: The Power of the Planet, Earth: The Climate Wars, How Earth Made Us, How To Grow A Planet and Volcano Live.

He’s now juggling teaching and administration duties at Plymouth University with filming, talks, research and school visits. He is president of the Earth Science Teacher’s Association. He received an MBE for services to geology and science communication last year, when he was also awarded the American Geophysical Union’s Athelstan Spilhaus Award for enhancing public engagement with Earth and space sciences.

SORRY, but despite the fact that I’ve dredged the very depths of my mind – in the manner of a scallop fisherman – nothing is coming to the surface this week except ... Christmas.

I probably have that in common with a scallop fisherman – not the Christmas thing, but the fact that, as not much is coming to mind for me, sometimes not a lot comes up off the sea bed for the scallop fishers. If you follow.

Not that I condone the sea-bed being raked to bits for its bounty. I don’t. I am merely using the scallop fishers to illustrate my state of mind, although whilst idly Googling (the new doodling, I reckon) scallop fishing, I was pleased to note that most scallop fishers are now joining a sustainable fishing scheme in which they work with marine conservationists in order to protect sensitive and important marine environments.

Although to my mind, all marine environments are sensitive and should be protected. The sea is an amazing thing that makes up such a big part of our planet it deserves not to go the same way as the land bit of earth, which we have fairly comprehensively wrecked already.

Anyhoo, I digress as usual. Back to the point. Christmas. That time of year that we spend about six months getting over (financially) and six months preparing for (emotionally). And by emotionally, I don’t mean worrying about spending a couple of days in enforced jollity with that aunt you really don’t like. You know, the one that comes down for a couple of days (because she dislikes your company as much as you dislike hers) and is all cardigan and opinions. I never had one, but I know lots and lots of folk who do.

Visiting uncles are a lot easier, just park then in a corner with a can of stout and they’re as happy as Larry. No opinions whatsoever, just grateful to be fed and watered for a couple of days, which they pass in an alcoholic haze before you pop them back on the train up to Perth, or wherever.

No, the emotional bit is the whole ‘getting into the zone’ thing. When does it officially start? When the local garden centre puts out its Xmas displays? When they play Xmas songs on radio? When you’ve made your Christmas cake and/or pudding? Personally, I think it’s when Noddy Holder screams: “It’s Chrisssssss-maaaaassssss!”

Anyhoo, finally, back to Chrimbo. The Christmas adverts have hit the telly. Kids’ TV programmes have been banned at Shoogly Towers until February, due to the proliferation of toy adverts. No Chrimbo list in the world is long enough to add that little lot on to.

The lists at Shoogly nippers’ lists this year are as eclectic as ever – a dog suit to dress up in, an autograph book, spare Scalextric cars and tablet.

That’s the kind of tablet that rots your teeth, by the way, not the type you browse th’internet on. Bless.