Selkirk assistant coach Cameron Cochrane admits its time his charges got serious and ended their losing run by unleashing their best against Ayr on Saturday at Philiphaugh or face the prospect of drifting further away from BT Premiership survival.

The Souters sit mired 0-7 and stand alone at the foot of the Premiership as the last remaining winless team in the division.

The stay-in-the-moment task now for Selkirk, according to Cochrane, is to: identify areas where they are insufficient and flat-out improve. The coach also accepts there is an abundance scepticism that they can survive in the division and wants his side to use that as fuel for proving their worth against one of Scotland’s top sides this weekend.

“The stage we are at now, it’s about time we won otherwise it’s only going to get worse,” said Cochrane.

“It’s not easy coming up like we did, winning all our games and then not being able to carry it on. We haven’t been terrible but we’ve been guilty of some basic errors that simply need to be eradicated.

We know we have weaknesses but we’re not a million miles away. We understand there is a general feeling that we’ll continue to struggle from those outside the club but we still believe in our abilities. The aim now is to show people exactly what Selkirk rugby is about and get back to winning.”

Hawick return home to Mansfield Park this weekend after exacting some overdue revenge over their BT Cup final tormentors Boroughmuir last weekend.

The Robbie Dyes are in the place-off places for the first time this season and take on a Glasgow Hawks side full-back Ali Weir expects will be one of their toughest contests they’ll experience all year.

“I have faced Hawks many times and there is a general trend when you play them; they’re one of the toughest defences in the division,” said Weir.

“Hawks play similarly to us, they have young guys who know how to scrap and work and also pass and play rugby. We’re expecting a tough game which will be won by whoever makes the least errors.”

For Gala, their early season rush to the summit of the league has long disappeared. The Maroons are now languishing second bottom of the division, staring at a possible six-game losing run when the take on reigning champions Heriots at Goldenacre on Saturday.

Second placed Melrose similarly travel east to take on Currie with the Greenyards side aiming to keep pace with league leaders Ayr.

In National League One, Peebles travel to Aberdeen to take on Grammar after surprising the division by securing their first win of season against previously unbeaten Marr last weekend. Kelso welcome Howe of Fife to Poynder Park while Musselburgh host Jed-Forest.

Last year the Royal Mail recorded 2,960 mail-carriers having been bitten by dogs. That’s eight postal workers a day!

Clearly this is a huge problem, but one that can be avoided.

Dogs are territorial so it’s no surprise that they want to defend their homes, but as dog owners it’s our responsibility to ensure the safety of the people who deliver our mail.

You could also be fined or go to jail if your dog bites someone. All dogs are a potential threat. Even a little dog is capable of biting off the end of a finger, but there are things we can do to prevent our dogs attacking the post-person.

It’s very easy to teach a puppy to like the postie and here’s how.

When you get your puppy, ask the person who delivers the mail to assist you.

I think you’ll find they’ll be happy to help. Put some treats by the door and ask the postie to knock on the door when they arrive.

Have your puppy on the lead and ask the postie to give it a treat.

Do this for a week (then randomly) and your puppy will look forward to the mail arriving instead of wanting to bite the deliverer.

The younger the puppy, the easier this will be, but it can also work with some older dogs.

However, if your dog already attacks the mail-carrier, prevention may be the only route.

In the home, keep the dog under control and teach it not to charge the door. Place it in a room where it can’t reach the letterbox and don’t let it out until it is calm.

Something to chew on can help to occupy the dog as well.

Consider attaching a letter-catcher to your door or a letterbox at the gate. This way your dog can’t reach fingers and you will have the extra bonus of your mail being intact.

Don’t forget to always reinforce your dog’s good behaviour with lots of praise.

Posties are more likely to be attacked during nice weather because of dogs being outside and unattended. A simple solution is not to let your dog out until the mail has been delivered.

Please think about how you can prevent your dog attacking the postie. These people provide us with a valuable service and they need our support and protection.

CRACKED AFTER LEARNING OF WIFE’S AFFAIR

A sales manager jumped on the bonnet of his wife’s car, cracking the windscreen, after discovering she was having an affair with a woman from work.

Thirty-year-old Neil Gartside, of Eyemouth Holiday Park, admitted recklessly damaging the vehicle at the holiday park on September 13.

The other woman has since been relocated, with the chances of saving the couple’s 18-month marriage said to be 50-50.

Procurator fiscal Graham Fraser said the offence had a domestic background, adding: “He suspected his wife was cheating on him and she admitted that. They have been married for 18 months, although the relationship has been for much longer.”

He said Gartside, who is a sales manager at the holiday park, jumped on to the bonnet of his wife’s car and kicked the windscreen, causing it to crack.

Defence solicitor Robert More said: “The person with whom she admitted having an affair was a woman employed by the holiday park. She has since been relocated to another place of work.

“The admission of infidelity was made that day, and his emotions were running very high indeed. He accepts it was very foolish to have done what he did, and he apologised. He has paid the excess insurance cost of the repair to the windscreen.”

The lawyer went on: “He says that the long-term prospects of saving his marriage are 50-50.”

Gartside was fined £500.

SHOUTED AT HIS FORMER PARTNER

A drunken man who shouted and swore at his former partner was sentenced to a community payback order with 60 hours of unpaid work, to be completed within six months.

Michael Wardle, 24, of Torwoodlee Road, Galashiels, appeared from custody and admitted threatening or abusive behaviour at Roxburgh Street, The Square, Abbey Row and Rodger Fish Gardens, all in Kelso, last Friday.

“She was approached by the accused, who was intoxicated. He accused her of sleeping with another man,” explained procurator fiscal Graham Fraser.

Wardle was described as being “in her face” and the police were called.

Ross Dow, defending, said his client claimed “she was giving as good as she got”, adding: “He is regretful and keen to reconcile.”

ABUSIVE BEHAVIOUR

When the door was closed on her, Nyesha Mercer began throwing stones at the house.

Mercer, 20, of McLagan Drive, Hawick, appeared from custody and admitted threatening or abusive behaviour at a house at Hillend Drive, Hawick, on October 17.

Sentence was deferred until November 16 for reports. Mercer was released on bail, with a condition not to contact a named person, or to approach the house at Hillend Drive.

COMMUNITY PAYBACK ORDER

A feuding husband who prevented his wife from leaving the house was sentenced to a community payback order, with 150 hours of unpaid work to be completed within 12 months.

Jaroslaw Jereczek was warned by Sheriff Peter Paterson that the sentence was a direct alternative to custody.

The 44-year-old, of Howden Road, Jedburgh, admitted threatening or abusive behaviour, arguing with his wife and preventing her from leaving the house at Priors Meadow, Jedburgh, on April 19.

Defence solicitor Susan Gibson said the couple had reconciled.

VICTIM LEFT UNCONSCIOUS

A debt left a woman without a tooth and a man unconscious.

Darren Jones, 36, of Browns Cottage, Jedburgh, admitted assaulting a man, punching him on the head and causing him to fall to the ground, rendering him unconscious, at a house at Williams Close in the town on March 27 last year.

The accused also pleaded guilty to assaulting a woman, punching her on the head to her injury.

“He went to the house over a debt,” explained procurator fiscal Graham Fraser.

“The lady lost a front tooth and the man suffered a fractured right eye socket,” he added.

Defence lawyer Rory Bannerman said his client had acted completely out of character, adding: “One injury was intentional and the other unintentional, as the lady tried to intervene.”

Sheriff Peter Paterson told Jones: “I take into account your previous good character in imposing a community payback order.

“If you had had any sign of a record, I may have been looking at something different,” he warned.

The order was for 80 hours of unpaid work, to be completed within six months.

HUSBAND GOT THE BOOT

A wife who assaulted her husband with a boot was fined £150.

Alison Hume, 38, of Rachel Drive, Berrywell, Duns, admitted punching her husband and striking him on the head with a boot at their home on August 2.

Her lawyer, Ross Dow, said: “This was borne out of a strained relationship, which is now at an end.”

INTERMEDIATE HEARING

A 59-year-old who denies assaulting another woman has had a further intermediate hearing set for November 2.

Marion MacNaughton, 59, of Cheviot Road, Hawick, denies deliberately barging into a woman at Cheviot Road, Hawick, on September 6.

She is due to stand trial on November 17.

ASSAULT ALLEGATION

Two Hawick women who deny an assault allegation had a further intermediate hearing set for November 2.

Ashley Gallagher, 26, of Queens Drive, and 31-year-old Lisa Sharkey, of Branxholme Road, plead not guilty to assaulting a woman at a house at Noble Place, Hawick, on August 16.

They are due to stand trial on November 17.

CONTINUED WITHOUT PLEA

A Hawick man, accused of stealing £100, has had his case continued without plea until November 2.

Michael Hill, 26, of Loan, is charged with stealing money at Howdenbank, Hawick, between January 26 and January 29.

SENTENCE DEFERRED

Sentence was deferred until November 16 for reports on Scott Grant.

The 21-year-old, of Queens Drive, Hawick, admitted committing a breach of the peace at Baker Street, Hawick, on November 2 last year. He also pleaded guilty to behaving in an aggressive manner at Sandbed, Hawick, on November 16 last year.

CANNABIS CRIME

A Hawick man was found in possession of cannabis.

Craig Robson, 22, of Wellfield Road, admitted having the illegal drug at a house at Silverbuthall Road, Hawick, and at the town’s police station on September 4.

The accused also pleaded guilty to failing to comply with a bail condition on September 3.

Sentence was deferred until November 16 for reports.

TON-UP ACCUSED

A driver accused of speeding at 100mph has had his case continued without plea until November 16.

Artur Wonsik, 37, of Colonsay Close, Edinburgh, is charged with driving a car at 100mph in a 60mph speed limit at Tower Farm, Berwickshire, on August 7.

JANUARY

TRIAL DATE

A Hawick man who denies assaulting the proprietor of an Indian restaurant will stand trial on January 12, with an intermediate hearing on November 16.

Alan King, 53, of Teviotside Terrace, is alleged to have punched the man repeatedly to the head in a racially-aggravated offence at Khans Indian, Teviot Crescent, Hawick, on September 13. He also denied racially-abusive behaviour and threatening to burn down the premises.

TOILETRIES

THIEF

A thief had sentence deferred until December 1.

Lee Wightman, 31, of Mansfield Crescent, Hawick, admitted stealing toiletries at Sainsbury’s, Commercial Road, Hawick, on July 20.

SEX

OFFENDER

Police recovered 38 movies from a laptop, showing young boys in states of undress, and young males having sex with each other.

First offender Mark Ross, 49, of Fell Court, Gateshead, appeared on indictment and admitted possession of indecent pseudo photos of children at Creel Court, St Abbs, between November 2010 and December 2013.

The court heard how police received information that someone had been accessing images of child abuse through the internet.

Hearing a previously-ordered report was not available, Sheriff Peter Paterson further deferred sentence until December 1.

Ross remains on the Sex Offenders Register.

REPORTS ORDERED

A woman who assaulted a man in Hawick had sentence deferred until December 1 for reports.

Kirsty Neilson, 31, of Hassendean Court, Hawick, admitted assaulting a man to his injury at a house at Mansfield Park on March 30.

She also pleaded guilty to assaulting a woman at Hassendean Court, Hawick, on the same date.

Football

Saturday, October 17

SPFL League Two

Annan Athletic 3-1 Queen’s Park

Arbroath 3-1 Montrose

Berwick Rangers 1-1 East Fife

Clyde 0-1 Stirling Albion

East Stirling 2-0 Elgin City

P W D L F A Pts

Annan Athletic 10 6 2 2 18 12 20

East Fife 10 5 2 3 16 8 17

Queen’s Park 10 5 0 5 15 12 15

Montrose 10 5 0 5 15 14 15

Berwick Rang 10 4 3 3 13 18 15

Elgin City 10 4 2 4 16 12 14

Clyde 10 4 2 4 11 11 14

Arbroath 10 4 1 5 13 14 13

Stirling Albion 10 3 2 5 9 13 11

East Stirling 10 3 0 7 12 24 9

Lowland League

BSC Glasgow 2-1 Vale of Leithen

Dalbeattie Star 1-0 Edinburgh City

Preston Athletic 2-0 East Kilbride

Univ of Stirling 3-0 Whitehill Welfare

P W D L F A Pts

Edinburgh City 14 11 0 3 32 18 33

East Kilbride 13 7 3 3 33 22 24

Whitehill Welf 13 7 1 5 24 15 22

Spartans 12 6 3 3 27 14 21

Stirling Univ 11 6 3 2 25 14 21

Dalbeattie Star 13 6 2 5 26 21 20

Selkirk 12 6 1 5 29 31 19

Cumbernauld 12 5 3 4 24 19 18

Gretna 2008 12 5 1 6 19 21 16

Preston Athletic 13 4 2 7 13 26 14

Gala Fairydean 11 4 1 6 19 19 13

BSC Glasgow 11 4 1 6 19 23 13

Edinburgh Univ 12 4 1 7 12 23 13

Vale of Leithen 12 3 2 7 15 26 11

Threave Rovers 11 1 0 10 11 36 3

The South Challenge Cup first round

Burntisland Shipyard 4-5 Selkirk

Coldstream 2-3 Ormiston

Duns 4-1 Craigroyston

Eyemouth United 1-7 Edinburgh University

Gala Fairydean Rovers 2-2 Heriot-Watt Univ 
Heriot-Watt won 4-3 on pens

Hawick Royal Albert 1-4 Lothian Thistle HV

Peebles Rovers 0-2 Spartans

East of Scotland League

Civil Service Strollers 5-3 Stirling Univ

Spartans 0-2 Leith Athletic

P W D L F A Pts

Leith Athletic 9 8 0 1 35 7 24

Spartans 8 6 0 2 22 15 18

Peebles Rovers 9 5 1 3 22 19 16

Lothian Th HV 6 5 0 1 25 10 15

Heriot-Watt Uni 9 4 2 3 26 24 14

Coldstream 7 4 1 2 23 20 13

CS Strollers 7 4 0 3 17 13 12

Stirling Univ 9 3 3 3 17 14 12

Tynecastle 7 4 0 3 17 19 12

Craigroyston 9 3 1 5 9 23 10

Ormiston 6 2 1 3 19 19 7

Hawick RA 6 2 1 3 10 12 7

Burntisland S 7 1 1 5 13 18 4

Duns 9 1 1 7 14 27 4

Eyemouth Utd 8 0 0 8 6 35 0

South of Scotland Cup 
first Round

Ancrum 1-7 Carluke Hearts

Avendale 0-2 Hawick Utd (aet)

Barca Milton 97 10-1 Hawick Legion

Biggar Utd 7-1 Earlston Rhymers

Coldstream Ams 1-6 Lanark Ams

Eyemouth Ams 5-1 Sporting Icapb

Forth Community 6-0 Airdrie Ebenezer

Greenlaw 2-1 Penicuik Athletic

Hawick Waverley 3-7 Danderhall MW

Lauder 1-4 Chirnside Utd

Lauriston Thistle 4-3 Tweeddale Rovers (aet)

Law Parish 1-5 East Linton

Leithen Rovers 0-2 Haddington Athletic

Musselburgh Windsor 1-3 Shotts Thistle

Newtown 1-4 Duns Reserves

Newtongrange Star A v Edinburgh Utd w/o

Peebles Ams 0-2 Langholm Legion

Pencaitland 5-2 Gordon

Shotts Victoria w/o Dunbar Athletic

Stow 3-0 Pathhead

Tranent Ams 6-0 Gala Hotspur

border amateur League

division a

West Barns Star 5-0 Jed Legion

P W D L F A Pts

Jed Legion 9 5 2 2 22 13 17

Gordon 6 5 1 0 17 7 16

West Barns 8 5 1 2 27 18 16

Stow 7 4 0 3 12 8 12

Hawick Legion 7 3 1 3 16 12 10

Langholm Leg 8 3 0 5 13 19 9

Hawick Wav 8 3 0 5 12 20 9

Greenlaw 7 2 1 4 16 15 7

Chirnside Utd 8 2 0 6 14 29 6

Leithen Rovers 6 1 2 3 11 19 5

division c

Hawick Legion Rovers 0-1 Melrose

P W D L F A Pts

Biggar Utd 7 7 0 0 30 5 21

Newtown 5 5 0 0 29 10 15

CFC Bowholm 7 4 1 2 22 17 13

Peebles Ams 6 4 0 2 18 13 12

Kelso Thistle 8 3 1 4 20 19 10

Selkirk Victoria 6 3 0 3 17 27 9

Lauder 8 2 1 5 19 24 7

Hawick LR 9 1 3 5 18 24 6

Melrose 7 1 2 4 10 23 5

St Boswells 9 1 2 6 16 37 5

fixtures

saturday, october 24

scottish cup second round (3pm)

Annan Athletic v Berwick Rangers

Brora Rangers v Arbroath

Clachnacuddin v Linlithgow Rose

Cumbernauld Colts v Auchinleck Talbot

East Fife v Stirling Albion

East Kilbride v Forres Mechanics

Edinburgh City v Buckie Thistle

Elgin City v Spartans

Formartine United v Clyde

Fort William v Cove Rangers

Huntly v East Stirling

Inverurie Loco Works v Edinburgh University

Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale v Montrose

Nairn County v Wick Academy

Stirling University v Queen’s Park

Turriff United v Fraserburgh

lowland league (3pm)

BSC Glasgow v Gala Fairydean Rovers

Vale of Leithen v Preston Athletic

east of scotland league (2.30)

Burntisland Shipyard v Hawick Royal Albert

Coldstream v Spartans

Ormiston v Heriot-Watt University

Stirling University v Tynecastle

east of scotland Qualifying Cup First Round

Civil Service Strollers v Whitehill Welfare (2.30)

Alex Jack Cup Semi-finals (2.30)

Craigroyston v Leith Athletic

Duns v Eyemouth United

Border Cup Final (2pm)

Gordon v Jed Legion (at Kelso)

Wright Cup Final (2pm)

Tweeddale Rovers v Gala Hotspur (at Innerleithen)

Collie Cup Final (2pm)

Newtown v Peebles Ams (at Stow)

border amateur League (2pm)

division a

Langholm Legion v Greenlaw

division b

Duns Reserves v Tweedmouth Ams

Earlston Rhymers v Linton Hotspur

division c

Lauder v Selkirk Victoria

rugby

saturday, october 17

Premiership

Ayr 31-8 Currie

Boroughmuir 18-31 Hawick

Gala 20-30 Stirling County

Glasgow Hawks 31-10 Selkirk

Melrose 32-21 Heriot’s

P W L D F a b pts

Ayr 7 5 2 0 221 139 7 27

Melrose 7 5 1 1 186 153 3 25

Heriot’s 7 5 2 0 179 150 4 24

Hawick 7 4 3 0 187 162 5 21

Glasgow Hawks 7 4 3 0 162 146 4 20

Boroughmuir 7 4 2 1 154 140 2 20

Currie 7 2 4 1 153 152 4 14

Stirling Co 7 2 4 1 181 220 3 13

Gala 7 2 5 0 165 198 4 12

Selkirk 7 0 7 0 122 250 4 4

National League one

Edinburgh Academical 27-13 GHA

Howe of Fife 18-10 Aberdeen Grammar

Kelso 24-27 Musselburgh

Peebles 25-20 Marr

Stewart’s Mel FP 7-17 Jed-Forest


Watsonians 37-42 Dundee HSFP

P W L D F a b pts

Marr 6 5 1 0 201 134 4 24

Watsonians 6 4 2 0 190 144 7 23

Musselburgh 6 4 2 0 188 187 4 20

Howe of Fife 6 4 2 0 152 116 3 19

Dundee HSFP 6 3 2 1 146 100 4 18

Edinburgh Ac 6 3 3 0 148 136 5 17

GHA 6 3 3 0 147 164 4 16

Aberdeen Gram 6 3 3 0 187 151 3 15

Kelso 7 2 4 1 144 238 3 13

Jed-Forest 6 2 4 0 118 146 4 12

Peebles 7 1 6 0 124 175 5 9

Stew Mel 6 2 4 0 97 151 1 9

National League two

Ardrossan Acads 78-0 Greenock Wanderers

Biggar 15-34 Whitecraigs

Falkirk 46-22 Aberdeenshire

Hamilton 98-14 Kirkcaldy

Hillh’d Jordanhill 34-24 Lasswade

Preston Lodge 7-8 Cartha Queens Park

P W L D F a b pts

Hamilton 6 6 0 0 341 108 6 30

Aberdeenshire 5 4 1 0 189 110 5 21

Falkirk 6 4 2 0 195 123 4 20

Cartha QP 6 4 2 0 126 107 4 20

Hillhead Jord 5 3 2 0 117 113 4 16

Lasswade 7 3 4 0 159 168 4 16

Whitecraigs 6 3 3 0 167 181 4 16

Preston 6 3 3 0 139 141 3 15

Ardrossan Acad 6 2 4 0 201 176 5 13

Biggar 6 2 4 0 112 220 1 9

Kirkcaldy 6 1 5 0 143 280 4 8

Greenock W 5 0 5 0 41 203 0 0

National League three

Berwick 20-19 Orkney

Dumfries Saints 22-9 Perthshire

East Kilbride 13-17 RHC

Haddington 38-19 Irvine

Livingston 24-14 Dalziel

West of Scotland 17-23 GHK

P W L D F a b pts

Dumfries 6 6 0 0 165 78 3 27

GHK 5 5 0 0 234 82 4 24

Haddington 6 4 1 1 177 111 3 21

Perthshire 6 4 2 0 168 144 3 19

Orkney 6 3 3 0 178 138 6 18

West of Scot 6 2 3 1 158 127 6 16

RHC 6 2 4 0 116 142 5 13

East Kilbride 6 1 2 3 105 104 2 12

Livingston 5 2 3 0 108 136 4 12

Berwick 6 2 3 1 85 155 0 10

*Irvine 6 1 5 0 99 223 1 3

Dalziel 6 0 6 0 80 233 0 0

*points deducted

east league one

Dunbar 43-7 Forrester

Duns 11-33 Linlithgow

Hawick Linden 10-52 Dalkeith

Murrayfield Wand 14-34 St Boswells

North Berwick 17-14 Hawick Harlequins

P W L D F a b pts

St Boswells 5 5 0 0 202 59 3 23

North Berwick 5 5 0 0 128 33 3 23

Linlithgow 4 3 1 0 103 78 1 13

Murrayfield W 5 2 3 0 113 116 4 12

Dunbar 5 2 3 0 125 121 3 11

Hawick Quins 5 2 3 0 97 101 2 10

Forrester 5 2 3 0 102 143 2 10

Dalkeith 5 2 3 0 113 130 1 9

Duns 5 1 4 0 100 147 2 6

Hawick Linden 4 0 4 0 40 195 0 0

east league two

Edinburgh Northern 12-11 Inverleith

Leith 12-30 Langholm

Liberton FP 10-24 Broughton

Ross High 13-10 Portobello FP

Trinity Acads 5-17 Penicuik

P W L D F a b pts

Penicuik 5 5 0 0 127 44 3 23

Ross High 5 4 1 0 86 85 1 17

Edinburgh Nth 5 3 2 0 112 79 4 16

Trinity Acad 5 3 2 0 106 77 2 14

Leith 5 3 2 0 108 91 2 14

Broughton 5 2 3 0 83 98 3 11

Langholm 5 2 3 0 70 87 1 9

Inverleith 5 2 3 0 60 84 1 9

Liberton FP 5 1 4 0 63 121 1 5

Portobello 5 0 5 0 66 116 3 3

east league three

Earlston 24-14 Gala YM

Edinburgh Univ Medics 48-0 Lismore

Walkerburn 0-83 RDVC

P W L D F a b pts

Earlston 5 5 0 0 224 70 5 25

Gala YM 4 3 1 0 133 61 3 15

RDVC 5 3 2 0 169 82 2 14

Lismore 5 2 3 0 122 121 4 12

EU Medics 4 2 2 0 145 78 3 11

RDVC 5 3 2 0 169 82 2 14

Queensferry 5 1 4 0 71 280 1 5

Walkerburn 4 0 4 0 35 207 0 0

fixtures

friday, october 23

national league three (7pm)

Irvine v East Kilbride

saturday, october 24

Premiership (2pm)

Boroughmuir v Stirling County

Currie v Melrose

Hawick v Glasgow Hawks

Heriot’s v Gala

Selkirk v Ayr (1.30)

national league one (2pm)

Aberdeen Grammar v Peebles

Dundee HSFP v Stewart’s Melville FP

GHA v Watsonians

Kelso v Howe of Fife

Marr v Edinburgh Academical

Musselburgh v Jed-Forest

national league two (2pm)

Aberdeenshire v Ardrossan Academicals

Greenock Wands v Biggar

Hillhead Jordanhill v Falkirk

Kirkcaldy v Preston Lodge

Lasswade v Cartha Queens Park

Whitecraigs v Hamilton

national league three (2pm)

GHK v Berwick

Dalziel v RHC

Livingston v West of Scotland

Orkney v Dumfries Saints

Perthshire v Haddington

border shield (3pm)

Duns v Langholm 
Winner has home draw for regional final

St Boswells v Hawick Harlequins

edinburgh shield (3pm)

Broughton v Linlithgow

Forrester v Penicuik

Inverleith v Murrayfield Wanderers

North Berwick v Dunbar

east league three (2pm)

Lismore v Queensferry

RDVC v Earlston

borders semi junior league (3pm)

Berwick Colts v Selkirk Youth

Bowling

BLBA

The Borders’ Ladies bowling season concluded with their annual dinner which was held in the Kingsknowes Hotel where President Jackie Ormiston presented the League trophies along with the Borders’ Tournament medals. Prizewinners:

Borders’ Ladies Bowling League 2015: Winners, Hawick BC; Runners-up, Wilton BC; Top Shot, Hawick BC.

Borders’ Tournament: Ladies Championship winner, Lauren Upton (Waverley BC); Runner-up, Alison Clarkson (Hawick BC). Pairs Championship winners, Charmaine McDougall & June Robertson (Wilton BC); Runners-up, Moira Bell & Karen Thomson (Kelso BC). Triples Championship winners, Hazel Dodds, Ibby Currie & Gloria Smith (Innerleithen BC); Runners-up, Sonia Roden, Joan Kyle & Ruth Jones (Wilton BC). Fours Championship winners, Joyce Dickey, Pat Brady, Pat Wells & Zenda Borthwick; Runners-up, Maureen Hogarth, Cathy Scott, Carla Upton & Rachael Black (Kelso BC).

President Ormiston congratulated all the winners on their achievements.

Langholm New Town

The club held its end-of-season trophy presentations in the Royal British Legion clubrooms last Saturday.

After everyone had enjoyed an excellent buffet, club president Paul Warwick presented the trophies and prizes. There then followed a friendly carpet bowling match.

Ian Scott was club champion and also won the Douglas cup for singles, and the president prize. Scott Morrison was youth champion and in the ladies competitions Sue Roebuck won the White House cup and Alison Johnstone the Bell trophy.

Teviotdale

The senior men travelled to Edinburgh to play the Bainfield club, in the Gorgie area of the capital.

After a great victory the previous Saturday, Teviotdale were well and truly beaten by 125 shots to 29. Even early in the match it was clearly seen that all rinks were struggling.

Rink scores: K. McCartney 11 M. Marshall 30; C. Rae 9 W. Borthwick 30; R. McDonald 2 B. Little 33; G. Brownlee 7 A. Brock 32.

This week the team have a local derby with their near neighbours Tweedbank.

Darts

Borders Area Association

The County Team to play at home against Greater Glasgow on Saturday, October 31.

Men’s A Team: Darren Bohme, Barry Dalgleish, Norrie Forsyth, Kevin Green, Robert Hay, Ryan Hogarth, Kevin Inglis, Richard Lackenbey, Craig Martin, Jimmy McGuigan, Callum Stewart, Chris Waddell. Men’s B Team: Jamie Aitchison, Tam Craig, Michael Culley, Ian Graham, Darren Gray, Davie McEwan. Reserves: Adam Ballantyne, Peter Craig, Keith Hood & Kevin Richardson.

Women: Irene Hogarth, Nicola Hogarth, Helen Knight, Caroline McGinn, Alison Mitchell, Janice Mitchell. Jackie Purves, Karen Riddell, Lyn Scott, Susan Smith. Reserve. Alison Burnett, Laura Virtue.

Women to be at KRBL for 10am, Men’s B Team to be there at 10.30am & Men’s A Team to be there for 1pm. Any call-offs or queries, contact Robert on 07504 493 676.

Football

Hawick Royal Albert

Hawick Royal Albert have been granted their SFA club licence at entry level.

The licence has came about due to some tremendous work from the Albert committee. Work that has seen some sweeping changes and improvements within the Albert Park ground.

From new fencing to refurbished dressing rooms to disabled facilities, including a disabled viewing area and much more.

It’s certainly all been happening and as a result, Royalists have passed the strict measures laid down by the SFA and passed detailed inspections with flying colours.

A club spokesman said: “There were a lot of policies to follow to obtain the licence.

“This has all come about through a lot of graft in all kind of ways. Getting a licence shows that the Albert are an ambitious club. Amongst the benefits gained on getting a licence is that we now go straight into the first round of the Scottish Cup and don’t need to play in preliminary matches.”

Golf

Galashiels

Seventy-six players teed up at Ladhope on Saturday for the finale of the 2015 season - the Fraser James Partnership Gala Open.

The weather was kind but, with one exception, scoring proved difficult. Bruce Currie shot an exceptional 64 which included a back nine of 30.

Bruce not only won the competition by three shots from Andy Lawrie and Wullie Simpson, but he also featured heavily in the nearest-the-hole prize list.

Many thanks to Fraser James Partnership for their continued sponsorship of this event.

Results

Scratch: 1, B. Currie 64; 2, K. W. Simpson 67; 3, D. G. Gillie 68; 4, C. Finlay 69; 5, D. J. Gillie 71; 6, S. Robertson 73; 7, S. Nightingale 75.

Handicap: 1, A. Lawrie 67 (1) 66; 2=, M. Niven 73 (5) 68; B. Barnard 78 (10) 68; S. Scott 78 (10) 68; D. Hancock 80 (12) 68; 6, D. Clyne 81 (12) 69; 7, G. Lawrie 82 (11) 71 BIH.

John Scott (Plumbing & Heating) Seniors’ Winter League: Winner, P. Seggie 36 BIH.

Kelso

The first leg of the Belhaven Shield took place with the winner being Peter Wilson with 41 points and Bill Hastie second with 40 points.

The first Sunday winter competition was a Texas Scramble on October 11. The winners were Tony Pringle, Mark Cowe, Michael Purves and Jimmy Green, 60 (6.4) 53.6, with Gordon Welsh, Les Murray, Dougie Wilson and Jim Henderson, 60 (6) 54.

The Ladies Thistle Brooches Greensomes were also played. The winners were Dawn Tomlinson and Doreen Pringle with Lena Anderson and Isobel Boyd in second place.

The final Ladies competition of the summer season was played on Sunday, October 11, and the winner of the CBAH Margaret Fletcher Quaich was Karina Wilson with 35 points with Margaret Wilkinson in second place with 32 points (BI6). After play, the remaining presentations for the season took place. Leanne Wilson was presented with the Thomson Trophy for the knockout singles with Margaret Wilkinson the runner up. The knockout doubles for the Foursomes Trophy was won by Ann Wild and Laura Mathewson who beat Dawn Tomlinson and Lynne Flannigan in the final. This year the Eclectic was won by Sharon Paterson with Leanne Wilson the runner up. The Handicap Trophy for the best two scores from the spring, summer and autumn stroke competitions was presented to Dawn Tomlinson with Leanne Wilson in second place. Ann Wild was winner of the SLGA Silver Medal and Doreen Pringle the SLGA Bronze Medal. The Birdie Tree was won this season by Leanne Wilson from Sharon Paterson in second place and the Par Tree (bronze) was won by Doreen Pringle from Karina Wilson in second place. The Birdie Tree and Par Tree competitions were sponsored by Dawn Tomlinson.

The Seniors singles knockout match play for the George Robson trophy was won by Ron Scott, with Ian Thompson the runner up. The Seniors mixed foursomes knockout match play for the Dave Cowe Quaich was won by Mel Ross and Dawn Tomlinson winning against Grahame Webb and George Paterson in the final. The final results for the Summer Points League for the John Brooks Trophy resulted in Allan Lauder being the overall winner with 155 points, Bert Taylor was second with 148 points, Willie Redpath was third with 147 points and Lynn Small was fourth on 144.

Rugby

Earlston

The game at the Haugh was a typical Borders derby, scrappy at times, ferocious at others, and two teams fired up for a win.

Straight from Earlston’s kick-off, Gala gave away a penalty which Scott Bell converted but only minutes later the visitors added a similar effort following an offside offence.

Three minutes later it was the Gala side who were caught wandering, allowing Craig Lawrie to slot a long-range penalty goal to edge his team ahead once more.

Some poor tackling by the hosts allowed Gala to score the games first try in the corner and, right on the 40-minute mark, Bell slotted his team’s third penalty to close the gap to 11-9 in favour of the visitors at half-time.

YM added another penalty just after the restart and a spell of stalemate ensued as both teams looked for that final push.

And it was Earlston that pushed the hardest. After some great defence by both teams the hosts received a lineout eight metres out and a good catch by Matt Henry set up a maul which was driven over at speed for Pie McDougal to score. Bell slotted the conversion before adding another penalty.

On the last play of the game YM won a scrum on their own five metre line but, now playing with their tales up, Earlston took a strike against the head and Darren Cessford scored in corner to deny Gala a losing bonus point. F/T Earlston 24, Gala YM 14.

Another good display by the Earlston lads to make it five out of five in the league. Their next outing sees them away to RDVC.

Hawick Linden

Injuries and unavailability resulted in an understrength Linden team slumping to their fourth consecutive league defeat of the season with a 52-10 home loss to Dalkeith.

Seven players made their first appearance of the League campaign with debutants Aiden Fairbairn and Liam Sharkey giving determined performances.

An early converted try for the visitors was responded to when Steven Beattie stroked over a penalty goal. Two more converted touchdowns stretched the Dalkeith lead to 21-3 as the strong running of their centres in particular was cutting holes in the Linden defence not helped by some poor tackling.

Dalkeith had secured the try bonus point before adding a fifth on the stroke of half-time to leave the Linden 33-3 in arrears at the break.

The Linden could not capitalise on a yellow card for one of the visitors’ forwards with no scoring during his 10-minute break. Once back to a full complement Dalkeith showed great hands when attacking from their own 22 for a cracking length-of-the -field try.

The Linden secured their only touchdown of the day when, following a line out catch and drive, hooker Peter Drysdale came on a short ball to stroll over and under the posts for Beattie to convert.

The home joy didn’t last long as Dalkeith went up the other end to score another try.

The Linden couldn’t prevent the visitors from adding to their total, resulting in the home team leaking over 50 points for the third time this season.

The Linden forwards stuck in well against a big pack with Simon Spalding and Barrie Keown showing up well. Ryan Hamilton did admirably filling in at stand-off whilst Will Barker and Euan Hair never gave up in the centre against slick opposite numbers.

Langholm

Langholm gained their most impressive win for some time when running out 30-12 victors against Leith last Saturday.

The result was rarely in doubt as Langholm controlled the game up front, with the back row trio of Elliot Little, Scott Howatson and Jaimie Ashton- Smith always to the fore.

Howatson decided to return to action after not playing during last season and this was his first time out in the present campaign and was a big plus to the side and secured plenty lineout ball.

Langholm went in front with a Niall Cubbon penalty goal after 13 minutes, but the home side hit back with a try from a fortunate bounce, then another from a lineout attack, and one conversion made it 12-3. Cubbon kicked a brace of penalties for Langholm and then Howatson surged over for a try which the former converted and it was 12-16 at half time.

Langholm dominated up front in the second half and secured tries from forwards Smith and Callum Bell, both converted by Cubbon, who had a red letter day with the boot.

Langholm went down to 13 at one stage with both Howatson and Stuart Hagen in the sin-bin, but they held out against home attacks.

This away win for Langholm moves them away from the relegation zone up to seventh in the league.

Squash

Galashiels

Club Championship 1/4 Finals: John Sharratt 3-0 Ruaridh Kohler (9-4, 9-3, 9-5).

Ladies Semi-Final: Jane Logan 3-2 Sandra McCutcheon (3-9, 5-9, 9-6, 9-6, 9-4).

Club night friendlies: D. Sharratt 2-0 J. Barrow; P. Spence 2-0 C. Saetre; R. Kohler 2-0 S. Hale; P. Spence 2-0 D. Sharratt; R. McAleese 2-1 D. Quinn; J. Barrow 2-0 C. Saetre; R. Kohler 2-0 S. Hale; P. Spence 2-0 S. Hale; R. Kohler 1-1 A. Gill; D. Sharratt 2-1 R. McAleese; P. Spence 2-0 J. Barrow; D. Quinn 2-0 C. Saetre; D. Sharratt 2-0 C. Saetre.

Stock Cars

Cowdenbeath Racewall

Formula II driver Paul Reid somehow managed to get his car into take-off mode at the Cowdenbeath Racewall on Saturday night when he took avoiding action to miss a spinning car.

However all that happened was that his car hit a marker tyre and clambered up and almost over it, coming to rest at a 45 degree angle off the track.

Although Holly Glen led the formula II Dash for the Cash race, it was Chris Burgoyne who ended up with the money then went on to win a heat then the Grand National.

In the saloons, Alex Cunningham was forced wide on the last bend of the White/yellow final challenge race by Kyle Hegg who just managed to stay ahead on the run to the finish line.

Formula II driver Paul Moss just made it to the track in time for the meeting, having had mechanical troubles with the van before getting caught up in traffic problems. Other visitors to the track were John Broatch whilst Robbie Dawson was making a rare appearance from Crimond. Local driver in action was Brian Hogg Jnr (Berwick) and whilst he was on the grid for the RS Motorsport-sponsored Dash for the Cash race, pulled out when the car cut out and wouldn’t restart.

Although Hogg was back out he struggled with a mechanical problem and wasn’t classified in any of his races.

The final weekend of the season brings the cream of the saloon drivers from England and Northern Ireland to the Racewall where they will contest the saloon Superbowl on Saturday night where Stuart Shevill Jnr will be hoping to defend his title. A couple of weeks ago his saloon was badly damaged in a spectacular shunt and he is spending as much time as possible to get his car ready. However with the likes of David Aldous, Eddie Darby, Danny Colliver and a host more heading to the Racewall, he has a formidable task on his hands. Also in action on Saturday will be the formula IIs who have their Champion of Champions race and the James Clarke Cochrane Memorial trophy to defend, the ministox and the microf2s.

On Sunday the saloons have the Gordon Barclay Memorial trophy and a Dash for the Cash race, the stock rods their Turner trophy and they are backed by the 1300cc saloons, prostox and the microf2s.

On Saturday the meeting starts at 5pm whilst on Sunday the meeting starts at 1pm,

However, there are roadworks planned at the Forth Bridge, so allow extra time for the journey or take an alternative route.

Swimming

Duns ASC

A small contingent of Duns ASC swimmers made the short journey across the Borders to compete in The Galashiels Centenary Meet. Whilst the numbers were small, the results were huge with the 10 Duns swimmers gathering 14 Gold, 5 Silver and 11 Bronze individual medals. The first event, 100 IM, saw Duns off to a flying start with Golds for James Thompson (15) , Ellenor Gracey (15) and Rachael Dawson (11), Silver for Gaby Gracey (12) and Bronze for Matthew Dawson (13).

Just outside the medals were Kirsten Bennet and Mhari Howey, both registering over 17 second time improvements. Next up was Back Crawl with youngsters Tilly Lakie (9) registering Gold and Alfie Gracey (10) Silver. Ellenor, James and Rachael all picked up a second Gold apiece with Gaby, Matthew and Jake Wright (14) picking up Bronze. The last event of the morning session was Breast Stroke and the Duns swimmers were not letting up. James delivered yet another individual Gold, Gaby and Alfie achieved Silver and it was bronze for Tilly, Rachael and Matthew.

Altogether a great day out with fantastic swimming from Duns and the other Border teams. Thank you to Galashiels ASC for inviting the Dingers to celebrate their 100-year anniversary with them.

Gala ASC

Reaching the milestone of becoming 100 years “young” is a great achievement for any club these days and Gala ASC did just that when it held its Centenary Meet at the Galashiels Swimming Pool on October 18. This was the first time in over 9 years that the Gala club had held its very own competition and although it was new territory for the Club committee it would be fair to say that it was a resounding success both in and out of the water.

Over 80 Swimmers from Kelso, Duns, Eyemouth, Hawick & Teviotdale, Peebles and Gala converged on the Gala Swimming Pool and over 2 full sessions delivered a feast of swimming at the highest level across all age groups.

The aim of the competition was to encourage as many of the younger swimmers from all the Borders Clubs to swim in a competition environment, many for the first time, whilst also allowing the more senior members to show off their skills, and at the end of the day no one was left disappointed.

The Gala Squad did themselves proud with over 28 competitors collecting over 80 medals and countless PBs throughout the day across all stroke and age group disciplines, a truly remarkable achievement by any standard.

Gala ASC would like to thank all the competing clubs and officials who readily gave up their personal time to make the day a success and in particular RP Adam, JRW and Ian Hall for sponsoring the medals on the day. However, a massive thank you must go to our fantastic committee members for all their hard work in helping deliver a great competition to help mark the Clubs centenary millstone.

Craig Joubert’s decision to award a penalty against Scotland in the final minutes of their Rugby World Cup quarter-final against Australia broke a nation’s heart.

This was the view, among thousands, of Borders’ international referee Malcolm Changleng having had time to reflect on an epic game which saw the Scots beaten by a single point.

“It is clear that Joubert was wrong in his key decision making,” said the Galashiels whistler who officiated at the 2007 RWC in France.

“It was drilled in to us then that you do not give penalties in the last five minutes that are 50-50 calls. You needed to be 100% sure of the penalty. In this instance Joubert has broken a nation’s heart because he panicked under pressure and forgot this basic principle.”

Scotland were leading by a point when Jon Welsh was ruled deliberately offside in the 78th minute for playing the ball after a knock-on by a team-mate. Joubert awarded the penalty, which Bernard Foley kicked to win the game, but World Rugby said the Wallabies should have been awarded a scrum instead because their scrum-half Nick Phipps had touched the ball.

After the match, Scotland coach Vern Cotter said the television match official (TMO) “would have taken away any doubt”. But World Rugby regulations only permit the use of the TMO on foul play or to determine the legitimacy of tries and kicks.

Mr Changleng continued: “He was right not to go to the TMO but wrong in his decision making process.

“I would argue that he could have bought himself time by asking for a TMO review because the Australian line-out players touched the Scottish lifters instigating a review for potential foul play. As a TMO, you would dismiss this as not having a material effect on the Scottish lifting, but Joubert could have seen the big screen reviews and restarted the game with an Australian scrum.

“Unfortunately, we will never know the outcome of the potential last Australian attacking play,” he concluded.

ASHKIRK

Parish church

The church will host a soup and pudding lunch on October 24 (noon-2pm) in the village hall. Cost – £5 adults, £2.50 children. The harvest thanksgiving will be held in the church on October 25 at noon. Canned and dried food, and money for the foodbank welcome.

caddonfoot

Parish church

The Reverend Duncan McCosh, retired minister of St Peter’s Episcopal Church in Galashiels, conducted the morning service on Sunday. Mr McCosh was standing in for the Reverend Elspeth Harley who is recovering after breaking her hip while on holiday in Germany. It was a pleasure to see Mrs Harley and her husband, Ewen, attending the service. The Bible reading was delivered by Fay Brydon and Dorothy Howden played the organ. In the World Council of Churches’ Prayer Cycle, prayers were said for the people of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, as well as those at home. There is a hamper in the vestibule for gifts for the annual sale of work in the Volunteer Hall, Galashiels, on Saturday, October 31. This hamper will be removed next Sunday. There will be a choir social in Trinity on Friday, October 30, at 7 pm. It is hoped Caddonfoot members will attend. Tickets, priced £4, are available from choir members. The next meeting of the congregational board, due to be held today (Thursday), has been postponed.

EARLSTON

Parish church

The October 25 service is at 10.15am and will be conducted by the Reverend Julie Woods. November 1 is the last day to hand in filled shoeboxes for Blythswood into the church. The congregational board meet on November 2 at 7.30pm in the church hall lounge. Services on November 3 at Grangehall (2pm) and Hanover (3pm, communion). The traditional praise service will be on November 22 – pass any favourite hymn requests to Julie.

Women’s group

The next meeting is on November 5 at 8pm in the church hall and the speaker is from Border Blooms in Kelso. The menu for the Christmas meal at Rhymers Tower on December 4 will be available to choose from.

Wednesday club

The latest meeting was opened by hostess Mrs C. Seaton who gave a special welcome to some of the original members from the first meeting in 1970. She then introduced Stuart Anderson who entertained his audience with music and stories. The cake was cut by Mrs D. Kilmartin, an original member who has just celebrated her 90th birthday. She was ably supported by six other ladies who are also all over 90. Competition – Border photograph – 1, Mrs G. Forsyth; 2, Mrs S. Donaldson; 3, Mrs W. Henderson. The next meeting is on October 28. Competition – preserves jar/jam pot or dish.

Ettrickbridge

Interest Talk

Kirkhope parish hall will host an Interest Talk on October 29 at 7.30pm when Philip Grant speaks about his RAF experience and flying with British Airways.

SWI

At the AGM the following office bearers were elected: President - Isla Young, Vice-president - Marion McNeill, Secretary - Joyce Black, Treasurer - Jean Guthrie. Isla reported on the year’s activities, including the recent 90th birthday. She thanked the previous office bearers and wished the new ones well. The cup for most points went to Alison Blackadder; 2 (equal), Isla Young and Celia Wilson. Competitions – autumn photo – 1, Rosalin Scott; 2, Ruth Scott; 3, Alison Blackadder; flask of soup – 1, Ruth Scott; 2, Rosalin Scott; 3, Isla Young. The next meeting is a cookery demonstration on November 11 with Caroline Tullie. Visitors welcome.

galashiels

Studio Club

October 29 – afternoon session with Marion Neilson on “Create a clay candle holder” in St Paul’s Church hall, Scott Street, from 2.15 pm until about 4pm. New members always welcome. Enquiries – 01896 820023.

Trinity church

Sunday’s service was taken by the Reverend Duncan McCosh, with Dorothy Howden leading the music and Marette Hose reading the lessons. The service was followed by a soup lunch in the church hall which was attended by about 30 people and which raised £126 for church funds. The choir are having a social on Friday, October 30, starting at 7pm. Tickets, priced £4m can be bought from choir members. Blythswood shoeboxes must be returned by Sunday, October 25.

Table tennis

See Kelso district.

glendouglas

Whist

Whist drive results – ladies – 1, Maureen Gibson; 2, Hannah Wilson; 3, Greta Middlemas; booby – Evelyn Taylor; gents – 1, Christine Ballantine; 2, Peter Hedley; 3, Ray Buccanan; booby – Marion Thompson.

hawick

Rotary

Callants’ Club member Derrick Tait gave a video presentation on an emotive trip to Gallipoli on the centenary of that fateful campaign. Several members of the party were direct descendants of the men who succumbed in the battle. About 200,000 from both sides were killed, reported missing or injured, of which 132 were Teris. Due respects were paid at the 11 known graves of Hawick men as the rest were lost without trace. Many questions ensued, after which president Mairhi Trickett gave the vote of thanks.

Table tennis

See Kelso district.

hownam

Towford SWI

Yvonne Eade demonstrated some simple, but delicious, Chinese recipes. She was assisted by her husband, Oliver. A tasting session followed each recipe. Yvonne and Oliver fundraise for the Sick Children’s Hospital in Edinburgh and all donations for their cookery demonstrations go to this cause. Competition – flower arrangement in a wine glass – 1, Mary Towers; 2, Jean Douglas. The next gathering is the annual business meeting on November 3 at 7.30pm. Speaker is Margaret Rustad.

Innerleithen

Church

There will be a communion service in Innerleithen Church on Sunday, October 25, at 11.30 am.

jedburgh

Table tennis

See Kelso district.

Churches Together

On October 25 at 12.30pm in the Church of Kenmore Halls is the culmination of One World Week, with a soup and roll lunch to mark One World Sunday and also the opportunity to support Mary’s Meals, a Scottish-based charity in Dalmally help to feed up to a million children in Africa. Speaker is John Helliwell from Linlithgow who will give a visual presentation of the work of the charity.

St John’s Church

The church held a well-attended autumn concert last Sunday when two guest artistes, Anna Solth (organ) and Joanna Nicholson (clarinet), joined the choir in a programme of musical treats, from the classical to Gershwin and Scott Joplin, concluding with a selection of Scottish songs. Following refreshments, donations were received towards choir expenses. October 25 is Bible Sunday, and will be led by the Reverend John Evans at 9am and 10.30am. The next vestry meeting is on October 25 at 7pm.

kelso

Table tennis

Kelso youth project’s Borders Table Tennis Challenge Cup tournament is on November 7 at the town’s high school games hall, with registration from 12.30 pm. To obtain a registration form, email ian at ianrendallreid@cheviotyouth.co.uk. For further information, ring Ian on 07958 277766.

kelso

Bridge club

October 14 – Abbey Salver – N/S – 1, Joyce Thomson & Helenor Pratt; 2, Jean McLaren & Alison Ireland; 3, Dominic & Diana Alkin; E/W – 1, Chris Anthony & Mary Stone; 2, Lynda Douglas & Lesley Dick; 3, Jean Henry & Myra Thomson. October 15 – Calchou Cup – 1, Bob Stevenson & Lee Leeson; 2, Keith Ackerman & Jim Stone; 3, Dominic & Diana Alkin; 4, John Urquhart & Nancy Porter; 5, Maureen Weightman & Lesley Dick; 6, Alison Darling & Mary Logan.

Concert

A concert with the Oxnam Valley Voices, conducted by Jamie McKenzie, will be held in Kelso North Church on Friday, October 23, at 7.30 pm to raise funds for Marie Curie.

Sale

Plexus Social Club is running a table-top sale for the charities the firm is supporting this year (Noah’s Ark at BGH, and Connor’s Journey – Stand Tall) at the Tait Hall on October 24. Set-up for sellers from 9am. Tables cost £10 each – double tables available. Open to the public from 10am-2pm. For more information, contact Nicki Humphreys (Nicki.Humphreys@plexus.com or 07884 397 546).

Farmers’ market

A farmers’ market will take place in The Square on October 24 (9.30am-1.30pm), featuring food demonstrations by two local chefs.

lauder

Community centre

Due to generosity and hard work of local groups, customers and the Weir Trust, particulary a sponsored spinathon in April which raised £2,000 and a grant from trust, Lauder Community and Leisure Centre has just taken delivery of a new treadmill, free weights, two bars and a bench, all for the gym.

As a thank you for their spinathon support, participating charities were handed back 50% of their sponsorship earnings. A quiz night at the beginning of October realised just under £500. The centre will be closed for the festive season from December 18-January 4. It will start 2016 with an offer for new members – six weeks membership for the price of four. This will run until February 29. Apart from the gym, the centre hosts a range of classes and Careen Paterson, in-house trainer, offers a range of services, from fitness assessments to diet and exercise plans, and personal goal settings. Contact the centre for further information.

AGM

New members will welcome at the AGM of the Lauderdale News to be held in the Town Hall on Monday, October 26, at 7pm.

melrose

Winter Talks

The first of a new series of Greener Borders Winter Talks will take place on October 22 (7.30pm) in the Ormiston Rooms. Speaker is Michael van Beinum, of Borders Organic Gardeners, on “Environmental Ethics and Climate Change: different ways to think about the good life”.

Border Flower Club

Members were once more in the awards lists at the Scottish Association of Flower Arrangers’ Show which was held at Stirling. Marion Hamilton won first in the class “In and Out”. She also won the Flower Arrangers’ Award for this class. Julia Loudon was commended for the “Bonnie Wee Thing” class. The October meeting had a most interesting title, “Designs by Nature”, when Elizabeth Paterson took members through topics of nature, starting with stone and the part it plays in our world. The farm was next, using a milk churn as her container, and golden beech and a variety of white flowers denoting the sheep. The hedgerow then brought many different textures with berries in a woven basket with sunflowers and Achillea. A huge glass bowl filled with shells and stones took us to the beach, the white chrysanths and white larkspur representing the surf. Her final design was with exotic flowers, showing the fantastic colours and foliage from other countries. Next meeting is on November 4 in the Corn Exchange, Melrose, at 7.30pm. There is a change of demonstrator due to Gill Garrow being unable to come due to an accident. But Linda Souter has come to the rescue.

Literary society

At its next meeting on October 27, Melrose Literary Society will be addressed by Robert Leach on the theatre and the Scottish Enlightenment. He has written books, poems and plays and worked as a theatre director, as well as having been a senior lecturer at the University of Edinburgh. He lives in Selkirk. The meeting will be in the Ormiston Lounge at 7.30pm.

Parish church

Autumnal sunshine greeted worshippers at Bowden and Melrose. October 25 services at Bowden (9.30am) and Melrose (11am) with, at noon, Macmillan coffee morning after church. Shoebox appeal deadline November 1, Poppy collectors phone 822349, foodbank ongoing, November 8, Holy Trinity, 7.30pm, Abbey Consort, Remembrance.

Trimontium

October brings holidaymakers from school – usually in different weeks – as well as visitors taking a late autumn holiday. This may mean extended business for visitor attractions, but also people just “down for the day” and happy to wander the streets and window shop. Visitors who live near a Roman or native site themselves often come in to see what the Trimontium presentation looks like, compare notes with what they know already and leave a greeting in the visitors’ book. Some years ago a couple from Italy left their mark with “I Romani sono ritornati” – the Romans have returned. Recently there was a couple from Viroconium (Wroxeter), proud of the high-standing wall at their site in the Midlands; a girl and her mum from Aachen, near the Dutch/German border (she translated for her mother) who left us a message from Varnenum, the Roman site there; and a couple from Forres, who had taken part in the Birnie (two hoards) dig near Elgin and were worried about the future of their local museum which had had its annual cash grant withdrawn. Trimontium has never been involved in such dependence. Colchester lecture – Thursday, October 22, 7.30pm.

Rotary

Speaker at last week’s meeting of the Rotary Club of Melrose was Simon Wallace, newly-appointed fundraiser for Borders Pet Rescue Centre. The members were impressed with the work which the small, but vital, animal charity manages to carry out with relatively meagre resources. Stories such as Mitzi the Dog and Petal the Kitten brought home the need for such charities and how neglected animals can be happily restored to good health and found loving owners. On Saturday some of the members were active in Melrose selling tickets for the Christmas raffle which, among other charities, will help to fund the Melrose Christmas parade on Saturday, December 12. Rotarians are grateful to all who supported them by buying tickets and to Rhymers Fayre for the welcome cups of coffee.

Morebattle

Badminton

The badminton season will get under way on October 26 at 7pm in the village hall. New members welcome.

Turn to page 38

From page 37

Indoor bowls

Indoor bowls start on October 30 at 7pm in the village hall.

SWI

A talk on Breadshare Bakery took place when members enjoyed tasting different loaves of bread. The vote of thanks was given by Janette Stenhouse. Competitions – two cheese scones – 1, Linda Nairn; 2, Margaret Blackmore; 3, Helen Cessford. Rolling pin – 1, Mary Pringle; 2, Grace Cessford; 3, Margaret Blackmore. Arrangements were made for all entries, sales table items, scones and tray bakes for teas to be with Mary Pringle and Helen Cessford by October 29 in connection with the forthcoming SWI show to be held on October 30 and 31 at Springwood Park, Kelso.

peebles

Table tennis

See Kelso district.

ROXBURGH

Sale

A table-top sale of crafts, home baking, used toys, second-hand and vintage items will be held in Roxburgh village hall on October 25 (noon-3pm).

selkirk

Pop-up shop

Ettrick Valley committee of Macmillan Cancer Support will have a pop-up shop at Jenny Muir’s in High Street on October 24 (9am-4pm). There will be Christmas cards and gifts, as well as home baking for sale.

SWI

On November 6 and 7, Selkirkshire SWI is hosting the national drama competition in the Victoria Halls. The Anstruther Gray Trophy for this competition was donated many years ago by a former chairman and is competed for annually by institutes from across the country. There will be three short plays on the Friday evening, starting at 7pm, and five on the Saturday, beginning at 2pm. Tickets are available in advance from 01750 62219 or can be purchased at the door – £9 for both days or £6.50 for a single day. On November 21, also at the Victoria Halls, the federation show opens at 2.30pm. All six institutes will compete for trophies and there will be afternoon teas, sales table and raffle.

Table tennis

See Kelso district.

ST BOSWELLS

Exhibition

St Boswells Parish Community Council will be hosting a small exhibition of local memorabilia from the First and Second World Wars in the village hall after the Armistice Day Parade on November 8. It also provides an opportunity for local residents to view and comment on plans for the proposed relocation of the village war memorial. This is something that has been discussed for over 20 years and, after considerable consultation, planning permission has been approved by Scottish Borders Council to move it to a more central and safely accessible location within the village. However, the community council does not wish to proceed until villagers have had the opportunity to see artist’s impressions of the memorial on its new site and provide their feedback. Specific funding sources for projects such as this are available and will be approached to cover the cost of dismantling, rebuilding and landscaping, so that money is not being diverted from core Scottish Borders Council provision, such as social care or education. An additional advantage of the proposed new site is that it would enable local schoolchildren to once again be involved in caring for the memorial, as was originally intended when it was first erected in 1920. This lapsed many years ago and the school has expressed interest in reinstating the arrangement, being of both educational and social value, but it is not safe to do so in its present location. Refreshments will be available in aid of village hall funds.

stow

AGM

The arrival of the railway from Edinburgh to Tweedbank has added impetus to the Campaign for Border Rail’s drive to extend the former Waverley line to Hawick and beyond. For the first time, members will be able to travel by train to the AGM which will be held in Stow Town Hall on Saturday, October 24, at 6 pm. Among the speakers will be Hugh Wark, who was project manager for the new railway. Simon Walton is standing down as chairman due to work commitments south of the border, while other positions also have to be filled. There will be a raffle and doors open at 5pm.

Traquair

Service

There will be a communion service in Traquair Kirk on Sunday, October 25, at 10am.

Walkerburn

Service

The next service in Walkerburn Public Hall will be on Sunday, November 8, at 10am.

yarrow

Whist

The annual church whist drive will be held in Yarrowfeus Hall on Monday, October 26, at 7pm. The event is in aid of the church fabric fund.

yetholm

Morgan and West

Due to a boiler breakdown in the Wauchope Hall, this event, which was to have been held on October 31, has been postponed.

Surgery

Local councillor Simon Mountford will be in the Youth Hall on October 24 (10-11am) to meet with local constituents.

Guild

Yetholm Guild opens the new season on October 27 at 2.30pm in Yetholm Church when the speaker will be the Reverend Robin McHaffie. New members welcome.

Community council

Members meet on October 27 at 7pm in the Youth Hall. This meeting will also include a festival meeting at 7.30pm.

Quiz night

A quiz will be held on October 28 at 8pm in the Plough. Proceeds to the Bonfire night.

Dog fouling

Dog fouling continues to be an issue. Residents are urged to port any incidents witnessed to Scottish Borders Council or the police.

Most of us accept – albeit sometimes grudgingly – that we have to cough up for council tax.

It helps pay for services such as roads, street lighting, education, social care etc. etc.

The councillors we elect are charged with administering this hard-earned cash – and when citizens fail to pay their council tax, for whatever reason, it makes life tougher for Scottish Borders Council.

Therefore, we suspect that some Borderers will be more than a tad annoyed when they read on page 3 of today’s Southern that 13 reminder letters for non-payment of this tax were sent out to local councillors in the five years from 2010 to 2014.

And it doesn’t look like we’ll discover who the culprits are. In a response to a Freedom of Information request, a spokesperson at council HQ in Newtown says because this information is “of a personal nature”, the tardy ones won’t be named.

This is certainly not the example to set for voters – including those struggling to pay their council tax.

Or is it more of a case of do as I say, not as I do?

Police Scotland’s outgoing chief constable has criticised Scottish Borders Licensing Board for breaching its own policies when granting extensions to permitted drinking hours.

In his annual report to tomorrow’s board meeting, Sir Stephen House notes: “In recent months, Police Scotland has submitted objections to the board in relation to a variety of applications, often citing the board’s policy as a reason for the representation.

“Unfortunately, the board has decided to grant a number of these licences which are clearly in breach of its policy.

“This has been disappointing as it provides a precedent for other applicants to submit applications outwith the policy.”

Sir Stephen’s rebuke will doubtless resonate with the 10-member board tomorrow when it convenes at Newtown and considers a bid from a Hawick licensee for a 3am extension on Friday and Saturday, October 30 and 31.

Neil Gillies of Base Nightclub in Baker Street says he needs the extra hour to cater for a Halloween party, with live music, DJs and special events.

In his application, he explains that outwith the town’s common riding, and Christmas and New Year, Halloween has grown into his busiest entertainment weekend.

Mr Gillies will be looking for consistency among the councillors who granted him a 3am extension during the common riding weekend in June.

But the police have again objected, citing the board’s policy which states that, with the exception of the university town of Galashiels, drinking hours beyond 2am will only be granted “in exceptional circumstances”.

“Furthermore, given the town centre location of the premises [Base] and the increased consumption of alcohol, there is potential for disturbance to residents nearby with alcohol-fuelled violence, noise and antisocial behaviour while the premises are open and during dispersal,” writes Chief Inspector Andrew McLean.

In his report for 2014/15, Sir Stephen says his force is “committed to reasonable and safe drinking”.

He reveals that in the year to March 31, 2015, there had been 85 incidents in the Borders involving violence in or near licensed premises, including three serious assaults and two incidents involving offensive weapons.

Over the year, officers had received 28 reports from the public of excessive noise at licensed premises.

On a positive note, only two people were charged over the year with buying alcohol for minors and, of 26 test purchasing “sting” operations, there had been no failures.

“On every occasion when premises successfully pass this test, a letter is sent congratulating licensees and their staff,” states the report.

In the five years from 2010 to 2014 inclusive, Scottish Borders Council sent out 13 reminder letters for non-payment of Council Tax – to its own elected members.

A Freedom of Information response from Newtown declines to name the councillors who were in arrears, claiming this is information “of a personal nature”.

It does, however, confirm the political affiliations of the tardy payers.

In 2010, one Independent councillor received a reminder; in 2011, two Conservatives and a Lib Dem got letters; in 2012, two Conservatives, one Lib Dem and one Independent were in arrears; in 2013, it was two Conservatives and one Lib Dem; and in 2014, the sole recipient was a Conservative councillor.

So far this year, no reminder letters have been sent to elected members.

The council says that all Council Tax due by councillors has been fully collected and no councillor has been banned from attending meetings for being more that two months in arrears.

This week’s DVD release is Jurassic World, the long-awaited fourth instalment in the series of modern-day dinosaur movies which started with Jurassic Park some 22 years ago.

Although the newest episode suffers by comparison to that original Spielberg classic, it still provides plenty of brainless fun.

The film is set many years after the disastrous events of Jurassic Park. Undaunted by that early tragedy, the money men have decided that creating a dinosaur-based theme park still makes good business sense and in Jurassic World they’ve gone large, creating a spectacular tropical island packed with prehistoric attractions.

In addition to free-roaming dinosaurs, they’ve got shark-munching super fish, flocks of flying lizards and a group of raptors being trained by Hollywood’s hottest action hero, Chris Pratt. He plays Owen Grady, a wise-talking wildlife expert who has a strained relationship with park operations manager Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard).

As if normal dinosaurs aren’t dangerous enough, boffins have created a super-creature capable of slaughtering with even more efficiency, as it proves when it gets its claws on some humans. Cue mayhem in the park as things get messy and our heroes fight for survival.

Director Colin Trevorrow hasn’t moved too far from the formula which made Jurassic Park such a success and although that makes for a predictable film, it is entertaining.

The film lacks inventiveness but somewhat makes up for it in scale, offering big action set pieces which leave very few dull moments.

The characters battling for survival are pretty flimsy, but there are some strong central performances, not least from Pratt, who continues to thrive as a likeable lead. He is just about charismatic enough to carry the movie.

Jurassic World doesn’t offer viewers anything new, and lacks a lot of the charm which made the first film such a classic. However, as far as blockbusters go it’s an entertaining enough trip into a world of terrible lizards.

Visitors to the Tweed Valley Forest Festival (October 23 to November 1) will be in for a treat as the top three chainsaw carvers from this year’s Scottish championships join expert exponents of the skill from around the UK for the first Carvefest event this weekend.

A special part of the festival’s 10th anniversary celebrations, Carvefest will see a dozen carvers work on their own large-scale sculptures using sections of spruce trees harvested from the nearby Tweed Valley Forest Park. The chainsaw carvers will be busy creating their works of art from 10.30am to 4.30pm on Saturday, and again from 10.30am on Sunday at Tweed Green, Peebles – culminating in a public auction of their creations at 3pm on Sunday.

Throughout the weekend they will also be selling carvings that they have made previously. Commissions will also be considered.

Sponsored by the Woodland Trust, Carvefest will be a noisily-creative addition to the opening weekend of the festival, running alongside a wider wood market (both on Tweed Green and inside the nearby community centre), a food festival, plus the ninth Scottish Conker Championships on Saturday.

Recently-crowned Scottish Chainsaw Carving Champion Pete Bowsher, a Canadian forester now based in Moffat, is looking forward to returning to Peebles.

“Having been a regular at the wood market for many years, I’m delighted to be joined this year by so many other chainsaw carvers who will be making their first appearance at this continually-growing event,” he said.

Pete added: “Having so many great chainsaw carvers in action will help add a real buzz to the whole wood market weekend.”

Close second at the Scottish championships was Arbroath’s Tom Harris-Ward who has been working hard behind the scenes to bring Carvefest to Peebles. As Tom explained, sculptures are likely to include birds, animals and human figures – some of them carved into unique garden seats and benches.

“I’d definitely encourage folk to come along and take this unique opportunity to bid for something amazing that they’ve been able to watch take shape over the weekend,” said Tom.

Speaking on behalf of event organisers, the Treefest Partnership, Forestry Commission Scotland’s Iain Laidlaw said: “This new chainsaw carving extravaganza seemed like a fitting way to help celebrate the 10th anniversary of the wood market and wider festival. As well as providing a fascinating spectacle for visitors, the impressive carvings will add to the wide range of homegrown wood products for sale at both the indoor and outdoor sections of the wood market.”

Also on Tweed Green over the weekend will be a mobile sawmill in action, sawn products, plus a variety of hands-on activities for the whole family. Visitors can try their hand at making wooden utensils, bat boxes, or a traditional witch’s broom for Halloween, as well as enter the Scottish Conker Championships and Nail It competition.

Meanwhile, the market’s indoor section in the community centre is the ideal place to buy a host of bespoke wooden products, from furniture to firewood, sawn timber to toys and pretty much everything in between.

z For more information about the 10th Tweed Valley Forest Festival, visit www.forest-festival.com.

Two Gala RFC players are hoping to make their full Scotland Rugby League debuts on Friday night in front of their home fans at Netherdale.

Winger Craig Robertson and young half-back Lewis Clarke are both in the 19-man Scotland squad for the European Championship clash with Ireland at Netherdale as the Bravehearts look to bounce back from defeat in Wales last weekend.

“I can’t wait for the game, hopefully I can make my debut and get my first cap out there,” says Robertson, who has represented his country at union Sevens and played for Scotland Club sides in both codes.

“It’s going to be something else if that happens. It’s good to be playing in the Borders when you have local boys playing, and there’s going to be more interest. All the boys at Gala are asking about it.”

Robertson was in training camp last week but struggled with a knee injury which he is hoping to overcome to make the cut for the matchday 17 from the official squad of 19 announced today.

Fellow Gala star Craig Borthwick, who has already won one Scotland RL cap three years ago, was in the initial squad for the tournament but had to pull out through injury. With Clarke also emerging, Friday night could be the catalyst for a league club to start in the Borders.

“I said to the local press recently that if we can get more interest, then I don’t see why we can’t get a Borders team on the go,” claims Robertson, who has to travel to Edinburgh Eagles to get a taste of league, as do Clarke and Borthwick.

“My Gala mates came across to watch the Club XIII game against the Army in the Borders and they said it was unbelievable how good it was, they enjoyed the hits.

“If we got into the Borders, there is an awful lot of talent that hasn’t been picked up by the SRU, it’s such an area that can be built on. You get really hard boys down there, so if they can get into League during the off season, it’s going to be a really good outfit and would be a really positive move for Scottish Rugby League.

“In the past, Borders boys who never made in union went down to Cumbria, to the likes of Workington and Carlisle, and started playing league down there. But if they get a sniff of glory and playing for Scotland, to be honest I wouldn’t be surprised if you see more domestic players in future tournaments, or even the World Cup.”

Former Newcastle Falcons junior Robertson, who spent most of last year out with a shoulder injury, got into league via Borthwick and finds it suits his free-running open style.

“It’s such a different game, it’s a feel-good game compared to union where there’s a lot more stopping and starting, and keeps you on your toes - although at times it’s a bit too physical for my liking! League suits my game, speed, fitness and strength, and there are so many opportunities.”

Half-back Clarke, an apprentice lineman for Scottish Power in Galashiels, has progressed through the Scotland RL ranks from Under-18s to Under-19s to the Club XIII and now the full squad. He just missed the cut in Wrexham but is one of three uncapped players in the squad – along with Robertson, and Under-19 team-mate Shane Toal.

Kick off at Netherdale is 7.30pm and tickets are available on the night or in advance via www.scotlandrl.com priced at £10 for adults, £5 concessions with family deals also on offer.

Click here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/scotland-v-ireland-tickets-18069794241

Scotland squad: Danny Addy (Bradford Bulls), Danny Brough (Huddersfield Giants), Harvey Burnett (unattached), Lewis Clarke (Edinburgh Eagles), Sonny Esslemont (Hull KR), Dale Ferguson (Bradford Bulls), Richard Harris (Warrington Wolves), Ben Hellewell (London Broncos), Liam Hood (Salford Red Devils), Ben Kavanagh (Widnes Vikings), Corbyn Kilday (Central Queensland Capras), Joe McClean (Gloucs All Golds), Scott Plumridge (Edinburgh Eagles), Craig Robertson (Edinburgh Eagles), David Scott (Doncaster), Shane Toal (Barrow Raiders), Oscar Thomas (London Broncos), Alex Walker (London Broncos), Johnny Walker (Leigh Centurions).

The Scottish Borders Health and Social Care partnership has today published the second draft of the Strategic Plan for a further round of engagement and consultation.

The plan sets out how Scottish Borders Council (SBC), NHS Borders and partners including third and independent sector organisations, plan to work better together to deliver more personalised care in order to achieve ‘Best Health, Best Care, Best Value’ for communities in the Borders.

This second draft, called ‘changing health & social care for you - a further conversation’, is based on what the partnership learned from listening to local people; service users, carers, members of the public, staff and partners, including third and independent organisations, during consultation in May/June this year.

Objective 9, ‘We want to improve support for unpaid carers to keep them healthy and able to continue in their caring role’, has been added as a new Strategic Objective following the last round of consultation in May and June of this year. This reflects the way in which engagement with the people who use and provide services is central to the development of the Strategic plan.

Members of the public are being asked for their views on this document by 11 December 2015 to help develop the final draft of the Strategic Plan which will be finalised early next year. The partnership will be present as a number of local events in the Borders to give members of the public the opportunity to have a chat about their views on health and social care. More information on the events, where and when will be advertised.

Susan Manion, Chief Officer for Health and Social Care in the Borders explained: “I am proud to present this second draft of the Strategic Plan for consultation. This builds on the progress that has already been made by NHS Borders, Scottish Borders Council and our partners to improve the services for all people in the Borders.

“This plan is based on what we learned from listening to local people; service users, carers, members of the public, staff and partners, including third sector and independent organisations.

“In the plan, nine objectives are listed that reflect what we heard you say is important to you. For each objective, we have set out what we intend to do to meet the objective and the changes that you can expect to see. We know that the different localities have different needs, and we have also addressed this issue in this version of the plan.

“We hope that you will now take the opportunity to comment on this second draft. Your opinion is important to us. We have added a ninth local objective ‘to improve support for unpaid Carers to keep them healthy and able to continue in their caring role’ because of what you told us.

“It is crucial that we get the views of as many people as possible to help develop the final draft of our Strategic Plan which will be finalised early next year. Once the plan is finalised, it will be reviewed and renewed on a three-year basis and once again, this process will be supported by a programme of public engagement on an ongoing basis.”

NHS Borders, SBC and voluntary and independent care partners are working together to put in place joint working arrangements with the aim of planning, commissioning and delivering services in a way that puts people at the heart of decision-making.

Integration of Health and Social Care is the Scottish Government’s legislation-led initiative to have a health and social care partnership for each of the 32 Council areas in Scotland by April 2016.

To download a copy of the strategic plan and/or to submit your views, please visit www.scotborders.gov.uk/integration

Fears have been raised over the impact on Borders families of prospective cuts to working tax credits.

The Conservative government has put forward proposals to abolish working tax credits, which would affect thousands of families in the Borders.

Local Labour Party spokesperson Barrie Cunning said this week: “The Tories talk about reforming the welfare system.

“In actual fact, what they mean is the eradication of the welfare state, which will hit working families in the Borders the hardest and will directly result in families 
being dependent on food banks just to make ends meet.

“The idea that getting rid of working tax credits will in some way help working people and their families is frankly insane.”

He went on: “A family in the Borders earning in the region of £20,000 with three children will be £2,184.20 worse off under these new proposals. This is no laughing matter and yet the Tories speak lightly of a policy that will put families into further hardship and suffering.

“We must do everything we can to ensure that working families are protected and given the help they need to sustain them in employment not put them in a situation that could potentially see them not able to work.”

Stalls will be erected outside as well as inside the former main Post Office in Galashiels when a new retail market starts operating there next month.

Based on demand from traders to participate, there will be 10 table-top pitches within the listed building at 1 Channel Street.

Another 10 steel-framed stalls, measuring 6ft by 4ft, will be erected in the pedestrianised civic area outside.

The layout is revealed in an application for a three-year Market Operator Licence which will be considered tomorrow (Friday) by Scottish Borders Council’s Civic Government Committee.

The bid, along with a £239 fee, comes from Galashiels Market CIC (community interest company) which was formed in the summer in an attempt to increase footfall in an area of the town centre which has suffered at the hands of major peripheral supermarkets.

The firm also hopes to cater for a significant increase in visitors to Galashiels since the opening of the Borders Railway six weeks ago.

The company has been negotiating a lease with the Royal Mail for the use of the listed late Victorian building which has been empty since 2007 when Post Office facilities were relocated to the nearby branch of W. H. Smith.

In tomorrow’s application, which has elicited no objections, the firm states that the market will run every Friday and Saturday from 8am till 4pm, with a variety of traders selling “fruit and veg, fish, meat, breads, clothing, cakes, jewellery etc”.

There will be no hot food and catering facilities, and the external stalls will not be placed on the road section of the civic area to ensure access for emergency services.

Toilet facilities will be available for traders inside the building which will also be covered by CCTV.

“A director of Galashiels CIC will always be on site, carrying out safety checks on each stall to enforce and ensure safety for traders and the public,” states the planning application.

The company’s founder and managing director, Abby Keay, revealed recently that the market will operate for a pilot period of four weeks, starting on Friday, November 6, ahead of its official launch in December.

The firm’s other directors are Mrs Keay’s husband, Alistair, local newsagent Susan Thomson and Galashiels Community Council secretary Tracey Alder.

A Kelso man who assaulted his stepsister, and made offensive comments to his partner, was this week jailed for four months.

Neil Ford, 27, of Inchmyre, appeared from custody at Jedburgh Sheriff Court and admitted pushing his stepsister about on the pavement at Inchmyre on September 5. He also pleaded guilty to threatening or abusive behaviour, and attempting to enter a house there.

Procurator fiscal Graham Fraser told how Ford pushed his stepsister along the pavement during the early hours of the morning.

He said Ford had fallen out with his partner and began shouting and swearing at her, threatening to smash her house and car.

Ford also received three months’ imprisonment, to run concurrently, after he admitted a further charge of shouting and swearing, and threatening to damage property at a house at Allars Bank, Hawick, on October 19 last year.

Sheriff Peter Paterson told the accused: “You do not seem to be able to accept that you have a problem controlling yourself.”

He ordered that the four-month jail term follows on from a 160-day sentence currently being served by Ford, who had been due for release in early December.

I was invited to spend a half-day in Borders General Hospital where I had the opportunity to see much of the excellent work staff are doing for patients.

I attended patient safety meetings, visited a number of wards and got to chat to senior members of staff, as well as doctors and nurses. It was a very informative visit and I was struck by how much good work is being done to improve patient flow and reduce what is called “bed blocking”.

This is an ongoing problem across the NHS and NHS Borders is already doing better than most to ensure patients are receiving treatment in the right location, but staff want to improve things further.

Any time a patient is left in a hospital bed when they are ready to go to a different ward, to the community or to be cared for at home is a waste of resources – and it isn’t in the patient’s best interest either.

The problem is that often getting the ongoing care arranged is difficult and sometimes out-with the control of clinicians. Nevertheless, staff are doing all they can to ensure that within the hospital things are run as smoothly as possible and that they work with GPs and care providers to move patients on, when appropriate.

I also had a frank discussion about issues you might have read about in this paper recently, such as the ongoing review of clinical services, the issues NHS Borders have had around cancelled operations and how the health board is dealing with patient complaints.

I am always impressed with the level of commitment all staff show for patient safety and improving patient care. Any comments I make about our health service are never a criticism of doctors, nurses or other healthcare professionals who do a fantastic job.

But I realise their already difficult jobs are being made any harder by the Scottish Government which is failing to invest in our health service in the Borders and has failed to reform our NHS.

I also asked if I could see the Margaret Kerr Unit, the new palliative care facility opened in 2013.

By the grace of God, I have not had to visit a relative here, but I had heard so much about it from patients and families who are impressed with the level of care provided.

The whole of the Borders got behind the fundraising effort to build the unit and it is a fantastic facility, providing a peaceful and supportive environment for patients and their families in difficult times. It is designed with patients’ dignity and care in mind and staffed by some of the most hard-working and highly-skilled clinicians around.

Surgeries

My weekly surgeries throughout my constituency of Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire take place on Wednesday mornings.

I will be in Jedburgh and Kelso on Wednesday, October 28. More details and further dates can be found on my website – www.johnlamont.org.

No appointment is necessary, so please feel free to come along if you have a problem which you think that I might be able to help with. Alternatively, please call my constituency office on 01450 375 948 and I will do my best to assist.

For tours of the Scottish Parliament, please contact my parliamentary office on 0131 348 6533.

New research indicates that 14.7% of adults in the Borders have never been online.

“Too many people and organisations are still missing out on the benefits the internet has to offer,” claimed Go ON UK, the digital skills charity, as it launched the UK’s first so-called digital exclusion heat map this week.

The map has been assembled and published in a joint venture involving the BBC, the Local Government Association, the London School of Economics & Political Science and Lloyds Bank.

And, in terms of exclusion, it gives the Borders a “medium” rating – on a par with central Scotland but with considerably more digital engagement than neighbouring Dumfries & Galloway which is rated “low” and where 20.6% of adults have never used the internet.

It says that 10.7% of households in the Borders do not currently receive broadband speeds of at least 2 megabits per second – the basic broadband speed as defined by the UK Government.

The map reveals that 75% of Borders adults have all five basic digital skills – to manage information, communicate, transact, problem solve and create digital content – and that 36% of adults have used these skills in the last three months.

The researchers claim that age, education, income and health are key indicators and predictors of digital exclusion among adults. And it suggests that the Borders has a high likelihood of such exclusion because 23.1% of adults are over 65 years of age, 50.59% of adults have no educational qualifications, £20,400 is the average income per taxpayer in the region and 25.2% of adults have a long-term disability.

“Being over 65 contributes significantly to the likelihood of individuals being offline and lacking in basic digital skills,” claimed the charity.

“Affordability also is one of the key barriers to people accessing the internet.”

Go ON UK said the research was part of its commitment to “eradicate digital exclusion and ensure everyone in the UK has the motivation and skills needed to benefit and prosper from the internet today and in the future”.

NHS Borders will be running a series of weekly classes throughout November to give people practical advice on managing stress.

The free classes are being run in Hawick in the form of hour long sessions.

Classes will take place at Hawick Library on November 5, 12, 19 and 26 from 5.30–6.30pm. The classes are free to everyone, however booking is essential. To book, contact Hawick Library by telephone on 01450 364640.

Sinead Murray, clinical associate in applied psychology and one of the organisers of the programme, said: “Stress is a commonly experienced problem.

“Feeling under pressure whilst managing life’s everyday challenges can lead to problems such as disturbed sleep, an inability to relax, feeling tense, anxious or irritable, persistent worrying or loss of self-confidence.”