Selkirk athletics coach Colin Bruce led by example last Friday when searing up the Castleholm track to take the 2015 Langholm Games Sprint title.

Some heavy morning rain had been replaced by bright afternoon sunshine as the runners warmed up for the 90 metre event.

Impressive wins in both his heat and cross-tie earned the 50-year-old Souter, who has his own running school based in Hawick, a final spot along with Jed AC pair Martha Douglas (19m) and Scott Richardson (8.5m), Hawick duo David Hush (20m) and David Lauder (12.5m), plus Cameron Grieve of TLJT (8m).

A two-times winner of the Selkirk Games and Jedburgh Games sprints, Bruce got off to a perfect start from his 13 metre mark before hitting full throttle down the track to break the tape in 10.04 seconds, bagging himself the £1, 000 prize pot in the process. Hush finished second and Lauder third.

Speaking after the final, Bruce said: “My starting has been good throughout the season in the sprints, but I haven’t quite been able to hold on at the finish of the race.

“It was a 90m today, however, and that suited me just fine as it was shorter, and I thought I was in with a chance.

“Martha Douglas and Davie Hush were in front of me and that was a good target. It’s just great to have won the Langholm sprint.”

This weekend Bruce will travel to Morebattle for the final meeting on the 2015 Border Games circuit. There he will run off 14 metres in the 110m sprint while son Craig is also entered and goes from 11m.

Further athletics success came Selkirk’s way last Saturday at the Celtic Cup meeting in Grangemouth.

Competing for Scotland distance specialist Zaynah Aziz claimed the silver medal in the 1500 metres steeplechase behind Lucy Davis of Wales.

In only her fifth outing in the discipline the 15-year-old set a new best time of 5.25.11, and that was after admitting to her Twitter followers, “me and water jumps have a strong love hate relationship”.

Also representing his country at the meeting was local triple jumper Henry Clarkson, 16, who finished third in his event with a new best distance of 13.50 metres.

A well-known Borders company has said the chaos at Dover and Calais has cost it more than £100,000 over the past five weeks.

Migrants trying to get through the Eurotunnel, coupled with striking French maritime workers, means lorries have been stacked up along the motorway.

And seafood traders D R Collin say the situation is the worst they have ever experienced.

The company exports seafood – and much of that trade is to mainland Europe.

James Cook, the managing director of the Eyemouth-based business, has confirmed the £100,000 cost.

He said: “We are a speciality company.

“We deal in high-value live products – live langoustine and live lobster – so this has an even shorter shelf-life than fresh perishable goods, so it is of even more significance to us. After five weeks of this, we are in a very, very difficult trading situation. This is our fifth week with these losses and it can’t continue.”

The company is one of several that have called on the UK and Scottish governments to do more to resolve the situation.

They say the delays have led to produce being rejected in Europe, or having to be sold at a discounted price.

It is being described as the worst crisis in the firm’s 63-year history.

Borders MP Calum Kerr and MSP Paul Wheelhouse met with Mr Cook. Mr Kerr told us: “They are a fantastic Borders business and a hugely-successful exporter, but they are now caught in a highly-damaging situation which is not of their making.

Mr Wheelhouse added: “The impact at a time of peak demand for langoustines is bad enough, but with the lobster season overdue, when that kicks in imminently, the economic impact will only be compounded.”

There are always things we forget to do. Life is very busy. Things fall off the end of the world and get forgotten. Fact.

Hopefully they are not super-important things, like remembering to pick up your child at school (sooooo not good), or feed the dog (sooooo not good for the dog, but not earth-shattering), or suddenly forgetting how to drive. Which, as a busy mum, would be pretty catastrophic for me, but highly unlikely.

Talking of driving, when I used to drive tour buses for a living, I met a chap who drove for one of the big coach holiday companies.

We were chatting about this and that – which Loch Ness boat was the best, how many people we’d had throwing up on the back seat, what TV programme had filmed where and if our passengers would be interested, that sort of thing.

He said the week before he’d left a couple of elderly ladies behind in Oban. Realising his mistake pretty quickly – shouts of ‘you’ve left someone behind’ from his other passengers did the trick – he’d turned round (no mean feat in a massive coach in the middle of Oban) and hoofed it back for them.

Finding them quite indignant on the steps of the woollen mill they’d all been visiting, he’d said something I still use when I forget stuff, especially in relation to people: “Just because I forgot you, doesn’t mean I don’t love you. It just means I forgot.”

Faces always softened quickly with that one, he said. It always left people feeling quite special, instead of forgotten.

Anyhoo, I have forgotten something. And the thing I have forgotten is Quite Bad. It is something I should have told the kids weeks ago ... but forgot. Gulp.

And every week, I think to myself, I must, must, must remember to tell them. The longer time goes on, the worse it is.

It goes like this. You may remember we went off to the amazing, wonderful,magical Isle of Skye about a month or so ago. You may remember that we left Gamford and Jock The Killer Patterdale behind to keep an eye on the chooks and things. Jock, in particular, I am sure kept a very close eye on the chooks.

Anyhoo, a few days into the holibags, Gamford was dismayed to find our one and only surviving Kelly Bronze (Christmas eating variety) turkey, Queenie, dead in the turkey shed.

So as not to spoil the holibags, he didn’t tell me until the evening we got back, and even then it was in hushed tones after the YMs were in bed. The Young Mistress, in particular, had a very soft spot for Queenie.

Needless to say, there didn’t seem a good time to tell the YMs over the next few days, as it was almost the end of term and they were as giddy as chips. So I resolved to let nature take its course and that I would inform them the next weekend when we would be cleaning out the chooks and someone was bound to say those dreaded words: “Where’s Queenie?”

Only they didn’t. And another week went by. Several observations about several members of the flock were made at different times during the week, but no mention of Queenie.

The next weekend, and the next cleaning-out. And still no mention. And the next weekend.

And so now we are in this awful situation where I keep forgetting to say what’s happened, and no-one keeps remembering to say: “Where’s Queenie?”. And so it goes on ... and on.

And now, when it happens, and someone finally notices and says: “Where’s Queenie?”, I don’t think a ‘just because I forgot to tell you doesn’t mean I don’t love you, it just means I forgot’ is going to cut it.

Gulp.

With little prospect of an improve-ment in the weather, I took the dog for a wander up my usual riverside route last Saturday morning.

The swallows and martins were busy catching flying insects overhead and the swifts, although still around, were noticeably dwindling in number.

There was no sign of common sandpipers or oystercatchers on the river, but families of young wagtails were scuttling through the shallow water running over the face of the cauld, picking off insects which had been carried over the weir from the pool above.

Also using the cauld as a source of food was the resident heron and a pair of lesser black-backed gulls.

The most prominent flower in the riverside woodland was the stunning giant bellflower, with its clusters of white bells growing up a tall spike, similar in stature to the foxglove.

Usually such showy riverside plants are garden escapes, but this one is surprisingly a true native of the area, unlike some of the others I came across.

One of the most striking was the Martagon Lily, which is gradually gaining a foothold in the shaded woodlands by the river.

It is also known as Turk’s Cap Lily and although it is a spectacular flower with a strong scent, it is easily overlooked due to its liking for deep shade.

Another obvious garden escape which has been growing happily in the same spot for decades is Astrantia.

It is a native of central, eastern and southern Europe but has happily set up home by the banks of the Yarrow.

Its pink pincushion-shaped flower head is prized by gardeners as it dries well.

At this time of year, it is hard to miss the presence of rosebay willowherb, which seems to thrive everywhere.

In the 18th century it was considered a great rarity, but it seems to have colonised the country using the expansion of the rail network in Victorian times.

During the war it became known as “bombweed” due to its liking for the disturbed ground caused by bomb craters. The lovely yellow-flowered monkey flower or mimulus is another foreigner I encountered on some waste ground.

It hails from America and is usually found in damp places or by stream sides. It can be invasive in some places, but it seems to know its place on my patch.

Thankfully, my local patch is relatively free of the more troublesome interlopers such as giant hogweed, Japanese knotweed and Himalayan balsam, but they have been there in the past and removed.

Complacency is not an option.

z If you have taken a nice shot of Borders flora and fauna, and would like to share it with Southern Reporter readers, you can email me at corbie@homecall.co.uk

Whether you be a royalist or not, the news that the Queen is to open the Borders Railway on the day she becomes Britain’s longest-reigning monarch must be regarded as good news.

HM will pass the milestone set by her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, on September 9. And on that very same day she, with the grand old duke, and accompanied by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, will steam down the Gala Water in coaches pulled by that old locomotive 60009, better known to train buffs as the Union of South Africa.

A wee pause here just to clarify something and before the eagle-eyed station anoraks think we have made a mistake on our page one today.

Yes, the loco shown alongside the Queen bears the name Cumbrian Mountain Express – but she is the Union of South Africa running as a Cumbrian special.

I wonder – or rather I hope – loco 60009 will bear an appropriate nameplate when she pulls out of Waverley station en route to Tweedbank.

How about the Sir Walter Scott, The Gala Water Special, Back to the Borders or the Up Yours Beeching Special.

Yes, Beeching. Half a century on and we have got our trains back on track – at least partly. The fight goes on for a total restoration of the old Waverley route through to Carlisle.

There were many who said the battle to bring trains back to the central Borders would never succeed. They were wrong. But now we have to use them.

There were varied and controversial reasons why the Waverley line was chosen for the chop. Today arguments are still raised about how much of the railway books were cooked to put the track on the Beeching execution block.

But it was clear that passenger numbers had fallen. More Borderers had cars and you didn’t need a mortgage to head for the fuel pumps.

I believe Borderers will use the train ... and yes, I know the railheads are far away from the homesteads of many Borderers. So there an onus on the Scottish Government, council and transport companies to ensure a proper and adequate bus service to link with the trains.

Better roads are needed – how about a bypass for Selkirk to make it easier for my Hawick friends to get to Gala station. Oh, they’d probably opt for Tweedbank.

I also believe there are great business opportunities associated with the return of the railway. Let’s grab them.

Ma’am, enjoy your trip. But remember there’s no royal wee at Tweedbank.

For many of us, summer is the most relaxing time of year – a season for barbecues, visits, day trips and, of course, holidays.

As an MP, I’ve decided to fill my time working hard, here in the constituency. The Commons may be in recess, but I’m determined to keep my diary full and arrange as many meetings as possible.

It’s a privilege to do this job – seeing individual constituents and visiting local businesses, third-sector bodies and other organisations. I’m building up my knowledge about them so I can represent them better.

A couple of weeks ago, I was at the Border Union Show in Kelso –an opportunity to speak to people in our vital rural sector and to hear about their issues, successes and concerns.

Many of the people and businesses I’ve met are at the centre of our rural economy – including McGregor Farms at Coldstream Mains and BSW Timber Group, Earlston. They’re are at the forefront of innovation and have far-sighted managements with skill and vision.

I was hugely impressed with the sheer scale of BSW’s operations – its the largest sawmilling firm in the UK and has a presence in Latvia, in total employing 1,000 people.

McGregor uses GPS systems on its tractors to vary how much seed is put down in different parts of a field and treat areas individually. It’s called precision farming and I found it all very impressive.

I’ve also been in touch with Scottish Borders Council over the threatened 120 bus route which affects Hawick, Kelso and Jedburgh, met the teams in Selkirk working on the business improvement district proposals and visited the new Galashiels Men’s Shed community project. And I’ve been talking to the boss of BT Scotland about improving local broadband.

I’m in the final stages of sorting out an office and starting to turn my mind as to how to boost the Borders economy, help with welfare issues and make this region a fantastic place to live and work in.

Plus I’ve been appointed the SNP’s lead Westminster spokesperson on the environment, food and rural affairs – a role which covers the whole of Scotland. I’ve already had several meetings with NFU Scotland and will shortly be visiting Peterhead to meet key figures in the fishing industry.

Luckily, I’m not on my own, as I have a small, but dedicated team of staff to share the workload. If you think I can help, email me at calum.kerr.mp@parliament.uk.

But it’s not all work – I’m planning a couple of weeks’ holiday with the family. I’m trying to be conscientious, but not a martyr!

One-hundred-and-sixty-one years of ministerial experience came together on Sunday to help celebrate a Kelso couple’s diamond wedding.

Five weeks ago, Alan Hall was appointed emeritus lay reader by the Episcopalian Bishop of Edinburgh, John Armes, in recognition of his long-standing work for St Andrew’s Church in Kelso.

But on Sunday, instead of his usual place in the choir stalls, Alan was with his wife, Pam, on the front pew, where they were both delighted to find their youngest son, Ian, and his partner, Debbie, who had travelled up from Windsor for the day – a surprise organised by the rector, the Reverend Bob King.

The couple were also given a rare tribute by the coming together of four members of the clergy the couple had known and supported over the years.

Surrounded by friends at the morning service, the couple renewed their marriage vows, blessed by Mr King, this year celebrating 21 years since his ordination.

Celebrant was the Reverend Canon Tim Morris – ordained 40 years ago – interim pastor prior to Mr King’s arrival and who the couple have known since moving to the Borders more than 20 years ago; the Reverend John Grover, now part of the ministry team at St John’s Church, Jedburgh, but formerly the Halls’ vicar in Cookham, Berkshire (he celebrates 50 years in the church this year), read the gospel; while preacher was the Reverend Ian Clark, a regular assistant at St Andrew’s who this year celebrates half a century in the church and has been a friend of the couple for many years.

The clergy and congregation later toasted the couple at a buffet provided by them in the church.

Alan, who is 84, is a member of Kelso Rotary Club and a past president of the town’s Probus Club, while Pam, 83, is a member of East Borders Inner Wheel, St Andrew’s Women’s Fellowship and the SWI at Stichill, where the couple lived until moving to Kelso earlier this year.

Their anniversary today (Thursday) begins with a special Eucharist at the church at 8.30am.

They will have another celebration at Windsor in September with more of their family of three sons, 11 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

z The picture shows the Reverend Bob King blessing Alan and Pam Hall after the renewing of their vows. Right, the Reverend John Grover, with the Reverend Ian Clark, back right, and the Reverend Canon Tim Morris, centre back, plus members of the choir and organist.

A chance meeting provided Kathleen O’Donnell with the perfect formula to set up her own business.

With more than 20 years’ teaching experience, latterly as a chemistry teacher, the 56-year-old has decided to swap the classroom for her own tutorial business, launching Kip McGrath Kelso in June.

Now, youngsters who need help to build their confidence in key subjects can turn to Kathleen to get the one-to-one assistance they require to fulfil their potential.

Founded in 1974, Kip McGrath is a global franchise network with more than 215 tutoring centres in the UK helping primary and secondary age children improve their English, reading, writing, comprehension and maths skills.

“My family and I had moved to Jedburgh after many years living in England,” explained Kathleen. “Shortly after we arrived 18 months ago, I bumped into the owner of the Kip McGrath franchise in Galashiels.

“She was retiring and looking for someone to take on her franchise. That conversation got me thinking, and after doing my own market research I decided there was a need for tutoring in the Borders, especially since the only other local franchise was closing.”

Kathleen turned to Business Gateway Scottish Borders at the start of the year for advice.

“I attended a series of start-up workshops to get my bearings,” she recalled.

“The seminars provided me with everything I needed to know to get started.

“I also enjoyed meeting other people who were in the same boat.”

Lyn Galloway, Business Gateway, said: “You don’t have to have grown up dreaming of becoming an entrepreneur or had a globetrotting career to start a successful business.

“Kathleen is an experienced teacher who is now doing something she never thought she ever would.

“With our help she was able to get an understanding of everything that needed to be put in place before starting.”

Kathleen told us: “What attracted me to Kip McGrath was its ethos – every child has individual needs that require tailored assistance to help them achieve all they can educationally.

“My business isn’t here to compete with the school system, but support it by giving children concentrated, individual attention to help build self-esteem, greater understanding and arm them with learning techniques that will help them throughout their whole school career.”

For more information on Kip McGrath Kelso visit www.kipmcgrath.co.uk or call Kathleen O’Donnell on 01573 408586.

Former Borders MP and Liberal Party leader Lord Steel of Aikwood has stepped up calls for sweeping reforms of the House of Lords.

Created a Lib Dem life peer in 1997, the 77-year-old, who lives in Selkirk, said the need for an overhaul has been made more urgent by the scandal surrounding Lord Sewel and moves by Prime Minister David Cameron to send more Tory peers to the second chamber.

And he believes that if his private member’s bill, which included the right to expel peers, had not been passed last year, then Lord Sewel, recently filmed apparently using cocaine in the company of prostitutes, would have been entitled to retain his seat.

In a speech delivered in Northern Ireland, Lord Steel said he believed members of the SNP supported his proposal for an elected senate of 500 members, including 40 from Scotland.

“The problem for the SNP is because they are not part of the Lords, they are not in a very good position to argue concretely for its reform,” he said.

“I wish they would take some seats there. That would make sense, provided they made clear they were only doing so in order to promote reform.

“The case for reform has grown more urgent and will resurrect itself any moment now when a new tranche of peers is announced which makes the whole size of the place just ridiculous.”

An SNP spokesman described the House of Lords as an “embarrassing anachronism”, adding: “The SNP has made clear the only answer is abolition of the whole chamber and the creation of a fit-for-purpose elected chamber free of the absurd pomp and ceremony which people in Scotland find ridiculous.

“The Lib Dems spent five years in government and failed to deliver any real reform … action is needed, and it is needed now.”

Galashiels Rotarians are holding their annual family fun day in the Public Park on August 23 (noon-4pm).

There will be something for everyone – bands, bouncy castles, sumo suits, novelty sports such as wellie throwing, and various stalls. One of the stalls will be from Borders Healthy Living Network. Nichola Sewell, health improvement lead with the joint health improvement team, met the Rotarians, pictured, to explain the network’s role. It is recognised that some areas of the Borders are affected by poverty and inequality, which affects health and wellbeing. The team works in partnership with people in these communities to develop priorities and build on what works.

Because most domestic cats have access to outdoors it is obvious that they will reproduce given the opportunity. Tom cats have a natural drive to mate with as many females as possible and litter sizes of eight or more are not uncommon.

A female cat can become pregnant again as early as four weeks after giving birth and from the age of around six months old.

To avoid unwanted pregnancies, and to limit the ever-growing number of cats requiring homes, the best answer is to get your cat neutered as soon as possible.

We recommend that the average earliest age is six months and it is important to keep them indoors until this is done since some can become sexually mature earlier than this. Your vet will be able to advise you on timings for your pet as each one can be different.

If you are not planning on controlled breeding with your cat, the responsible course of action is to neuter them. If you do not then the result could be even more kittens being born without having suitable homes pre-arranged. Also, it is possible that cats can wander off to new areas, if they are unhappy with their current home for whatever reason, for example. If these cats are pregnant it could mean that they give birth outdoors and far away from their usual area. During spring, the summer months and into late autumn, we regularly receive calls from the public to say that there is a litter of kittens in their garden. If already weaned the mum is often now away and it is left to us to try and catch the kittens before they turn feral. This can be as early as eight or nine weeks old. Once feral, it is virtually impossible to catch them, which means a colony of uneutered cats can quickly grow out of control. They are then at risk of disease and the serious effects of inbreeding also.

Rescue charities such as ourselves simply cannot cope with the ever-growing number of cats that are needing a home. Our waiting list to admit cats to the centre is always very long and it is a similar story all over. So if you are not organising a planned and controlled pregnancy with make an appointment to talk to your vet for advice on safe neutering for your pet. Male and female cats alike need this procedure done if we are to get on top of the numbers.

Plans for a major wind farm in one of the most remote and scenic parts of the Borders – close to the source of the River Tweed – have been roundly opposed by councillors.

With a generating capacity of 50.4MW, consent for the 14 turbines proposed for Whitelaw Brae near Tweedsmuir is in the gift of the Energy Consents and Deployment Unit (ECDU) of the Scottish Government.

Scottish Borders Council, which determines bids for wind farms with an output of less than 50MW, is thus considered a statutory consultee in the planning process.

“This is just outside our responsibility, only just,” observed senior planning officer Ian Aikman at Monday’s meeting of SBC’s planning committee which unanimously agreed to object to the application from Whitelaw Brae Wind Farm Ltd.

Using slides to reflect the visual impact of the turbines, each 133m tall, Mr Aikman contended that the unspoiled character of the 23.7-hectare site, between Fruid Reservoir and the main A701 Dumfries to Edinburgh road, would “change dramatically” if the development was permitted.

He highlighted the site’s close proximity to the Tweedsmuir Uplands Special Landscape Area to the north and the Talla/Hart Fell Wild Land area to the east, and claimed the turbines would be clearly visible along a 20km stretch of the A701 tourist route.

He said the wind farm would have a “significant impact” on these areas.

Mr Aikman believed the site was not a natural extension of wind farms across the South Lanarkshire border, including the huge 152-turbine Clyde Wind Farm.

“This will set a precedent for further inappropriate intrusion,” he claimed, adding: “The balance between the advantages of energy production and the disadvantages of environmental impact must be weighed carefully against one another. In this case, it is considered the benefit is outweighed by the impacts.”

The committee heard the Scottish Government had already received 49 submissions of objection – and no letters of support – for the application.

The dissenters include the community councils of Upper Tweed, Tweedsmuir and Ettrick and Yarrow, all of whom have expressed concerns about adverse impact on tourism.

Although SBC is considered a consultee, Monday’s decision means that a public inquiry must now be held before the ECDU determines the application.

With autumn almost upon us, it is timely to think about the positive effects that trees have on our lives here in the Borders.

The farmed landscape is a patchwork of different habitats, but it is the trees that give it the special quality that many visitors enjoy, especially during the tail end of the year when the colours are at their best. We may not be able to rival east coast America for the volume of trees but we can at least match them on diversity in tree species and range of colours.

Our trees though, are under threat from a number of sources, not least from extreme weather and disease. There is real concern amongst the woodland management community in the Borders, that our Ash trees could become very seriously affected through dieback, due to disease. In order to ensure we continue to replace our ageing amenity trees, a number of organisations including; Forestry Commission Scotland, Woodland Trust Scotland, Fallago Environment Fund and Scottish Borders Council, have formed a working partnership to provide funding for small scale tree planting schemes. Grants of up to £1,000 may be available to private individuals, land managers and farmers who are able and willing to plant small copses up to 0.25ha in size. Individual broadleaved trees, hedgerow trees, parkland trees and tree lines, are all eligible. Grants for hedge planting are not eligible unfortunately.

More information can be obtained from scheme administrators, Tweed Forum and Borders Forest Trust. Application forms can be downloaded from their websites.

Two traditional Borders peat bogs are being monitored after the completion of extensive work to restore them.

The 25-hectare Drone Moss near Coldingham and the larger Whim Bog at Lamancha in Peeblesshire are designated sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs).

Both have been the focus of a major project by the Tweed Forum, the multi-interest charitable company which promotes the sustainable management of the River Tweed catchment.

Last year, the forum secured over £81,000 from Scottish Natural Heritage’s Peatland Action Fund to rehabilitate the two lowland raised bogs.

The fund was set up in 2012 to restore traditional peatlands which store 25 times more carbon than all other plant life in the UK.

Healthy peatlands keep carbon locked up and continue to absorb and store more, while degraded bogs emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses and thus contribute to climate change.

The success of the funding bid acknowledged that Drone Moss and Whim Bog, although important wildlife habitats and 60 miles apart, had become degraded.

“Both sites faced issues of colonising shrubs and trees and active old drainage channels which combined to leave the sites less boggy than they should have been,” states the just-published annual report of the Tweed Forum trustees which explains how the funding was used.

Around 100 man hours of work were involved and, between the sites, around five miles of ditches were dammed and 37 hectares containing scrub and tree growth were cut and felled with the stumps treated.

The report states: “At Drone, this also meant hand-cutting many hundreds of encroaching rhododendron seedlings which were threatening to take over the northern end of the bog.

“Monitors have been put in place at both sites to record rainfall and water levels and data will be collected so we can ensure the effectiveness of the restoration work.”

It already attracts more than 300,000 visitors a year and is rated one of the United Kingdom’s top mountain biking destinations.

Glentress Forest near Peebles is also popular with walkers, bird-watchers and horse-riders, thanks to an investment by Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) of an estimated £9million during the last 15 years.

Financial constraints on such public bodies and the need for Glentress not to rest on its laurels in an increasingly-competitive outdoor tourism market prompted the commission to announce in 2013 that it was preparing a masterplan for the future development of the 1,600-hectare complex.

Two years on and after extensive consultation with a range of stakeholders, that draft blueprint was endorsed on Monday by Scottish Borders Council’s planning committee.

That committee will now seek public feedback over the next 12 weeks.

The document, subject to amendment, will then become embedded in the council’s Local Development Plan, which is due to be formally adopted next year.

The masterplan makes provision for the erection of 65 seasonal-occupancy log cabins in the area known as Buzzards Nest.

The commercial hub of the forest – the area around Glentress Peel, where a café and bikeshop currently operate – is also highlighted for potential further development with opportunities from new arrival and an indoor activity buildings.

The scheme also envisages at least 300 additional parking spaces – almost doubling the current provision.

A number of activity areas are proposed in the vicinity of Glentress Peel.

These include an area for public art and short, circular walks; an area for standalone bike skills; and a pump track for the many novice mountain bikers.

More advanced practitioners of the sport will be well served with an extensive free ride area.

“We want to welcome all visitors and appeal to the under-utilised family market,” said Hugh McKay, FCS’s Glentress-based communities and recreation manager at Monday’s meeting.

Mr McKay went on: “We also need to ensure that future recreation and forestry activities dovetail together and are co-ordinated in a sustainable way.”

The blueprint has been welcomed by Councillor Stuart Bell, the council’s executive member with responsibility for economic development, whose Tweeddale East ward includes Glentress.

Councillor Bell commented: “Extending the range of attractions at Glentress by adding new activity areas will attract more visitors and particularly cater for families with a range of skills and interests.”

He added: “I see the masterplan as a terrific incentive for the private sector to get involved

“And I am particularly hopeful a developer will come forward to look at investing in the self-catering cabin accommodation which is highlighted in the framework as a significant opportunity.”

Residents of the Borders’ rural communities are being urged to take part in a questionnaire to improve their broadband.

The Southern Uplands Partnership (SUP) has been commissioned by Community Broadband Scotland, in the first stage, to survey issues and needs in areas not currently served by BT’s Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme.

In the second stage, the results will form a public consultation to make the case for better broadband in those areas, including Eskdalemuir, Upper Teviotdale, Borthwick Water, Tweedsmuir, Moffat Water, Glen, Orchard Mains, Traquair, Ettrick, Yarrow, Lilliesleaf, Ashkirk, Midlem, Bedrule, Hassendean and Minto.

The SUP’s Julie Nock explained: “This is a huge problem for many outlying communities and I am collating data in the hope of finding a long-term solution. I need as many survey responses as possible to demonstrate a need for better provision, and to allow us to go a stage further in tendering for a solution.

“Our aim is to collate as much data as possible on your current service, location and desire for a better service, so this can be used to explore the potential of a community-led initiative to deliver superfast broadband. We are aware that many of you have already completed a broadband survey in your community council area, and we will endeavour to include these results. However, it is vital we get up-to-date information.

“The general information will then go out in a public consultation. Once these are accepted, the communities have a number of options and can apply for government funding to install their own infrastructure.

“Please fill out our rural broadband survey at www.surveymonkey.com/s/ettrickandbeyond before September 2, or email julienock@sup.org.uk.”

A young United team were given a lesson in finishing on Saturday from a clinical Spartans side.

The Tweedsiders got off to the worst possible start going a goal down in the first two minutes and it was second half before they got into the game but unfortunately by that time they were six goals down.

The visitors showed their intent early and, after a couple of minutes, took the lead as winger Sean Stewart charged down the right before crossing into the box where striker Andy Howat found himself in space to knock home.

Then Spartans Blair Anderson hit the post with a right foot shot which rebounded to Chris Anderson however the former Kelso youth player blasted over the bar.

United held out until the 23rd minute where a quick free kick caught the United defence napping as again Stewart supplied Howat to shoot home off the chest of home keeper Willie Stewart.

A minute later and Stewart was picking the ball out the net again when Anderson run through the left hand channel before slipping the ball past the advancing keeper.

Number four came just after the half hour mark as Sean Stewart found space down the right and crossed into the box where Alex Imian was first to react to poke the ball home.

It was then Stewart who got the fifth as the ball was worked down the right hand side and the wide man was on hand to shoot home from inside the penalty area.

A speculative shot from 40 yards by Gerri Rossi was missed by everybody and ended up in the corner of the net to make it six.

United started better in the second half but found themselves further behind in the 63rd minute. Good interplay between Stewart and Anderson saw the latter fire home from close range.

Kelso eventually got on the score sheet in the 80th minute. A long throw from Shane Bonnington on the right was headed out of defence only to the feet of Liam Hill who finished well with a shot off the outside of his boot.

Gala survived a nervy encounter with St.Boswells in Saturday’s East of Scotland Division One encounter, eventually winning by four wickets with 16 balls to spare.

St.Boswells batted first and lost McNeill early, however good contributions from Goodman, Broom and the returning Jamie Glover, with Broom and Glover both recording half centuries, provided the visitors with a solid platform to reach 176 for 7 from their 50 overs.

For the home side Robbie Irvine was the pick of the bowlers with two wickets for just 14 runs from his ten over spell, while Matt Jones also took two wickets.

In reply all the Gala batsmen got in, all reaching double figures, but wickets fell regularly and when Matt Jones was fifth out the score was 124 and the asking rate slowly creeping up, the home side were under pressure. Kev Gallagher then joined Duncan Miller, who had profited from some poor catching by the visitors, for a crucial 48 run partnership that saw Gala to the brink of victory before Millar fell for 50, five runs short of the target. Gallagher, who scored 37 from just 26 deliveries, eased the Gala nerves though, seeing them home in the 48th over.

Borderers are being asked to take part in a survey on the new Borders Railway.

PBA, on behalf of Transport Scotland, is undertaking research to analyse the impacts of the Borders Railway on the communities in Midlothian and the Borders.

Households living in the EH16, EH18, EH19, EH20, EH22, EH23, EH24, EH37, EH38, EH43, TD1, TD2, TD4, TD6 and TD7 postcode areas can until, the end of August, complete the survey online at: www.streetwiseservices.com/bordersrail.html

Your responses will help to understand how rail infrastructure can affect travel behaviour and therefore influence future policy and infrastructure investment decisions.

All completed responses will be entered into a prize draw to win one of five £50 shopping vouchers.

If you do not have access to the internet, but would like to complete the survey, please phone 01236 722 200 to arrange a suitable appointment to go through the survey over the phone.

Any queries about the survey can be emailed to brsurvey@peterbrett.com

Berwick Speedway needs a ‘makeover or a takeover’ - that’s the message from the club.

The Bandits are looking for further financial input and help, or face the possibility of closure this winter.

The sport has been running in north Northumberland - at Shielfield and Berrington Lough - for almost 50 years, and has become an integral part of sporting life in the region.

The club have admitted that they have not been inundated with offers, but have reiterated the fact that it is not simply about the money.

Promoter John Anderson said: “We are all stretched to the absolute limit of our endurance by running the club.

“We work in our own businesses all week while fielding calls about speedway or giving physical time to attend to speedway matters, and after all that, and after being on the go from six or seven on a Saturday morning and going flat out all day, we have to then turn on the smiles and promote a meeting!

“This isn’t about money. Yes, we always need more money, but we need new people to help us carry the club forward.

“No matter what we try to do, we get so dispirited when some sad folk still criticise us because injuries have decimated a good team and we’re losing matches while replacement riders, good new assets, are finding their feet in British racing, well, I invite these critics to put up or shut up.

“Let me say this, I will do everything in my power, explore every possible avenue to stop speedway closing down at Berwick.

“I have instructed that a 24/7 hotline be set up, using our Banditfone number (07785-567109) for meaningful calls or texts to set up meetings or discussions. Other than during racing, use this number and talk to us! Alternatively, speak to any member of the club’s administration on a Saturday night about your interest.

“I’ve been a supporter of speedway for well over 50 years at Old Meadowbank before Berwick, and I want people here to continue to enjoy their Saturday nights for a long time to come.

“However, I have to make it clear, yes, we need investment to help with the bills, but we need help in the boardroom to guide the club into a sustainable future and we need it now.

“Other than that, we need a complete buy-out of our holdings and a new ownership.

“We need a makeover or a takeover, it’s as simple as that.”