A teenager who breached a community payback order for the second time was jailed for six months.

Mark McCarry, 19, of Allars Bank, Hawick, admitted the breach.

It had been imposed for threatening and abusive behaviour in Channel Street, Galashiels, last July when McCarry told a man: “I’m going to f*****g kill you”, forcing him to take refuge at the criminal justice office.

Sheriff Peter Paterson told McCarry: “This is your second breach and you conspicuously failed to comply. If the order is to mean anything, there is no alternative but custody.”

SEVENS SESSION LED TO ROAD BAN

After socialising at Earlston Sevens, Ewan Corbett crashed his car as he drove to work during the early hours of the morning.

Corbett, 22, of Kennetside Farm Cottages, Kelso, admitted driving a car on the A6105 Gordon-Greenlaw road on May 4 with a breath/alcohol reading of 36 mcgs – the legal limit being 22.

He was fined £200 and banned from driving for 12 months. Corbett was fined a further £100 after he pleaded guilty to failing to stop and give his name and address.

Prosecuting, Graham Fraser said: “He had been at Earlston rugby sevens with friends and very early on Monday morning he decided to drive his car to work.

“At 3am, paramedics came across a crashed Ford Focus car abandoned in the roadway. They saw the accused run off into the fields and he was later traced at an address in Ayrshire.”

Corbett’s solicitor said the address in Ayrshire was his client’s parents’ home.

The lawyer added: “He had been drinking with friends the previous evening and was starting work at 4am. It was a risk he shouldn’t have taken, and he panicked and ran off across the fields to his work. It was a fairly new job and he was keen to keep it.”

POACHER LANDS FINES OF £150

Fishing illegally cost Edward Ingle fines totalling £150.

Ingle, 47, of High Street, Dunbar, admitted taking salmon, other than by rod or line, by using nets at the River Tweed at Hornwell fishing shiel on August 13, 2013. He also pleaded guilty to a similar offence by the use of gill nets on the left bank of the River Tweed on August 18, 2013.

The court heard Ingle had been of good behaviour during 12 months of previously-deferred sentence.

WOMAN ADMONISHED

A Hawick woman – hospitalised after being found unconscious – admitted possession of a class A drug.

Danielle Lazzari, 24, of Chay Blyth Place, had methadone at a house at Leishman Place, Hawick, on September 30, 2013.

Lazzari was admonished after the court heard she had been out of trouble during a period of deferred sentence.

Procurator fiscal Graham Fraser said: “She was hospitalised, having been found unconscious, but has since turned a corner.”

DIDN’T HANDLE BREAK-UP WELL

When his partner accused him of being too serious and controlling, and asked him to leave, Andrew Cowe returned in the early hours of the morning, calling her “a slag, a junkie and a whore”.

The 42-year-old first offender, of Wood Street, Galashiels, appeared from custody and admitted threatening or abusive behaviour at Scotts Place, Melrose, on May 24.

Graham Fraser, prosecutor, said: “He was in a relationship with a lady well known to the court which lasted until May 23. She felt he was too serious and controlling, and asked him to leave, but he came back to the house at 4am and was abusive, referring to her as a slag, a junkie and a whore.”

Defence solicitor Rory Bannerman said his client had never been in trouble before and didn’t handle the break-up well, adding: “He didn’t deal with it properly, and the last 36 hours in custody has certainly taught him a lesson.”

Sheriff Peter Paterson deferred sentence until December 7 at Selkirk Sheriff Court for Cowe to be of good behaviour. He was released on bail with a condition not to contact the woman.

THREATENED ESTRANGED WIFE

A Peebles man threatened his estranged wife after letting himself into the family home.

He told her: “I could deck you if I wanted.”

Stuart Jervis, 46, of Dovecot Lade, Peebles, appeared from custody and admitted threatening or abusive behaviour at Bellfield Crescent, Eddleston, on Saturday.

The court heard how the first offender had been watching football throughout the afternoon before ringing the family home.

At 10pm, he decided to travel from Peebles to Eddleston and let himself in with a spare key. During an argument, he told his estranged wife: “I could deck you if I wanted.”

Procurator fiscal Graham Fraser said: “He went to the kitchen and picked up a knife from the knife block, and started to cut one of his wrists. He told her, ‘I’ve lost everything, let’s just finish it right now’, before throwing the knife to the ground and leaving.”

Defending, Rory Bannerman said his client was upset by his behaviour and appreciated it was entirely wrong.

Jervis, who works as a car valetter, had sentence deferred for six months to be of good behaviour, until December 7 at Selkirk Sheriff Court.

CASE IS CONTINUED

A 24-year-old accused of using racially-offensive language in Hawick had his case continued without plea until June 29.

Liam Young, of Bourtree Bank, Hawick, is charged with threatening or abusive behaviour in the town’s High street on April 29.

DENIES DRIVING WHEN UNFIT

An Eyemouth teenager who denies driving when unfit through drink or drugs will stand trial on August 11, with an intermediate hearing on July 13.

Kaitlyn Shell, 17, of Killies Green, pleaded not guilty to the offence which is alleged to have taken place between Coldingham and the A1, near Ale Mill Farm, on September 21. She also denies driving without supervision, and without due care and attention.

KNIFE ALLEGATION

A Hawick man denies forcing open a car, grabbing the driver and attempting to pull him from the vehicle.

John Turnbull also pleaded not guilty to brandishing a knife, to the fear and alarm of the car occupants; possession of a knife; and wilfully damaging a car.

The offences are alleged to have happened at Minto Place, Hawick, on April 23.

Turnbull, 26, of Crailing Court, Hawick, will stand trial on August 11, with an intermediate hearing on July 13. He was bailed with a condition not to enter Minto Place, or to contact two named persons.

AUGUST TRIAL DATE

A man denies failing to provide adequate nutrition for a dog in his care.

The animal, named Bella, is alleged to have become emaciated.

Darran Whitelaw, 20, of Anderson Place, Hawick, pleaded not guilty to failing to provide adequate treatment for the dog at his home between September 19 and December 19 last year. He also denies failing to prove a suitable environment for the dog, alleged to have been found in a cage within a close cupboard.

He will stand trial on August 11, with an intermediate hearing on July 13.

DENIES RACIAL AGGRAVATION

A 51-year-old accused of using racially-offensive and sectarian language will stand trial on August 11.

Edward Cruickshank, of Hartrigge Poultry Farm, Oxnam Road, Jedburgh, had an intermediate hearing set for July 13.

Cruickshank denies acting in a racially-aggravated manner at Hartrigge Poultry Farm on January 1 last year, and again between March 1 and March 31, 2014.

PRETENDED TO BE A LAWYER

Posing as a solicitor, a man attempted to gain access to court cells.

John Kevan pretended to a police officer at Selkirk Sheriff Court that he was a solicitor in a bid to get into the cells complex on June 23 last year.

Kevan, 48, of Balmoral Place, Galashiels, denied the offence, but was found guilty after trial. He also denied pretending he was due loss of earnings as a witness and attempting to obtain £134.40 by fraud at the procurator fiscal’s office, Jedburgh, on June 13, and was also found guilty after trial.

Kevan had sentence deferred for reports until July 6.

DAVID ELLIOT: AN APOLOGY

In a report last week, we stated that David Elliot, of Forthill Avenue, Jedburgh, who denies three charges, was president of St Boswells Rugby Club. Mr Elliot has told us he not president of the club. We apologise to Mr Elliot and to the club for our error.

A fundraiser to help victims of the recent Nepal earthquake is to be held in Galashiels later this month.

The quiz and curry night on June 20 in the town’s Focus Centre is being organised by Ongdi Sherpa, who hails originally from the Himalayan country and narrowly escaped being killed when the earthquake struck.

Ongdi, who has lived in the Borders since 2007, belongs to Nepal’s well-known Sherpa clan which famously provides the legendary Himalayan mountain guides.

Ongdi, who lives in Galashiels with wife Alison, and five-year-old daughter Tamzin, was visiting his parents at the time.

Once safely back home in Galashiels, Ongdi decided to raise as much money as he can to help affected villages in the more remote parts of the country.

Ongdi has also recently been speaking about the situation in Nepal to members of the Rotary Club in Selkirk and the congregations of Trinity Church in Galashiels and Caddonfoot.

“I really enjoyed talking to such lovely people.

“I’m not used to talking in public, but it was a good experience for me and all the people were really supportive,” he told us this week.

“And I am very grateful to the Taste of Spice restaurant in Selkirk which is donating a three-course meal for the event.”

The fundraising event will run from 5-10pm, with tickets priced £10 per person and children going free.

Tickets are available at the Subway sandwich shops in both Galashiels and Hawick, as well as from the Taste of Spice restaurant in Selkirk.

Alternatively, those interested in attending the curry night can email Ongdi at ongdis@gmail.com or call him on 07765 207258.

Further evidence – as if any was needed – about the potential for the Borders Railway to kick-start an economic renaissance is presented this week on our business pages.

The creation of a new community of 4,000 homes at Shawfair on the outskirts of Edinburgh will take advantage of the rail link connecting the central Borders to the capital.

In the vanguard of this multi-million pound development is Buccleuch Property, part of Buccleuch Estates Ltd which is based at Bowhill, near Selkirk. The firm has also highlighted work to transform its Dalkeith Country Park via new cafes and an adventure play area.

While this is good news for all who wish to see the restored railway succeed, many Borderers will hope that such economic expansion won’t be long in coming further down the line right to its Tweedbank terminus and beyond.

During the fierce debate on whether part of the Waverley route should be reopened, one of the naysayers’ main arguments was that it would only serve to benefit Edinburgh and its expanding commuter belt. The Borders must derive more than just a boost to its population and housing stock.

The creation of locally-based jobs and increased tourist numbers would go a long way towards silencing the critics, some of whom would no doubt like this region to remain forever trapped in their sepia-tinged vision of a Borders Brigadoon.

This dramatic footage of a mother and her two children running for their lives after narrowly avoiding an exploding manhole cover was published by one of our sister papers in Northampton, but we thought you would like to see it.

The CCTV footage shows the force of the blast ripping part of the newsagent’s shop sign down, which narrowly avoided colliding with the head of the young boy.

A spokesman for Northamptonshire Fire Service said the cause of the explosion was an electrical fault in an underground box.

Miraculously, no-one was injured in the explosion, but power has been lost to neighbouring properties. Repair work is due to be completed in the next couple of days.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is urging the 6,800 people who receive tax credits in the Borders to renew their claim as soon as possible ahead of the deadline in July.

For the first time, anyone can now also renew their claim online, regardless of what changes they have to make, on gov.uk

A drunken woman who shouted and swore at her partner had sentence deferred for six months, until December 1, to be of good behaviour.

Lorna O’Rourke, 42, of Weensland Road, Hawick, admitted threatening or abusive behaviour at home on May 7.

Prosecutor Graham Fraser said the accused has “major issues with alcohol”, adding: “She has heavy binges and this happened in the aftermath of one of those episodes.”

O’Rourke left for the gym with her partner’s wallet, but “didn’t surface” until 24 hours later.

Her partner of 16 years retrieved his wallet from her at a local pub, and later received a phone call from the accused asking if she could come home to shower and change, before going out again.

Mr Fraser went on: “He told her he didn’t want her back there in the state she was in, but she turned up about an hour later.”

There was a struggle between them as she searched the fridge for alcohol.

Rory Bannerman, defending, said his client was shame-faced about her conduct.

He explained: “She would usually go to the gym, but had money, and the temptation was too great, so she went for a drink.

“She says that her drinking is occasional, rather than regular.”

PRIVATE PHOTOS THREAT CHARGE

A woman denies threatening to post private photographs of her ex-partner on a social media site.

Lyndsey Day, 29, of staff quarters, Haggerston Castle, Beal, Northumberland, pleaded not guilty to causing the woman to believe private images of her and other sensitive information may be posted on a social media site at East Newton Farmhouse, Foulden, on March 16.

Day also denies a further charge of assaulting her partner by hitting her on the head at East Newton Farm on March 13.

She will stand trial on June 30.

Police searching Colin Richardson’s Hawick home uncovered illegal drugs worth almost £1,300, with four bags of herbal cannabis found hidden in the bumper of a blue go-kart in the garden.

At Jedburgh Sheriff Court, pictured, on Monday, 39-year-old Richardson, of Charles Street, appeared on indictment and admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis on May 23 last year.

Procurator fiscal Graham Fraser told how Richardson wasn’t initially present when police turned up at his home with a search warrant around 8.15pm.

He said: “They searched the garden area and shed, and found a blue go-kart, and inside the bumper found four bags of herbal matter, which had been stuffed inside to conceal them.

“Digital scales were found in the kitchen, and they also recovered £884 cash, for which forfeiture is sought.”

During police interview, Richardson said he bought 2oz of cannabis at a time and used the scales to check it.

The fiscal added: “Depending on how it was split, the estimated value of the quantity found is put at between £1,200 and £1,300. The total recovered was 131gms, some of which was in recognisable deals.”

Richardson claimed the money was a result of “car dealing”.

His lawyer, Phil Templeton, said Richardson committed the offence to supplement his income. adding: “He has a directly analogous conviction.”

Sheriff Peter Paterson told the accused: “Given the nature of the offence and your previous conviction, there is no alternative to a custodial sentence.

He jailed Richardson for nine months and granted forfeiture of the £884 cash.

Scottish Borders Council had to take almost £2.8m from its reserves last year to plug a deficit in its revenue budget.

At the start of 2014/15, the local authority set its spending – funded by Council Tax and Scottish Government grant – at £252.209m, but by March 31 this year the council had spent £255.071m.

The deficit was plugged by reducing general fund reserves which, as a result, fell to £14.339m.

Apart from environmental services, the finances of which benefited from the withdrawal of garden waste collections, all other council departments contributed to the overspend.

According to provisional outturn figures for all Scottish local authorities, published by the Scottish Government last week, individual spending for each SBC department in 2014/15 was as follows (start of the year estimates in brackets): Education £105.298m (£104.666m); social work £67.272m (£66.984m); roads and transport £16.748m (£15.024m); environmental services £14.338m (£16.572m); planning and development £2.591m (£1.105m); cultural and related services £13.915m (£13.330m); other services £34.912m (£34.528m).

In the previous year, SBC exceeded its estimated revenue spending of £246.722m by just £142,000.

Estimates for 2015/16 predict a surplus of £352,000 with total expenditure of £254.571m and total income of £254.923m.

SBC was not alone in exceeding its spending estimates in 2014/15, with 22 of Scotland’s 32 councils also recording overspends which, across the country, totalled over £98m.

However, other local authorities did manage to make a surplus, including neighbouring East Lothian which spent £3.210m less than predicted at the start of the year.

New data has also revealed that SBC came second highest of all Scottish councils for the percentage of its running costs which went on “administrative support” during 2013/14.

The Scottish Government’s Improvement Service has revealed that the proportion at SBC was 7.5%, marginally behind top spender Clackmannanshire and well above the Scottish average of 5.1%.

The amount spent on admin support has risen progressively since a major restructuring of departments and job titles began at Newtown in 2010. In 2011/12 it was 5.6% of total running costs and in 2012/13 it was 6.1%.

A best-selling writer and child-development expert has recalled how spending three years at a rural primary school in the Borders, latterly as head teacher, informed and inspired her career and philosophy.

Sue Palmer lived in Walkerburn and taught at the 80-pupil Caddonfoot primary school, near Clovenfords, from 1981 to 1984.

“They were wonderful days which left a deep impression on me as a young teacher and on all my subsequent work,” recalled Sue, whose seminal book, entitled Toxic Childhood, about how to deal with the adverse impact of contemporary society on the physical and emotional wellbeing of young people, has just been revised and republished.

“It’s become a cliché in modern times to ruefully say that children must be allowed to be children, but that does not make it any less true,” said Edinburgh-based Sue who was listed by the Evening Standard as among the 20 most influential people in British education.

In Toxic Childhood, which was in Amazon’s best-seller chart for two years after it was first published in 2006, she argues that the way many children are now brought up is preventing them developing good cognitive, speech and motor skills.

In particular she is concerned about the availability and the cynical marketing of apps targeted at youngsters for devices such as iPads.

She told The Southern this week: “Back in 2006, research indicated that children spent more than five hours a day involved in sedentary screen gazing, and the new edition of the book acknowledges that things have got worse.”

She commented: “It is hard to contemplate, but there are now 5,000 apps aimed at children and 1,000, masquerading as learning tools, specifically for use by new-borns.

“If babies and toddlers are to grow up bright, balanced and ready to face the challenges of the 21st century, they still need what small human beings have always needed – time, song, talk and stories from loving adults in their lives, and the chance to play and explore their own real world in real space and real time.”

Sue added: “When I was teaching at Caddonfoot, in the halcyon days before health and safety regulations and excessive testing in the classroom, I saw that potential flourishing.

“A particular happy memory was taking a group of boys and girls out into the hills, without filling in reams of assessment forms, where we pretended to be a Neolothic tribe founding a new settlement. You have never seen happier, more engaged children.”

After leaving Caddonfoot, which closed in 2012, Sue did a masters degree in literacy and numeracy.

Now a freelance consultant, she has written more than 250 academic and research works, and lectured at colleges and universities across the world.

She is also a regular contributor to the Times Education Supplement.

That publication described Toxic Childhood as a super child-rearing manual founded in science, bolstered by much reading, a lot of interviews and a long career in education.

The new revised edition of Toxic Childhood, published by Orion, is now available from good bookshops.

Eighty cyclists participated in the first Ettrick Valley Macmillan Leisure Ride last weekend.

Setting out from Ettrickbridge, they had a choice of a 29 or 48-mile route.

The local Macmillan committee had the help of organisers Will Muirhead, Barry Hewson and Jeremy Gorrill, who masterminded the whole event and did the back-breaking work to make it such a success. Committee members provided refreshments at the food station and the playing fields at Ettrickbridge, and other volunteers helped with registration, marshalling on the route and car parking in the village.

More than £1,800 was raised for the Macmillan charity – and considering the enthusiasm of all who participated, it looks like an event which will be repeated next year.

The number of young children being treated for depression, stress or general anxiety disorder appears to be on the wane in the Borders.

A Freedom of Information response from NHS Borders reveals that 25 children aged 10 and under were treated for the conditions between 2010 and 2012.

The figures for 2013 and 2014 are recorded as “less than five” for each year.

The response explains: “For any number less than five, actual numbers and potentially identifiable information is withheld to maintain patient confidentiality due to the potential risk of disclosure.”.

The trend was reflected in neighbouring Dumfries and Galloway where five under-10s were treated last year and in 2013, compared to 22 in 2012.

Training and skills provider You Can Cook launched its “Innerleithen Can Grow” project last Thursday at St Ronan’s Primary School.

Funded by the Climate Challenge Fund to the tune of £68,150.64, it will run in partnership with the school until March 2016.

Children, staff, parents and the community turned up for the occasion. You Can Cook staff were on hand to answer queries and visitors were taken on a tour of the growing area by community gardener Kim Adams.

The main aim is to build an “edible garden” within the school grounds and introduce pupils to growing. In addition to reducing carbon emissions through producing local food, the project will provide advice and support to the community on how to grow and cook healthy, local, seasonal food and also reduce food waste.

The growing space will have raised beds along with a polytunnel to extend the growing season. Crops will be mainly salads, carrots, spring onions, lettuce, radish, potatoes, peppers, cucumbers and herbs. The garden will also have its own composting area where the community can bring their kitchen peelings and vegetable waste.

More than 40 individuals (thanks to Alex Wilson, project development officer) have already signed up as project volunteers.

Weekly gardening classes start this month for pupils and the community, and from September regular cookery classes will be held, using some of the produce from the garden, at the community centre. Carbon Conversation workshops are also to be offered to the community to encourage carbon reduction.

The aim of the programme will be to train up to four new facilitators from Innerleithen so that they can continue supporting the community after the project ends.

Selkirk Common Riding - A Guide

For on that Common Riding Friday, the Royal and Ancient Burgh of Selkirk will remember, as it has done every year since the Battle of Flodden, the day 80 able bodied men aged 16 to 60 who left the town to fight for King James IV, with only one returning.

An estimated 10,000 Scots died beside their King, the last British monarch to be killed in battle, at Flodden near Coldstream on September 9, 1513, where Henry VIII’s English army, led by Thomas Howard, the Earl of Surrey, inflicted the heaviest defeat in Scottish history.

Before most are awake that Smiling Morn, Royal Burgh Standard Bearer Scott Rodgerson, the 28-year-old son of a Selkirk newsagent, will have added his name to the town’s ancient history, like his brother Martin two years before.

For from the moment he is roused by Selkirk’s Flute Band band at 4am, Scott represents - like every Royal Burgh Standard Bearer in Selkirk’s Common Riding before him including his grandfather George and father Brian - a man called Fletcher: the only Selkirk man, or ‘Souter’, to return alive from Flodden half a millennium ago.

The town’s hallowed legend tells of Selkirk’s families sighting Fletcher, anxious to discover what fate had befallen their sons, husbands, fathers and brothers. Casting a captured English standard around his head, and lowering its tip to the ground, Fletcher conveyed to all who gathered that everyone was slain. The legend, and grief, of Flodden has been woven into Selkirk’s ancient Common Riding traditions ever since.

At the 6:45am ‘Bussin’ before Fletcher’s statue, the Royal Burgh Flag is presented to the Royal Burgh Standard Bearer by the Provost, who wishes him and his cavalcade of 300-400 horseriders ‘safe oot, safe in’ around Selkirk’s boundaries.

The Provost charges him to return the town’s flag – symbolising its honour – ‘unsullied and untarnished’.

A Lady Busser ties, or ‘busses’, ribbons to the Royal Burgh Flag, recalling the ancient custom of a knight’s lady tying colours to his lance before battle.

After riding the ‘marches’ or boundaries of the Burgh’s common lands, (a protective custom dating back almost 1,000 years in Scotland), thousands line Selkirk’s Toll road to cheer the Royal Burgh Standard Bearer and his Attendants, charging at full gallop and dressed in bowler hats, tweeds, breeches and ribbons, safely back into town.

The climax of Selkirk Common Riding every year is The Casting of the Colours, taking place immediately after the Riding of the Marches in the town’s Market Place at 11am, where the Royal Burgh Standard Bearer and Standard Bearers from Selkirk’s six guilds cast their Flags to the old tune Up wi’ the Souters o’ Selkirk.

The role of Royal Burgh Standard Bearer is the highest honour a young man in Selkirk can receive from his town. “A Souter’s lifetime ambition passes in a minute,” one Ex-Standard Bearer observed, in wistful pride that all of Scott’s predecessors will recognise.

When finally the Standard Bearer for the Ex-Soldiers lowers his flag’s point to the ground, there follows a profound and moving silence in the crowd, only broken two minutes later by Selkirk’s Silver Band playing ‘Flowers of the Forest’, known locally as ‘The Lilting’. The Scots folk song, written by Jean Elliot circa 1756, laments the generations of Borderers lost at Flodden: ‘The Floo’ers o’ the Forest are a’ wede away’.

The theme that runs through Selkirk Common Riding is ‘returning’.

The return of the flag, and all the horses and riders in their hundreds, back into the heart of the town is always the most emotional moment – for 500 years ago, and in many wars since, many of Selkirk’s own never saw home again.

That’s why Selkirk’s cheers are loudest, when every single horserider returns charging up the Toll, and when the Royal Burgh Standard Bearer has cast the town’s Flag ‘safe oot, safe in’.

Selkirk Common Riding - A Guide

For on that Common Riding Friday, the Royal and Ancient Burgh of Selkirk will remember, as it has done every year since the Battle of Flodden, the day 80 able bodied men aged 16 to 60 who left the town to fight for King James IV, with only one returning.

An estimated 10,000 Scots died beside their King, the last British monarch to be killed in battle, at Flodden near Coldstream on September 9, 1513, where Henry VIII’s English army, led by Thomas Howard, the Earl of Surrey, inflicted the heaviest defeat in Scottish history.

Before most are awake that Smiling Morn, Royal Burgh Standard Bearer Scott Rodgerson, the 28-year-old son of a Selkirk newsagent, will have added his name to the town’s ancient history, like his brother Martin two years before.

For from the moment he is roused by Selkirk’s Flute Band band at 4am, Scott represents - like every Royal Burgh Standard Bearer in Selkirk’s Common Riding before him including his grandfather George and father Brian - a man called Fletcher: the only Selkirk man, or ‘Souter’, to return alive from Flodden half a millennium ago.

The town’s hallowed legend tells of Selkirk’s families sighting Fletcher, anxious to discover what fate had befallen their sons, husbands, fathers and brothers. Casting a captured English standard around his head, and lowering its tip to the ground, Fletcher conveyed to all who gathered that everyone was slain. The legend, and grief, of Flodden has been woven into Selkirk’s ancient Common Riding traditions ever since.

At the 6:45am ‘Bussin’ before Fletcher’s statue, the Royal Burgh Flag is presented to the Royal Burgh Standard Bearer by the Provost, who wishes him and his cavalcade of 300-400 horseriders ‘safe oot, safe in’ around Selkirk’s boundaries.

The Provost charges him to return the town’s flag – symbolising its honour – ‘unsullied and untarnished’.

A Lady Busser ties, or ‘busses’, ribbons to the Royal Burgh Flag, recalling the ancient custom of a knight’s lady tying colours to his lance before battle.

After riding the ‘marches’ or boundaries of the Burgh’s common lands, (a protective custom dating back almost 1,000 years in Scotland), thousands line Selkirk’s Toll road to cheer the Royal Burgh Standard Bearer and his Attendants, charging at full gallop and dressed in bowler hats, tweeds, breeches and ribbons, safely back into town.

The climax of Selkirk Common Riding every year is The Casting of the Colours, taking place immediately after the Riding of the Marches in the town’s Market Place at 11am, where the Royal Burgh Standard Bearer and Standard Bearers from Selkirk’s six guilds cast their Flags to the old tune Up wi’ the Souters o’ Selkirk.

The role of Royal Burgh Standard Bearer is the highest honour a young man in Selkirk can receive from his town. “A Souter’s lifetime ambition passes in a minute,” one Ex-Standard Bearer observed, in wistful pride that all of Scott’s predecessors will recognise.

When finally the Standard Bearer for the Ex-Soldiers lowers his flag’s point to the ground, there follows a profound and moving silence in the crowd, only broken two minutes later by Selkirk’s Silver Band playing ‘Flowers of the Forest’, known locally as ‘The Lilting’. The Scots folk song, written by Jean Elliot circa 1756, laments the generations of Borderers lost at Flodden: ‘The Floo’ers o’ the Forest are a’ wede away’.

The theme that runs through Selkirk Common Riding is ‘returning’.

The return of the flag, and all the horses and riders in their hundreds, back into the heart of the town is always the most emotional moment – for 500 years ago, and in many wars since, many of Selkirk’s own never saw home again.

That’s why Selkirk’s cheers are loudest, when every single horserider returns charging up the Toll, and when the Royal Burgh Standard Bearer has cast the town’s Flag ‘safe oot, safe in’.

The owners of Yarrow Valley’s historic Gordon Arms Hotel hope to reopen its bar and kitchen to the public in July after fire devastated the upstairs floor on May 12.

Fire crews from across the Borders and Edinburgh tackled the blaze at the 200-year-old property near St Mary’s Loch.

Surveying the scene, Tommy Roseburgh and Susan Cree reported on their Facebook page: “Luckily no one was injured. The roof has gone and the whole of the upper floor has been destroyed. There is a lot of water damage downstairs, but the bar doesn’t look too bad.”

Last week they thanked locals for their many messages of support, and for helping the clear-up operation.

They wrote: “We are just overwhelmed by them all. We have had so much help to start clearing the debris. As the bar and kitchen have not been damaged, we would hope to get that side of the hotel up and running by mid-July once we have a water supply and electricity, but will keep everyone posted.”

Susan told us that assessors hadn’t seen any initial problems to prevent reopening, but it would depend on regaining water and electricity supplies, and a green light from health and safety.

She added: “We’re hoping, but there’s nothing definite. It’s slow progress. It’s very frustrating – we were just getting there, in our third year of business.

“It’s still not conclusive whether it was caused by a spark from the chimney, or a mouse chewing through a wire. Basically, there’s nothing left [of the roof], so there’s no way of finding out. It means we haven’t got closure. What’s keeping us going is that no one was hurt – it could have been so much worse if the fire was at night.”

There will be much pride and passion, much laughter and more than a few tears throughout the Borderland over the coming weeks.

And that is rightly so. As towns and villages remember their past – in action, in song and in story – we are preserving our history and tradition for future generations, and in homage to those generations that have gone before.

Many years ago the mother of James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, took a verbal swipe at no less a man than novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott.

Wattie’s sin in her eyes was writing down the songs and anecdotes that until then had been mostly oral. She could equally have taken a swipe at her son.

But Walter and James were perhaps a wee bit ahead of their time, realising that if the past wasn’t penned for posterity, it would eventually disappear. Perhaps Mrs H was a wee tad hard on the Shirra.

The songs and stories that are so much part of our common ridings, gatherings, festivals and civic weeks are not always from the dim and distant past. Like music in the kirks, they were sometimes a bit late in coming. And there is no doubt that these songs and stories add much to what lies ahead.

Some of the music, of course, is ancient – many of the pipe tunes are a prime example.

And perhaps if Sir Walter had waded across the Tweed from his many-gabled Abbotsford a wee bit more often, he might have saved some words that could have been used at the Braw Lads’ Gathering.

Each year the good people of my native Galashiels meet near the start of our great day at the Englishman’s Syke – better known as the Raid Stane to commemorate the day when we routed a band of raiders from south of the border (wherever that was in 1337) and sent them hameward tae think again. Well, some of them, because much English blood was spilled that day.

Galashiels Ex-Servicemen’s Pipe Band plays The Sour Plooms o’ Gala. Music for the tune survives – but the words were lost long ago. And that’s a shame.

They would have been known to generations long gone and long before Provost Hayward put the Gathering in place in 1930. I would really like to know what the words portrayed.

Many have researched – but none have found. They will probably be hidden in an ancient desk, folded inside a dusty tome that hasn’t been opened for a century.

That is one reason why oor common ridings, gatherings, festivals and civic weeks are so important. It’s not just the battles and the charters, it’s our history in song and story. Enjoy.

Gala Water Singers are on track to celebrate the return of rail services to the central Borders.

At Stow Church on Sunday (3pm), they will give the first performance of “The Waverley Line”.

Choir chair John Wilkinson explained: “We wanted to capture the thoughts and feelings of our youngsters about the railway, and naturally we thought of capturing it in song.

“The obvious person to help us was John Nichol with his skill and passion for musical theatre. We commissioned him to go into the schools and work with the pupils to express their ideas.

“He turned those ideas into lyrics, our music director Jim Letham composed the music, and both the adult and children’s choirs have been busy rehearsing the new piece over the past weeks.”

Tickets from Stow shop, by phoning 01578 730289 or on the door.

The creation of a new community at Shawfair on the route of the Borders railway is being spearheaded by a multi-faceted local company.

Buccleuch Property is part of the Buccleuch Estates Ltd group, which has a head office at Bowhill, near Selkirk.

Business interests include farming, leisure, energy generation, tourism and commercial developments.

In 2011 it joined forces with housebuilder Mactaggart & Mickel to acquire 350 acres of land from the City of Edinburgh and Midlothian councils for an upfront £6million in a profit-sharing deal expected to yield around £20million over 15 years.

With consent for 4,000 houses, the vision includes a million square feet of commercial development capable of supporting 6,000 jobs along with three new schools – all taking advantage of the new Shawfair railway station.

The development – considered fundamental to the business case for the entire line – was enthusiastically greeted during a Buccleuch presentation to business leaders in Newtowngrange last week.

The firm also highlighted work to transform its Dalkeith Country Park, where new cafes and a large adventure play area are under construction.

Around 200,000 people, many using the train, are expected annually to visit the attraction, which will have a new entrance near Sheriffhall.

As chairman of the board of directors of Buccleuch Estates Ltd, the duke predicted further opportunities for land receipts and profit for the group from the Shawfair project.

In a report accompanying the group’s consolidated accounts for the year to October 31, 2014, the duke reported net asset growth of £9million to £123million and debt reduction of £13million to £137million. On an increased turnover of £49.8million (up from £43.1million), the group achieved a net profit, after tax, of £388,000.

The group has 245 full-time and 97 part-time employees. Staff costs topped £13.6million over the year.

The duke said: “Despite the difficult political climate in Scotland, the business is well-positioned to deliver on some exciting opportunities which will make a significant contribution to business and the communities in which we operate.”

Towards the end of last year, Selkirk-based Scottish H.A.R.T. received a huge boost from NHS Borders when almost 50 defibrillators were gifted to the charity.

Almost all of these life-saving machines have now been installed in village halls, sports clubs and public places. The latest defibrillator to be handed over was in Bowden where the village committee, village hall committee and Brunton Trust came together to make the case for this facility and have members of the public trained in saving lives.

Charity founder Wilma Gunn, second from left, handed over the machine and its external heated cabinet to Lord Sanderson of Bowden, chairman of the trust, second from right. Also in the picture is Dr John Gaddie and village committee chair Sarah Gant.

A DeLorean ‘Time Machine’ sports car is set to steal the show at Sunday’s Borders Motoring Extravaganza at Thirlestane Castle, Lauder.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the hit movie, Back to the Future, the DeLorean DMC-12, just like the one in the film, will be a star attraction guest of honour at the Border Vintage Automobile Club (BVAC) event.

The event will be made even more special with the appearance of Doc ‘Emmett’ Brown and Marty McFly, courtesy of professional actors Calum MacAskill (Doc) and Stanley Pattison (Marty) from Edinburgh-based charity Hearts and Minds.

Fred Magill, BVAC chairperson, told us: “Our ‘Back to the Future’ theme and the prospect of the DeLorean time machine is generating great interest.

“From the fully functional and programmable time circuits and gauges, to screen-accurate detailing and fluxing flux capacitor, no expense has been spared to recreate this incredible car, and we fully expect it to steal the show.”

Fred continued: “We also have some extra Docs and Martys coming to the show - the successful entrants in our ‘Search for Doc and Marty’ held earlier this year.

“And, if this were not enough, we are expecting the largest collection of DeLoreans in Scotland ever in one place.

“Cleland Jaguar will be unveiling a brand new sports saloon car; we are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Jaguar XJ-S ; and for the first time ever the Sporting Bears Charity Dream Rides will include a DeLorean DMC-12 among its fantastic choice of classic and supercar rides.

“All money raised by the Sporting Bears will go to Scottish Association for Children with Heart Disorders (SACHD), so it is all for a good cause.

“We also have a wide range of family attractions, including a walking jazz band, American-style cheerleaders, emergency services and community vehicles display, dog agility display, fun fair, craft tent, static falconry display, food stalls, face painting, bungee trampoline, archery and paint ball.”

Car enthusiasts will be able to enjoy a huge selection of cars, motorbikes and military vehicles. This year, more than 1,100 cars have been entered into the show - including around 300 vehicles in more than 30 ‘Club’ stands, concours classes for cars from veteran to 1987, motorbike classes from veteran to post-war and commercial, military, steam and agricultural classes, plus an auto-jumble area.

The show, whose major sponsor is Morris Leslie of Perth, is open from 11.00 am, admission is £9, accompanied children under 16 go free, and parking is free.