Selkirk is another step closer to organising its own resilient community team, a group to be primed to help townsfolk in times of emergency, such as flooding or heavy snow.

At a recent meeting in the town’s parish church hall, Scottish Borders Council’s assistant emergency planning officer, Kevin Sewell, took the nine attendees through the next steps.

That led to eight of them volunteering their services as co-ordinators.

They are now charged with finding at least five people who they can mobilise in times of emergency.

The meeting was organised by community council chairman Alistair Pattullo and community councillor Graham Easton.

Mr Pattullo said: “It was all positive, a very good meeting.

“We are next meeting up at the end of August, where we will take on the next steps.”

Mr Easton said: “We also intend to sign up to the Scottish Borders Alert community messaging system.

Earlston residents are kicking up a stink over what appears to be a sewage leaking from a property in the town’s High Street.

The noxious substance has been oozing out of a wall for the last seven months, causing concern, especially to parents of children at the nearby nursery, primary and secondary schools.

Resident Billy Thom told the Southern: “There’s been fluid leaking from the wall since Christmas, and anyone walking past can tell it is sewage. It’s stinking.

“Scottish Borders Council and Scottish Water have sent people to look at it, and they have done tests but haven’t yet done anything to fix it.

“Parents with prams and buggies are trying to avoid getting their wheels coated in it, so they have to step onto the busy road, and it just happens to be a part of the road that narrows.

“And people who may think it’s just water, they are walking through it, spreading it to their homes or schools.”

The 55-year-old joiner added: “I have spoken to the council on several occasions, and it’s now got to the stage that I’ve just got fed up talking to them. It’s now been seven months, and it’s ridiculous that it has not been sorted yet.”

Adam Warner, a corporate affairs officer at Scottish Water, said: “Scottish Water takes the issue of sewage leaks very seriously.

“Following joint investigations with Scottish Borders Council, we do not believe the leak in High Street, Earlston, is an issue with Scottish Water’s infrastructure.

“We have used CCTV to inspect the local sewer network including sections of private pipework but have not found any issues.

“We are continuing to work with Scottish Borders Council as they carry out further investigations.”

The local authority said it is currently waiting for results of an analysis of a sample taken from the wall before a decision on the way forward is made.

A spokesman for the council said: “The council and Scottish Water have been working together for a number of months to try to find out the cause of the discharge.

“A considerable amount of work has been carried out, with repair works, dye tests and CCTV surveys of the drainage network all taking place.

“The council’s environmental health team has now sent away a sample from the wall for analysis, with the results determining what action is now taken.”

Mr Thom added: “If this was a town such as Melrose, it would have been fixed months ago.

“It’s dangerous, and I hope it is fixed before an accident happens or someone becomes ill.”

A retired teacher from the Borders has been rewarded for his lifelong contribution to education leadership and policy.

Walkerburn’s Colin Russell has been given the British Educational Leadership, Management and Administration Society’s distinguished service award.

The 70-year-old was presented with that prize at the society’s 2018 annual conference, held in Windsor, Berkshire.

Dr Russell, chairman of the organisation from 2011 to 2013, told us: “It’s really quite humbling to receive this award.

“When you reflect on who the previous holders were – such as Tony Bush and Ron Blatter – you realise how significant it actually is.”

Dr Russell started his career at Stirches Primary School in Hawick and was a headteacher at various Borders and Lothians schools, including Burnmouth and Swinton primaries, before retiring from Dean Park Primary School in Balerno, Edinburgh in 2013.

Visitors to the Bowhill estate, near Selkirk, can take a closer look at a commode designed by renowned French cabinetmaker to Louis XIV, André-Charles Boulle.

This superb piece of furniture, which dates back to the early 1700s, has reassumed pride of place in the dining room at Bowhill House following its recent restoration.

Examples of Boulle’s work can be seen at the V&A, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the JP Getty Museum in LA.

However, only two other known pieces by the maker of this form of chest furniture are known in the world, one at the Louvre, the other in the Royal Collections at Windsor Castle.

Helen Currie, house manager at Bowhill, said: “The Boulle commode was sent to Yannick Chastang’s studio in Kent, the world-respected authority on the conservation of Boulle, where the brass inlay, ebony and tortoiseshell embellishments were removed, cleaned and repaired, and a poor 19th century replacement gilt-bronze mount was recast to a quality similar to that of the original.

“It looks fantastic and can be seen as part of the Bowhill House tour, where visitors can hear more about its past.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to see a beautiful, important and rare example of Boulle’s work right here in the Borders.”

The commode sits alongside exciting pieces from the Buccleuch art collection including paintings by Thomas Gainsborough and Antonio Canaletto.

For opening hours and more information on Bowhill, visit www.bowhillhouse.co.uk

An exhibition dedicated to the past, present and future of linen – Scotland’s oldest fabric – featuring work by Borders artists, is coming to Selkirk.

Our Linen Stories, accompanied by an artist talk and other activities, takes place at the Haining from July 26 to 29.

Exhibition organiser John Ennis is calling on people to bring along linen from their own homes or to share their own linen tales.

He said: “Linen is Scotland’s oldest textile and its production helped power the Industrial Revolution.

“Flax was grown across the Borders and turned into local textile.

“Part of the exhibition is devoted to dining table damask, and we would be delighted if Borders folk could lend some examples of damask linen they may have at home.

“Even though linen was so much a part of people’s lives, the mills, retting waters and bleach fields are now slipping from memory, so we are also asking people for local information on this industrial heritage and indeed any of their linen stories – whether they are about family involvement in the industry, or about pieces they owned and loved – which we can record and share.”

The Selkirk exhibition, free of charge to enter, is open from 10am to 4pm daily.

Also, on Thursday, July 26, from 6pm to 8pm, all are welcome to a reception, with a welcome being provided by South Scotland Conservative list MSP and ex-Selkirkshire councillor Michelle Ballantyne and an introduction by Dr Ennis, who will share some linen tales from the Borders.

Two exciting new exhibitions have opened at Borders Textile Towerhouse in Hawick for the summer.

In the exhibition room Sheet Music will be on display until Sunday, August 26.

The art work by Borders-based illustrator Kirstin Johnston is inspired by popular music and the intricate creations include paper designs that are hand cut with a scalpel and then meticulously placed to form a whole image.

Paper is placed between two panes of glass to create a floating effect that enhances the play of shadows featuring music and lyrics.

All artwork is for sale and a paper cutting workshop will accompany this exhibition on Saturday, July 28.

In the catwalk area, local company William Lockie are displaying their top-quality products while charting the history of the oldest, family run, knitwear company in Hawick.

‘Lockies’, as they are fondly known, dates back to 1874 and are renowned for producing the softest, finest and most luxurious knitwear in the world.

William Lockie: Handcrafted in Hawick since 1874, is on display until Sunday, September 9.

Borders Textile Towerhouse is part of the Live Borders Charitable Trust and is open Monday -Saturday 10.30am -4.30pm and Sundays 12-3pm. For more information contact Shaureen Lammie on Shaureen.Lammie@LiveBorders1.org.uk or call 01450 377615.

If you can’t go to the Scottish Highlands Jack’s book is the next best thing

Ex-Depute Head Teacher of Berwickshire High School, Jack Harland, has ventured into the world of publishing.

In his book, Highland Journal: The Making of a Hillwalker, Jack looks back on his adventures in the north-west Highlands where he and his son, Tom, began to explore the extraordinary mountains of Coigach and Inverpolly. Illustrated with Jack’s own drawings and watercolours, Highland Journal also includes relief maps of each mountain and records the geology and idiosyncrasies of his climbing companions. A delight for hillwalkers, Munro baggers and natural historians, Highland Journal is available from www.amazon.co.uk, priced at £15.99.

Visitors to Bowhill House, Selkirk can take a closer look at an exquisitely decorated, newly restored commode.

Designed by renowned French cabinetmaker to Louis XIV, André-Charles Boulle, the commode which dates back to the early 1700s, has reassumed pride of place in the dining room at Bowhill House following its recent restoration.

Christened by his contemporaries as “the most skillful artisan in Paris,” Boulle’s name is synonymous with the practice of veneering furniture with marquetry of tortoiseshell, pewter, and brass. Although he did not invent the technique, he was its greatest practitioner.

Examples of Boulle’s work can be seen at the V&A, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the JP Getty Museum in LA, however only two other known pieces by the maker of this form of chest furniture are known in the world, one at the Louvre, the other in the Royal Collections at Windsor Castle.

Helen Currie, House Manager at Bowhill, said:

“The Boulle Commode was sent to Yannick Chastang’s studio in Kent, the world respected authority on the conservation of Boulle, where the brass inlay, ebony and tortoiseshell embellishments were removed, cleaned and repaired, and a poor 19th century replacement gilt-bronze mount was re-cast to a quality similar to that of the original.

“It looks fantastic and can be seen as part of the Bowhill House tour where visitors can hear more about its past.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to see a beautiful, important and rare example of Boulle’s work right here in the Borders.”

The commode sits alongside exciting pieces from the Buccleuch Art Collection including paintings by Thomas Gainsborough and Antonio Canaletto.

Helen continued: “We continually restore the stunning furnishings within the House to help keep its history and heritage alive for visitors.

“In addition to the commode, the dust falls in Bowhill’s library – leather flaps which cover the gap between the books and the shelf above - have recently been repaired and the conservation of the Boudoir foliate-carved pelmets and curtains has been completed.”

For more information on Bowhill, visit www.bowhillhouse.co.uk, Facebook @BowhillHouse and Instagram @bowhillhouse.

A living history display - Defending Berwick and the Border - takes place in Berwick this weekend (July 21-22).

Berwick town hall and the ramparts beside Berwick Barracks will provide the splendid settings for medieval and Elizabethan period living history encampments, displays and interactive demonstrations of crafts, weapons and combat of the period.

Defending Berwick and the Border is part of Tweed 1000, a programme of events commemorating the 1,000th anniversary of the Battle of Carham.

Re-enactors from St Cuthbert’s Land will introduce visitors to aspects of life in the 11th century, at the time of the Battle of Carham, an event that resulted in the River Tweed becoming the contested border between England and Scotland. Alongside the activities (“hands-on” experience of medieval textile making and cookery, archery,and handling armour and weapons), in their authentic tented encampment, there will be music and storytelling from the period.

Moving forward a few centuries, the Vanguard re-enactment society specialises in recreating the medieval period when Berwick and its castle changed hands between Scotland and England on at least thirteen occasions.

Members of the group will engage in combat with swords and shields and provide displays of the weapons, armour and everyday life at the time.

Best of Times, Worst of Times is a group of 16th century period re-enactors who have taken part in a number of events in Berwick over recent years.

Their attention to detail gives the audiences at their displays a colourful insight into the clothing, cooking and crafts of the Tudor period, as well as dramatic demonstrations of fighting techniques.

On Saturday only, the Teviotdale Reivers will also be taking part in the event and encouraging younger visitors to take an active part in practising 16th century pike drill with broom handles.

A colourful exhibition in the town hall will illustrate the centuries of turbulent border history during which Berwick’s fortunes changed from being Scotland’s largest seaport and one of its richest towns to the role of a border fortress town.

A series of informative panels will illustrate a wide variety of topics related to the theme of defending Berwick and the Border including the development of Berwick Castle, the Battle of Flodden, the town and its fortifications in the Tudor and Elizabethan periods, threats from many enemies throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the building of Berwick Barracks and the defence of the town against air raids during the Second World War.

There will be an opportunity to find out about the Tweed 1000 Tapestry and listen to some short talks and presentations in the Guildhall ante-room on a range of topics including the 16th century Border reivers, Berwick’s defences in the Second World War and music and storytelling from the 11th century.

On Saturday afternoon, visitors to the town hall can meet local author Carol Dixon who will be talking about and signing copies of her new book “Harry Hotspur: Border Knight”, about Henry Percy the heroic son of the Earl of Northumberland.

Hotspur earned his nickname when, at twelve years of age, he was the first Englishman over the walls of Berwick during one of the sieges of the town in the 14th century.

Refreshments will be on sale in the town hall on both days, during the opening times of the event.

Profits will go to the Berwick Cittaslow initiative.

This family-friendly event on the Ramparts and in the Town Hall is open to the public from 10am until 4pm each day.

Admission to all the activities is free of charge.

It’s one of the perennial items to be brought up at Selkirk Community Council meetings – the dire state of the town’s network of steps.

Given the difference in elevation between the upper and lower parts of the town, there are probably more steps here than in any other Borders town, and they are all well used.

However, their general state of decay has made them either difficult or dangerous to negotiate.

One of the worst examples until recently was the steps that give direct access from the bottom to the top of the winding Forest Road.

Imagine residents’ delight when recently council workers were seen fixing the steps at the bottom of the upper flight.

However, that delight was certainly short-lived as the shoddy repair already looks like it will need seeing to again soon.

In fact, it appears as if the overriding remit was to keep the steps looking in keeping with the others around it.

The new mortar is already crumbling away, and the finished look is certainly not what you would expect. And bad weather certainly can’t be used as an excuse.

One Forest Road resident, Douglas Anderson, took these photos of the steps before and after they were ‘repaired’, and it’s not that easy to tell the difference.

Douglas said: “Why bother, if this is the standard of repair?

“I’ll give it a week, and it will be just as bad.”

When we approached Scottish Borders Council this week, a spokesman told us: “The neighbourhoods team says the mortar on the steps will be reinstated.

“Steps are checked as part of the ongoing inspection regime, and any further safety issues will be addressed when identified or brought to the council’s attention.”

Also on the community council’s list of urgent local improvements is the Fleshmarket steps, which show “serious deterioration of concrete surface, especially on lower flights, with public safety issues”.

It recommends “urgent replacement with natural stone, to maintain character of the refurbished Market Place and the quality of the ongoing sheriff courthouse project”.

The Sentryknowe steps were also mentioned at the last community council meeting by Selkirkshire councillor Caroline Penman, who said that workers who were about to start repair work on the bottom three steps, all broken, and want to move the handrail from the centre to the side in order that it can support the step structure.

● What do you think of Selkirk’s network of steps? Are the ones you use regularly in disrepair? Tell us, by emailing kevin.janiak@jpress.co.uk

A Selkirk community councillor is calling for more interesting and welcoming signage for the main entrances to the town on the A7.

Jim Stillie said that the current signage does not represent the town well for prospective visitors.

He said: “The signs should say ‘welcome to Selkirk, ancient county town of Selkirkshire, home to Sir Walter Scott’s courtroom’.

“There are centuries of history in the town, but you wouldn’t know it driving in.”

Fellow councillor Ian King told Mr Stillie: “I have always maintained that you have to entice people into a layby just outside town and plaster it with signs about what they can do when they get here.”

Mr Stillie replied: “You can’t even entice people into the town’s car park because nobody knows where it is!”

Selkirkshire councillor Gordon Edgar said any new signage was dependent on permission from Transport Scotland, through Amey.

He asked councillors to check what the sign says at Greenlaw and to report back to the next meeting.

A Scottish mum whose son was killed in Iraq in 2004 has given her support to a Johnston Press investigation into veteran suicides.

Our investigation discovered that the number of UK veterans who tragically take their own lives each year is being suppressed by the Scottish and Westminster Governments.

And Rose Gentle is just one of an army of voices who are now calling on the government to release the statistics.

Her 19-year-old son Gordon, of the Royal Highland Fusiliers, was killed by a roadside bomb in Basra in 2004.

She said: “The Government is embarrassed in case the true figures come out. It’s wrong that the information on veteran suicides is kept hidden.

READ MORE: Hidden epidemic of veteran suicides smacks of cover up

“In the years since Gordon’s death, the stories I’ve heard from soldiers coming out of the army are heartbreaking.

“The situation for boys leaving the services now is just as bad as it ever was.

“A lot of them are lost and just don’t know where to turn.

“I think they feel they can speak to me because I’m Gordon’s mum.”

After her son’s death, Rose became a high-profile and outspoken critic of the UK’s handling of the war and set up Military Families Against the War and the Justice 4 Gordon Gentle campaigns.

She also contested the 2005 general election against Adam Ingram, the then armed forces minister.

And last year, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Glasgow for her campaigning to improve conditions and military equipment for service personnel.

Describing what she hears from vulnerable veterans, Rose said: “They come out the services and many are struggling.

“They have lots of flashbacks; they’re so depressed and just can’t handle it.

“Basically, it all goes back to what they’ve seen – they’ve got to come back and live with the nightmares while, at the same time, trying to get their lives going again.

“A lot end up homeless and struggling. They’re really depressed and feel that life is not worth living.

“It can take 10 to 15 years or more for them to admit what’s happening to them. So we’re only going to see more of it in the future.

“When they come out of the army a lot of them just want to be on their own to have time to think; to clear their head. But it’s not that easy.

“The services need to give them a lot more help and support – these boys are a special group who need extra help.

“But it’s charities that are mostly helping these boys, not the government.”

Combat Stress, the UK-wide charity working with veterans with PTSD and other mental health conditions, has seen a 143 per cent rise in referrals over the past ten years.

Figures from January 2018 show that the charity had 365 registered veterans in Scotland, with 253 referred to its services for the first time in 2016.

Johnston Press has established that at least 16 UK veterans are feared to have committed suicide since January, of whom at least seven were known to have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.

While suicide remains rare among military veterans and the last comprehensive study, completed in 2009, found the overall rate was comparable to the general population, there is evidence that a disturbing number of ex-soldiers – in particular those who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan – are taking their own lives or attempting to do so.

Figures from a published study by Combat Stress, the oldest and largest veterans mental health charity, showed that 19 per cent of veterans it treated had moderate to severe suicidal thoughts.

And according to Dr Dominic Murphy, a senior clinical lecturer at Combat Stress, an even bigger risk factor than post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the depression which usually accompanies it.

He said: “When you are in the military you have quite a high status. You have a job, are respected and have peers around you.

“You then leave the armed forces and may not be working, may not have any friends or social support around you.

“That loss of status can be very difficult for people, as it would be for anyone; a loss of meaning and direction.

“It is the depression, unfortunately, that is the biggest risk factor. In general, a lot more people have depression than PTSD.”

King’s College London recently did a representative study of serving and former military personnel.

Around 20 per cent of those surveyed had depression, with only around four per cent having PTSD.

Scottish Borders Council’s children and young persons’ service is spending £8.5m a year repaying historic debts generated by private-finance deals, latest figures reveal.

The local authority spends nearly 8% of its education budget repaying private-finance initiative (PFI) deals it signed nearly a decade ago under the council’s then Conservative-Liberal Democrat-independent ruling administration.

PFI contracts, first introduced during John Major’s Conservative government and massively expanded following Labour’s election victory in 1997, involve private financing being used to build and run public-sector infrastructure projects.

In the case of Scottish Borders Council, PFIs were used to build to Earlston, Berwickshire and Eyemouth high schools, incurring massive debts the council is still repaying years after they were constructed.

The figures come from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. It found that PFI charges for schools north of the border in 2018-19 cost the Scottish Government £434.3m, accounting for 8.5% of its total resource budget of £5.1bn.

Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale MSP Christine Grahame believes that much of the blame lies with the Scottish Government at the time, saying: “This toxic PFI legacy of Labour, propped up by the Lib Dems in coalition government, means the public purse is still paying heavily over the odds servicing their decade-old debts.

“They ought to apologise for their mistakes, which will cost Borders schools £8.9m this year alone, representing 8% of the entire schools budget.

“Money that councils could use to pay for teachers, books and facilities is being used to pay for their mistakes.

“And let’s not forget, last year alone over £1bn was taken from Scotland’s public services to pay off these PFI debts. That’s a figure as eye-watering as it is disgraceful.

“Thanks to Labour’s shameful legacy, enabled by the Lib Dems, the reality is that we are going to be saddled with this bill for years come.”

A council spokesperson said: “The council spent £8.549m on servicing school unitary charge arrangements in 2017-18, representing 7.9% of the total children and young people’s budget.

“This current annual investment delivers 21st century educational environments for school pupils and includes all ongoing facilities management and life-cycle maintenance.”

Planning permission has been granted for a fourth dog-grooming salon in Galashiels town centre.

Lyndsey Tait, of Gala Park in Galashiels, has been given the go-ahead by council officers to convert 9A Bank Street into a canine pampering business also selling dog accessories.

Her shop, to be called Short Bark and Sides, will join an already-crowded pet-grooming marketplace in Galashiels, following Waggles in Market Place, Joni’s Dog Grooming Studio in Abbotsview Drive and K-9 Grooming, in Bank Street too. There’s also Head and Tails Dog Grooming, a mobile service catering for canines in their own homes from its base in the town’s Magdala Terrace.

Short Bark and Sides will take over premises formerly occupied by the Craft It arts and supplies shop.

Lyndsey, currently a pharmacy assistant, said: “Me and my partner already care for four dogs and two cats, much to my partner’s disdain, and all have been inherited or come from shelters.

“I really fancied a change of career. I wanted something completely different and, already being a pet owner, I thought this would be perfect.

“I think there is demand here. Everyone you see in Galashiels is walking a dog.

“We’re also going to be selling handmade leads and belts for dogs, which I’ll be making myself.”

Fellow grooming shop owner Steven Wilson, boss of nearby K-9 Grooming, says that business has been booming since he opened six weeks ago.

“When I first applied for permission to open this shop, the council rejected my application on the grounds that there wasn’t enough footfall to justify my business plan, but here I am, six weeks in, and I have 60 people who have registered their pets with me from Jedburgh, Selkirk, all over the Borders and further afield, so there’s a demand for business.”

Approving Lyndsey’s bid, planning officer Carlos Clarke said: “Though consent was granted for a dog-grooming salon further up Bank Street earlier this year, and there is at least one other dog-grooming salon in the town centre, the number of these businesses is relatively low and there is no risk of saturation.

“Competition between them is not a planning matter.”

“Unlike the grooming salon approved further down the street, this property is not within the core activity area.”

A Tweedbank restaurant is appealing to councillors to reject a street trader’s plans to set up shop nearby.

The owners of Herges on the Loch, in Tweedbank Drive, have written to Scottish Borders Council’s licensing committee asking it to reject an application from Kowloon Kitchen, an Asian street food van, to trade from a car park overlooking Gunknowe Loch.

Chia Lok Lee and his partner Zhu have applied for a change in his street trader’s licence that would see the van operating from the Tweedbank Drive car park on Thursdays and Fridays, Netherdale Industrial Estate in Galashiels on Mondays and Saturdays and Stow on Sundays.

However, the owners of Herges on the Loch, Karen and Sandy Craig, have written to the council to voice their objections to the van operating in Tweedbank: “Our grounds of objection relate to the close proximity to our business. We are enclosing a plan of our boundary and wish to stress that the car park in question is not 100 metres from our boundary.

“Our planning permission was granted on the grounds that this car park would be used as part-requirement for car parking spaces on our planning application.

“To comply with the regulations, this trailer has to be attached to the towing vehicle and that takes up five parking spaces alone.

“On a personal note, we think that this detracts from the lovely scenery and tourist attraction that Gunknowe Loch is. Perhaps there are other sites in Tweedbank which may be suitable.”

Councillors sitting on the council’s civic government licensing committee are due to make a decision on the application tomorrow, July 20.

The last Friday in July is almost upon us, and with it comes the biggest day in the muckle toon’s calender.

Langholm Common Riding’s main festivities take place next Friday, July 27 with this year’s Langholm Cornet Iain Little, a 24-year-old teacher, football coach and rugby referee, at the helm.

Iain and his right and left-hand men Stuart Murray and Simon Tweddle, will be supported by a mounted cavalcade and hundreds of foot followers and supporters come in their droves, as they do every year, to the muckle toon.

The celebrations begin at 5am when Langholm Flute Band makes its way around the town rousing supporters to join for the walk to Hillhead.

Just before 6.30am, the hounds will meet at Collins’ Turn, where supporters can watch them slipped for the trail.

The presentation of the trail cup follows at the town hall at 8.15am. The rideout begins at 8.30am, when riders musters in Market Place and Iain will receive the town’s standard.

The procession, led by the town band, heads by way of High Street to the Buccleuch Square Pump then back to Townfoot and the Market Place.

The first fair crying takes place there at 9am before the cornet leads his cavalcade in a gallop up the Kirk Wynd to Whita Yett and Castle Craigs. Here the Castle Craigs fair is cried and riders pass around the monument before heading down to Whita Well.

At 10.15am, the town band marches with the thistle and crown held high through the streets from Townfoot Gardens to Mount Hooley. Here the childrens’ heather besoms will be judged before the procession, joined now by Langholm Pipe Band, reforms and ventures to Townhead, on to Townfoot and back to the Market Place. Here, at 11am, the second fair crying takes place before the procession marches to Kiln Green. The children and their besoms travel across Ewes Bridge to receive their 20 pences at the Lodge gates.

At 11.55 the sod is cut on Kiln Green before the spade bearer, cornet and riders cross Ewes Water onto Castleholm to cut another sod.

This is followed by the cornet’s chase. Between 12.30pm and 4pm there’s horse racing on Castleholm.

The games, featuring wrestling and Highland dancing, begin at 1.30pm. Later in the evening, at 7.15pm the town band plays for dancing on the Castleholm.

At 8.45pm the procession reforms to the lodge gates and led by the cornet, returns to Market Place with halts made for polkas at the Kiln Green, Crown Hotel and Townfoot.

At Market Place, the cornet returns the standard before the day comes to a close with a verse of Auld Lang Syne and the National Anthem.

Borderers are being urged to be viligant of telephone banking scams after a Galashiels pensioner was defrauded of a large sum of money this week.

The 71-year-old man received a call at his home in Galashiels on Wednesday, July 18 from someone claiming to be from his bank.

The caller claimed that the man’s internet banking had been hacked and requested that money be transferred to an alternative account to safeguard it.

A five-figure sum of cash was moved to an account provided by the caller who then terminated the call.

When the victim later suspected he had been defrauded he contacted his bank who confirmed they had not contacted him and the police were then contacted.

Detective Sergeant Callum Peoples from Galashiels CID said: “In these type of scams the caller will seem very convincing and will utilise a number of different tactics to convince you they are genuine.

“However, we want to stress once again that no bank or building society will ever contact you and ask you to transfer money to an external account, nor will they cold-call and request you provide your personal information.

“If you receive a call like this, hang up and make sure the line has been cleared and contact police immediately.

“We have a range of useful information on our website aimed at safeguarding the public against fraudsters. This can be obtained by visiting www.scotland.police.uk.”

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Borders MSP Rachael Hamilton is calling for tougher sentences for thugs responsible for assaults on 999 workers.

That call was prompted by figures revealing that ambulance crews are not allowed to enter 33 addresses in the TD postcode area without a police escort due to fears for their safety.

Such addresses are classed as red-flagged, meaning that paramedics can only go in to respond to a 999 call if there is at least one police officer present to help protect them.

That stark statistic was released to the Scottish Conservatives in response to a freedom-of -information request to the Scottish Ambulance Service.

More than 2,500 addresses in total are deemed unsafe, the highest numbers being in Glasgow, with 820, and Edinburgh, on 469.

Mrs Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, said: “Paramedics already have to put up with a lot during their working hours when they have to respond to people with devastating injuries or even worse.

“It is sickening that there are so many Borders addresses that are deemed too unsafe to attend without police protection.

“It has always baffled me as to why people attack those who are trying to help.

“I want to see tougher action from the courts when people have assaulted or threatened paramedics, or indeed any member of the emergency services.

“Like us all, they should be able to attend their place of work without fear.”

Some towns and villages in the Borders face the prospect of losing their only cashpoints due to a cut to the fee paid to their operators, fears Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk MP John Lamont.

Link, the UK’s largest cash machine network, plans to cut its interchange fee by 20% over the next five years, from 25p to 20p per transaction.

That money funds the free-to-use automated teller machine network, and organisations including Which? and the Federation of Small Businesses are concerned that the reduction could result in thousands of cashpoints no longer deemed financially viable being removed.

Communities in the region feared to be at risk of losing their ATMs include Chirnside, Cockburnspath, Newtown, St Boswells, Earlston and Hawick’s Burnfoot estate.

Mr Lamont is calling on the Payment Systems Regulator to look into the change and the impact it might have on small businesses.

He said: “We’ve lost far too many ATMs in recent years as a result of bank branch closures, so we know exactly the effect this can have on high streets and local businesses.

“This latest change is potentially devastating for some communities if the result is that they lose their only remaining cash machine.

“Access to cash is absolutely vital to local businesses in the Borders. The loss of an ATM just encourages locals to do their shopping elsewhere and puts visitors off.”

“In Coldstream, some businesses suffered a 20% fall in sales when they lost their cash machine, and I don’t want to same to happen to other communities in the Borders.

“The regulator needs to take action to guarantee that consumers can access their money if cash machines are threatened and investigate whether it can intervene to stop the removal of free ATMs in rural communities.

“The Federation of Small Businesses is warning that one in five cash machines in rural areas could be set to close as a result of the reduction in the transaction fee, which is very concerning.”

An amateur rider from the Borders has secured a place at the prestigious Horse of the Year Show.

Donkey sanctuary manager John Wilson, of Lindean, near Selkirk, clinched qualification by winning his section at the recent SEIB Search for a Star event.

He rode his horse, Silver Dream Spirit, also known as Silvester, to a win in the hunter class in the meeting at Alnwick Ford Equestrian Centre in Northumberland.

SEIB Insurance Brokers set up the Search for a Star series over 20 years ago, to give amateur riders and their horses the chance to compete at the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS). The series has led to many thrilled competitors achieving this dream.

John, manager of the Scottish Borders Donkey Sanctuary, said: “I am quite surprised and chuffed to bits.

“I am 55 years old and only began riding properly when I got Silvester six years ago.

“I am very lucky to have such a good horse and we are having quite a special journey together.

“We took third place in the hunter class at the Royal Highland Show at Edinburgh and my partner Diana said Silvester deserved a chance at qualifying for HOYS.

“I think we have been really lucky that we are now – all being well – heading there. The conformation judge at Alnwick said we need to work on Silvester’s paces, so I have already lined up some dressage help over the next few months.

“I should think HOYS will be a once in a lifetime experience!”

Each SEIB Search for a Star qualifier holds classes for working ponies and horses, riding horse hacks, show hunters and cobs. Competitors have the chance to qualify for HOYS in each of these classes.

SEIB Search for a Star is professionally run, with strict entry criteria.

SEIB marketing manager Nicolina Mackenzie said: “The Search for a Star finals are now in their 20th year at HOYS and are something a huge number of amateur showing riders aspire to.

“The standard of competition increases year on year and the true amateur spirit of the series is something we are very proud of. Holding this new qualifier at Alnwick has given many more riders in the north of the country the chance to be a part of Search for a Star.”

Nicolina also had a word of explanation and advice for prospective competition entrants.

“We have been presented with some passport irregularities this year,” she said.

“The Search for a Star ruling is clear and it states the owner details on the entry from must be identical to those of the keeper in the passport.

“Sadly, every year, we have to disqualify competitors because they have not updated their passports.

“We would urge every competitor to check their passports and make sure they are correct before they attend our competitions.”