Proposals to set up a business improvement district (BID) in Galashiels have taken a step forward with the publication of a business plan.

That plan will now be pitched to the town’s businesses in a bid to secure their approval.

A consultation period will end with businesses being balloted in October and November and asked to decide whether or not they think the proposals will be beneficial to them and the town as a whole.

The main aims of the BID scheme, a business-led partnership, include increasing footfall in the town centre, making it more welcoming, attracting more new businesses, representing all levy-paying businesses and positioning Galashiels as a prime visitor destination, with its own app.

In his introduction to the plan, BID group chairman Craig Murray, of baker Alex Dalgetty and Sons, says that because the Borders Railway has made the town more accessible, it needs to be ready for the 45,000 visitors a year he believes will arrive once the Great Tapestry of Scotland centre is opened in 2020.

He added: “The timing is right for a Galashiels BID. We will not get another opportunity like this.”

He goes on to list perceived benefits to businesses taking part in the scheme, adding: “It will give us the opportunity to make Galashiels the best it can be and to showcase our beautiful Borders town to the wider world.”

The business plan includes promises to deliver a series of annual events to further increase footfall, such as a food festival and a “high-end Christmas event including a seasonal market and enhanced Christmas lights and decorations”.

It also talks about working with Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Borders Council to secure hotel accommodation in the town, involving members in events so they can get full benefit from them and working with other neighbouring authorities to deliver more tempting visitor packages.

For instance, the project is involved in launching the Galashiels Goes Extreme event taking place on Saturday, August 25.

It’s hoped this will become an annual occurrence if a yes vote for a BID is forthcoming.

It’s also proposed to promote the town with a new website, social media channels, app and gift card encouraging residents to shop locally.

The cash comes from the businesses themselves.

There are 343 businesses in the BID area, each of them prospectively paying a levy related to their businesses’ rateable value.

For instance, for a shop with a rateable value of less then £2,500, a donation buys voluntary membership, while for values between £2,501 and £10,263 it’s £195 a year, and for properties between £10,264 and £1,315,789. the charge is 1.9% of the value.

For those with a rates value of over £315,789, the annual charge will be capped at £25,000.

It’s estimated that the total levy income over the five years of the project would be just over £1m.

Project manager Mags Fenner, who also masterminded Selkirk’s BID programme, said: “The feedback so far has been almost exclusively positive, which is encouraging.

“It’s eminently affordable, and we are hoping that with some of the things in the business plan, it will prove to be cost-neutral to businesses.”

Galashiels is going to extremes next month as its Bank Street Gardens host a day of half-pipe demonstrations.

Professional BMX riders and skateboarders will show what they can do, and additional attractions include a 7m-high climbing wall, gladiator duel arena, live music stage, Zumba demonstrations, spin bike displays by Live Borders and street buskers.

All the events taking place on Saturday, August 25, from 11am to 4pm, are free.

Galashiels BID group vice-chairman Andrew Poole, co-organiser of the event, said: “We’re incredibly excited to be bringing a professional stunt team to Galashiels. This is a real first.

“Team Extreme perform daredevil stunts, throwing themselves sometimes 20ft into the air on their skateboards and BMX bikes. This alone promises to be an exciting spectacle to watch.

“Add into that the other attractions and the whole day is shaping up to be something very unique for Galashiels and a whole lot of fun for everyone – and, importantly, everything on the day is free.”

Andrew added: “BID For Galashiels is a business community-led organisation seeking to establish a Business Improvement District for Galashiels town centre.

“Part of that project is to demonstrate to local businesses how we can improve footfall and visitors to the town.

“This event is just one example of how we may be able to do that on a more regular basis, if the business owners vote positively for a BID to be established when they are balloted in November this year.

“Further information on the BID project can be found on the www.bidforgalashiels.co.uk website”

With the new football season just around the corner, two new Borders team managers are racing to create the teams they want for a brand new campaign.

The summer has seen big personnel changes among the south of Scotland clubs, on the playing field in the dug-out and, in some cases, the boardroom.

Terry Ferguson is the new man at the helm of Selkirk, after the Yarrow Park side’s most successful season ever in the Lowland League.

Paul McGovern has taken over at Hawick Royal Albert, whose fortunes could scarcely have contrasted more – banished to the East of Scotland League after a 2017-18 campaign which featured only one league win.

Both bosses, however, are having to rebuild the teams practically from scratch, after a large exodus of players.

Gala Fairydean Rovers also have a new manager, Dean Shanks, although his appointment was confirmed some months ago.

For Ferguson and McGovern, however, it’s a work in progress, with experimental pre-season friendlies and searches for new players giving way this Saturday to competitive action.

Selkirk went down 4-1 on Monday night to Easthouses Lily – Ludovic Erhard was the scorer – and succumbed 5-2 on Saturday to Newtongrange Star, with a trialist and captain Unpha Koroma on target.

In both games, however, Ferguson was impressed by much of what he saw, before tired legs and several line-up reshuffles, mixing unfamiliar players, took their toll.

The Souters visit mighty East Kilbride on Saturday and Ferguson said he’d have to rely largely during August on bringing in trialists to help fill the spaces, as well as trying to recruit through the pro-youth set-up, fellow Lowland League and junior teams, and players coming down the grade from professional level.

Of the East Kilbride trip, he observed: “I’ve said to the boys ‘these are the games you want to play in’. It will be a big test but we will go out and try to frustrate them.”

“They have a lot of experienced players and ex-pros, and K Park is a mass, wide-open space, so we have to shut the gaps behind us and in front of the back four.”

Ferguson said the club was about six weeks behind the rest of the league in its preparations but it had a clean slate and aimed to build as it progressed. “The stability from last year may have been lost but there’s a chance to shape and mould things in our own image,” he said, adding the club had a plan for progress on the football, PR and community/social fronts.

Indeed, there’s a community event at Selkirk on Sunday, featuring former Souters players against a Manchester City Legends line-up, featuring such names as Asa Hartford and Willie Donachie.

On Monday at Yarrow Park, Hibernian visit for the Bobby Johnstone memorial match.

Over at Albert Park, Paul McGovern said he was working hard behind the scenes to bring players in – and facing similar time restrictions – as Hawick Royal Albert prepared to visit Tranent on Saturday in Section A of the East of Scotland Qualifying League.

These matches, and recent pre-season games with Heaton Stannington and Hawick United, would offer a chance to shape the squad before league action started in earnest.

McGovern (49) takes over after the resignation of Craig Tully. He spent the last two seasons as assistant manager at Heriot-Watt University, while his playing career included spells at Hibernian, Partick Thistle, Gala Fairydean, Spartans, Whitehill Welfare and also Aris Limassol in Cyprus.

Describing his new role as “a fantastic opportunity, McGovern said the challenge ahead was to recapture some stability after a very disappointing season.

“I am looking forward to the challenge ahead,” he said, adding a major priority would be to bring players in and establish the squad.

An art gallery is planning to shut up shop just nine months after opening in Hawick.

The A7 Arts Space was only launched in the town’s Buccleuch Street last October in a shop unit formerly home to the Reiver’s Moon Gallery.

However, the eco-friendly gallery and coffee corner soon built up a small but enthusiastic following.

It became home to the Hawick ukelele club, staged board game nights and craft sessions and put on regular guest exhibitions.

It is to close in September, though, as its founder has decided there “simply wasn’t a big enough market for art” in the town.

Welsh-born artist Celyn Booth, now living in Belfast in Northern Ireland, said she had taken the decision to close only reluctantly, adding: “It’s an independently-run arts gallery which I think has been good for the community and the artists within it.

“I think it has been a real asset to the town, particularly as it has, in some cases, given artists the first opportunity of having their art displayed in public.

“Ideally, I would have liked it to continue, but there just aren’t enough folk buying art these days.

“We are in the online era, and we simply couldn’t survive another winter.”

Celyn was renting the council-owned outlet, previously a pop-up shop after the art gallery occupying it before that closed, and it’s not known what the future holds for the premises.

A final exhibition is to be launched on Wednesday, August 8, and it will be displaying artworks by Celyn and Mark Boston, a Roberton artist sometimes going by the alias of Bewildered Cauliflower.

The show’s opening night will run from 6.30pm to 8pm, and refreshments will be provided. Admission is free.

The gallery will close its doors for the final time on Saturday, September 15.

In the meantime, it is is open from 10am to 5pm Wednesday to Saturday and from 11am to 4pm on Sundays.

For further details, check out its Facebook page, www.facebook.com/pg/a7artspace

Sport and art are all set to collide during a fun-filled week for primary one to primary seven kids looking to end their summer holidays with a bang.

Charitable organisation Live Borders is running its first ever Holiday Activity Camp which will take place in Galashiels on Monday, August 13 to Friday, August 17 inclusive.

All events will be run by experienced and qualified members of the Live Borders’ team – with a range of experts leading on different activities to keep the kids entertained and make the best use of the skills from within the team.

Taking place at the Queens Leisure Centre, Borders Tennis Centre, Galashiels Swimming Pool and Galashiels Library, the camp will include athletics, giant board games, wet and dry inflatable sessions, gymnastics and circus skills all with the aim of making sure kids are healthier, happier and stronger.

Participants will be collected and dropped off each day (8.30am-5.30pm) at the Queens Leisure Centre and the camp will end on a high note with a roller disco party.

Graeme Murdoch, Active Communities manager for Live Borders, said: “There’s a whole host of fantastic activities to cater for all primary ages and abilities.

“It’s all about having a go, trying something new and having a great time; ultimately helping our kids to be happier, healthier and stronger, while making new friendships and having fun.”

Organisers believe the camp will provide the ideal end to the summer break and a chance for parents and grandparents to have some time off before the busy school term begins.

“As a parent, I know how hard it can be to arrange childcare and keep the kids occupied during the school holidays – especially this year with an extra week,” added Graeme.

“Our team came up with the Holiday Activity Camp to enable kids to have a fantastic last week of the holidays, and parents and grandparents the chance to chill out before the busy school term starts.”

Not only that – for every child for whom there is a booking, they will receive 10 per cent off their next party booking, plus one child will be selected at random to win a birthday party in one of the Live Borders’ party venues.

For more information or to book a place, go to www.liveborders.org.uk

One of the Borders’ leading female golfers has been selected to represent Scotland in this year’s Home Internationals.

Gemma Batty, from West Linton Golf Club, will take part in The Ladies’ Home Internationals – an annual event played over three days with teams from Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales.

This year, the event will take place at Ballybunion Golf Club in County Kerry, Ireland from August 8-10. Gemma will be part of a team of seven flying the flag for her country.

The announcement came from Scottish Golf, the governing body for amateur golf in Scotland, and Andrew McKinlay, chief executive, said: “The Ladies’ Home Internationals is a prestigious event, as the four nations all vie to be crowned the overall winner.

“At Scottish Golf, we’re passionate about supporting female talent from grassroot to elite level. As well as playing for fun, there are endless competitive opportunities available to those who play the sport – with The Ladies’ Home Internationals being one.

“I congratulate Gemma on making the selection and wish her every success in the competition. Let’s hope this will be Scotland’s year.”

The 24-year-old was introduced to golf by her parents at a young age and attended the University of Stirling on a golf scholarship, where she was ladies’ captain for three years in a row. She has represented Great Britain at the World University Games in South Korea (2015) and Chinese Taipei (2017).

Galashiels brothers Max, Lex and Frank Rogerson returned from their latest Brazilian Jiu Jitsu exploits with their most impressive medal tally, in their biggest competition to date.

The Annual World Junior BJJ Championships, held in England for the first time, resulted in 1600 entries from around the UK and 32 other countries around the world.

In the later rounds of the Gi categories, oldest brother Max (17) battled German fighter Surya Battenberg in the 65kg Gi semi-final and, within two minutes, defeated him via armbar submission.

In the gold medal final, Romania’s European champion, Denis Cristescu, proved a very strong opponent and won a well-contested match up, with Max having to settle for silver.

Younger brother Lex (15) defeated Joe Scholes (England) on points in his 55kg semi-final before losing a close final match with Wales’ Ryan Morris – so a further silver medal was in the bag.

Sunday featured No Gi competition – the brothers’ preferred discipline.

In the later rounds, Max defeated Irishman Aaron Henry 6-4 in a hotly-contested 63kg semi-final, resulting in a further gold medal match with Denis Cristescu.

The rematch was different from the previous day, with the final score level after five minutes. The match was decided by ‘referee’s preference’ and the Romanian – perhaps justifiably – edged it on more submission attempts.

Next up in No Gi was Lex, who worked his way to the 53kg final and took on the taller Reuben Middleton.

This, however, did not prove a disadvantage, as Lex quickly had the Englishman on the ground, mounted him and won, via armbar submission, to take the world gold medal in his division and retain his undefeated No Gi record.

Finally, the youngest Rogerson brother, Frank (11), a pupil at Glendinning Primary School, who only started competing this year, did very well in his category and took home a bronze medal, after losing to the eventual 28kg gold medal winner in the semi-final.

The brothers are coached by Kevin Hamilton at The Training Station in Tweedbank on Wednesday and Friday nights. Anyone interested in taking up Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can contact Kevin on 0783 344 8839.

A cluster of local sporting contests traditionally fills the diary in early August.

And one of the best of these is the Peebles Sevens – an early-season taste of top action from the shortened game before the action picks up regularly again in April and May to see who will be crowned Kings of the Sevens.

News that the format of the 2019 tournament was due to be discussed by the Border League clubs has been followed by confirmation that this contest will be the first to feature pools of 12 players per team, as opposed to 10, in addition to the use of rolling substitutes.

In the meantime, the draw has been made for the Peebles competition at The Gytes on Saturday, August 4 . Games are as follows:

Pool A – Selkirk v Gala, Selkirk v Melrose, Gala v Melrose.

Pool B – Watsonians v Hawick, Watsonians v Jed-Forest, Hawick v Jed-Forest.

Pool C – Biggar v Edinburgh Accies, Biggar v Heriot’s, Edinburgh Accies v Heriot’s.

Pool D – Peebles v Kelso, Peebles v Berwick, Kelso v Berwick.

Top Borders sides will be combining with some of the best from Edinburgh and the Lothians to serve up what will hopefully be a superb day of rugby.

Watsonians won the 2017 event at Peebles, defeating Gala 31-14 in the final, and went on to win the overall tournament, successfully defending their 2016 title.

Families from across the Borders are being encouraged to experience one of the highlights of the area’s calendar, the Border Union Show, at Springwood Park in Kelso today, Friday, July 27, and tomorrow, Saturday, July 28, from 9am to 5pm.

Organised by the Border Union Agricultural Society, the annual two-day event is a unique celebration of rural life and this year features more than 2000 cattle, sheep, horses, rabbits and poultry, plus a host of entertainment, live music, country crafts, shopping and fabulous food and drink.

Children under 16 enjoy free entry to the show and visitors can see giant Clydesdale and Shire horses, tiny Shetland and Highland ponies, donkeys, sheep, cattle, poultry, dairy goats and rabbits, watch demonstrations of weaving and horse-shoeing and learn about wildlife, bird and countryside conservation.

Families can enjoy Richard Savory’s fabulous Sheep Show with its dancing sheep, a fun fair, face painting, a climbing wall, kids’ bungee harness plus a special tractor ride experience.

They can also take their pets along to enter the Children’s Pet Show on the Friday.

Pony Club inter-branch team jumping on the Friday plus a Saturday line-up including side-saddle riding, carriage driving and a straw baling demonstration are just some of the activities that can be viewed in the main ring, which will also host a display of the region’s finest livestock in a Grand Parade of show class winners. On Saturday main ring entertainment also includes the electrifying motorbike stunts of Broke FMX as well as the awesome precision driving of Paul Swift’s Britalian Job Mini Cooper experience.

Some of the region’s finest artisan food and drink will be available to sample and buy within the event’s Food Fair, and a chef will demonstrate some delicious recipes made with local Borders produce in the Show’s new cookery theatre.

No country show would be complete though without baking and hand-crafting competition classes and visitors will have the chance see some of the best home-made jams, bakes and flower arrangements in the Borders.

This year’s Border Union Show will have even more shopping opportunities on both days, with more than 200 trade stalls selling adults and children’s clothing, crafts, handbags, jewellery, candles, baskets, woollens, art, pet accessories and a host of other gifting and homeware products.

The event also includes pipe and brass bands plus a new music stage featuring local musicians performing a range of styles from jazz and folk to rhythm and blues. Young musicians from schools across the region will also take part.

For over 18s, the Border Union Agricultural Society has also reintroduced its popular show dances on the Friday and Saturday evenings.

Show-goers can view the latest agricultural equipment, learn about a host of veterinary products and rural business services, and catch-up with friends and colleagues in the agriculture industry to discuss farming life.

The society will also be hosting a free seminar for farmers on Friday, July 27, on the subject of succession planning. Called Grasping the Nettle, it features advice from experts in law, land agency, banking and accountancy. Please note, pre-booking is essential.

Neil Thomson, chairman of Border Union Agricultural Society, said: “The Border Union Show is a great day out, not just for farmers, but for people of all ages and from all walks of life.

“It’s a fantastic showcase of the best of Borders rural life and offers the opportunity to enjoy some great family entertainment, to see some amazing animals, learn about the latest farming techniques, sample delicious food from the region’s artisan producers and to spend time with friends and family.

“We’re looking forward to welcoming thousands of visitors to Springwood Park again this year.”

The Border Union Show usually attracts around 20,000 visitors and this will be the first year that the event has been organised by the society’s new executive director, Mags Clark, along with her small team and many dedicated volunteers.

She said: “I remember visiting the Border Union Show as a child with my family and am thrilled that I’m now helping to organise one of the most important events in the Borders’ calendar.

“We’ve introduced a number of new features this year which we think show-goers will love, such as tractor rides, show dances and our new cookery theatre.

“We hope that families from across the Borders and Northumberland will come and enjoy the fun this weekend.”

A family from Selkirk has thanked the good Samaritans of Lancashire who came to their aid when a journey to Blackpool turned into a traumatic trip.

Simone Cleghorn and her partner Stuart Foster were heading down for a day at Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach yesterday, with nine-year-old daughter Rhea-Marie and her pal Miah when the M6 was brought to a standstill due to a lorry crashing into a bridge between Broughton and Galgate.

And just to make a bad situation worse, the clutch on their car broke. They managed to get the car to the hard shoulder, but they were stuck there in searing heat at 11.30am, with the AA unable to reach them because of the accident. Fortunately, they had left their seven-month-old daughter at home with a sitter.

Simone said: “It was so hot waiting around, but the girls were doing well.

“Lorry drivers gave us water, crisps and sweets for the girls and police bikers kept coming past to make sure we were ok.

Seven scorching hours later, there was still no chance the AA could reach them, but the family was helped by several helpful locals, who ensured they had water.

However, they were getting hungry, until Jenna Barnes, a care co-ordinator from Lancaster asked if there was anything she could do for them.

Simone said: “Jenna was lovely. I expressed my concerns about the girls not having anything proper to eat and she offered to send someone to the chippy to get us food.”

Simone also told her that they had to get back home soon because their seven-month-old daughter was waiting for them.

Eventually, a plan was hatched to get the family off the motorway, up a large banking and over a fence to wait on a bridge, so they could meet up with a taxi, which would take them home.

Simone added: “We were picked up by a taxi at 9.30pm that brought us home, arriving back at 11.45pm.”

This morning, Jenna shared the story on our Facebook page to see if she could find out if the family made it home safe.

And, despite Jenna not knowing Simone’s name, the two were connected quickly.

Simone commented: “Messaged you Jenna. you did a fantastic job yesterday! x”

As for the extreme kindness shown by all the Lancastrians, Jenna told us: “I was happy to help.

“I’ve been in that situation myself with no help and it was awful with kids in the car.”

Simone tells us the AA has been in touch to tell her they will deliver her car today ... now all she has to do is try to get her money back for the pleasure beach tickets.

A memorial stone in a former Borders cemetery dedicated to German prisoners of war is in line to be rebuilt to mark the centenary of the armistice that ended the First World War.

Stobs Camp, near Hawick, housed more than 4,000 POWs, the majority of them German, during the 1914-to-1918 conflict, and plans have been drawn up to pay tribute to those who died during their time there .

Few escapes were reported, but there were two suicides during that period, and a cemetery was created at the camp in 1915, providing a resting place for the bodies of 35 soldiers, four sailors and six interned German civilians by the time the last POWs left at the end of 1919.

Their bodies were disinterred over 50 years ago, but the remnants of a memorial created by German prisoners to their dead comrades remains on the site.

Now, Scottish Borders Council has received an application from landowner James Anderson, of Penchrise Farm Cottage at Stobs, and Archaeology Scotland to reinstate the free-standing cairn erected at the old cemetery site in 1917.

A report from Stobs Camp project officer Andrew Jepson says that, although no longer a cemetery, the area is still “a place of reflection”.

It adds: “As part of the centenary of the Armistice commemorations, we propose the reinstatement of the former memorial stone at Stobs Camp to remember German prisoners of war buried in the cemetery during the First World War.

“The bodies were disinterred in 1962, but the former cemetery remains a place of reflection.

“Archaeology Scotland manages the Stobs Camp Project and works closely with, and is supported by, many organisations, including Hawick Archaeological Society, Hawick Callants’ Club and local landowners.

“Contact has been made with the War Memorial Trust, and they have no objection to the reinstatement of the memorial.”

The work will involve stripping down the existing damaged stonework forming the base of the 2.5m-tall cairn, sourcing and grading appropriate building materials, building profile frames and reinstating the memorial using reinforcing rods.

The proposed reinstatement is intended to replicate the original design as closely as possible, but a new plaque will be added.

“The stone plinth is extant so there is no impact on tree roots,” adds Mr Jepson.

“It is currently surrounded by the remains of the demolished memorial stone.”

A massive fast-moving wildfire in northern California has killed two firefighters and forced tens of thousands of people to flee their home to safety.

The blazes in Shasta county, known as the Carr fire, that started on Monday, have jumped the Sacramento River and reached the city of Redding, 100 miles south of the Oregon border.

Around 37,000 residents fled or were evacuated as flames shot towards them from nearby forested hills. Only five per cent of the fire has been contained.

Around 3,400 firefighters are on the ground battling the inferno, which covers around 48,300 acres, while helicopters and planes attempt to tackle the flames from the air.

At least 500 homes and other buildings have been destroyed.

The fires are being sucked up by strong winds to form “flaming tornadoes”, which uproot trees, overturn cars and shake fire-fighting equipment. They took “down everything in their path,” said Scott McLean, a spokesman for Cal Fire, the state agency responsible for fighting wildfires.

Fire inspector Jeremy Stoke, and another firefighter hired to contain the blaze with a bulldozer, but who has not been named, died while trying to contain the fire.

Three firefighters have been treated for burns to their ears, face and hands while five civilians were also treated for fire-related injuries.

Mike Mangas Mercy spokesman for the Medical Centre in Redding, said six babies in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit were evacuated to the UC Davis Children’s Hospital as a precaution.

Fire crews have also been trying to ensure people’s safety as burning embers blew up to a mile ahead of the main fires, creating further dangers.

Jonathan Cox, battalion chief with Cal Fire, said the priority was now saving life.

“We’re not fighting a fire. We’re trying to move people out of the path of it because it is now deadly, and it is now moving at speeds and in ways we have not seen before in this area.”

“I’ve never experienced something so terrifying in my life,” said Liz Williams, who put her two children in her car and then found herself trapped in bumper-to-bumper traffic with neighbours trying to retreat from Lake Redding Estates.

Eventually she decided to take her children and flee by foot.

“I didn’t know if the fire was just going to jump out behind a bush and grab me and suck me in,” Williams said. “I wanted out of here.”

Fire officials warned the blaze would probably burn deeper into urban areas before there was any chance of containing it, though it either changed direction or was stopped before it could burn into the core of the city.

Meanwhile, the Ferguson fire has resulted in the decision to close much of the world-famous Yosemite National Park to visitors until 3 August.

Experts say this has been the worst start to the fire season in a decade.

They cite the 2012-2017 drought which eradicated large areas of vegetation as being one of the key factors.

Most stock at the Sainsbury’s store in Kelso has been replenished, after the fridges and freezers cut out last week.

Customer Tamzin Rodwell Thomas said the store “appeared to be in crisis” on Friday, with no chilled items available and fresh food in low supply.

“There was no fresh meat, cheeses, frozen products, takeaway chilled goods and very little fresh fruit and vegetables,” she said. “The shelves have been sparsely stocked for weeks.”

Apologising for the break-down, a Sainsbury’s spokesperson said there had been a brief issue with the fridges and freezers at the Kelso store last Friday.

They added: “They are now fixed and the vast majority of products have been replenished. We’re sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.”

Almost a third of the hikes making up this year’s Scottish Borders Walking Festival, the 24th, have sold out already even though it’s still over a month away.

Hawick is hosting this year’s week-long event, and 26 walks are being held in and around the Teviotdale town from Sunday, September 2, to Saturday, September 8.

Eight are already sold out, but places are still available on the other 18.

They include outings to Stobs Camp, home to up to 4,500 German prisoners during the First World War, and Hornshole, the scene of a skirmish between local youths and an English raiding party in 1514.

Walkers can also retrace the 13-mile return route of Hawick Common Riding’s Mosspaul rideout or try out a 12-mile circular walk taking in the hamlet of Craik and Borthwick Water.

Scottish Borders Council’s executive member for planning and environment, Leaderdale and Melrose councillor Tom Miers, said: “The popularity of the Scottish Borders Walking Festival continues in its 24th year, with almost a third of the walks already sold out.

“It is a fantastic event which sees a different Borders town host a week of walks every September, allowing ramblers from across the UK to enjoy the Borders’ landscape.

“There are walks for all abilities, ranging from 1.5 miles to 14.5 miles in distance.

“Despite a number of walks being fully booked, there is still a wide variety of routes on offer which take in attractions such as a former First World War camp, the historic common Riding, the Scottish-English border, remote communities and Hawick itself.”

This will be the fourth time Hawick has hosted the festival, first held in West Linton in 1995, in its own right, the three previous occasions being in 1996, 2003 and 2011. It also co-hosted the event with Jedburgh in 2009.

For details, visit www.borderswalking.com

A £130,000 restoration of a Borders landmark is now under way.

The Monteath Douglas Mausoleum, near Ancrum, is being given a makeover, thanks to the efforts of a group of volunteers.

Grants from the Fallago wind farm environment fund of £59,444, Wren and FCC Environment of £59,450 and BCCF Environmental of £10,000 are allowing the Friends of Monteath Mausoleum to embark on work to restore the 19th century building to its former glory and improve public access to the site.

That work is due for completion late next year.

The building is the tomb of Bengal Army officer Thomas Monteath Douglas, alive from 1788 to 1868. His daughter was married to William Monteath Scott, of Ancrum, and he picked the top of Gersit Law on his son-in-law’s land as his final resting place.

Designed by Edinburgh architecture firm Peddie and Kinnear and built in 1864, the mausoleum was abandoned in 1964 after the death of the last family member and its ownership status is now unclear.

Friends group member David Freeman said: “This fine monument was deteriorating through neglect. It is in the same area as Peniel Heugh, Fatlips Castle and the St Cuthbert’s Way long-distance path, but poor access and the general state of the building mean that hundreds of people pass by on the A68 every day without knowing of its existence.”

“Generous funding from Fallago, Wren and BCCF Environmental will ensure that visitors to this wonderful place can appreciate its history, fine design and stunning views long into this century and beyond.”

The grade-B listed mausoleum is currently on Scotland’s register of buildings at risk.

Fallago fund chairman Gareth Baird added; “The Monteath Douglas Mausoleum is a beautiful piece of historic architecture, and we’re delighted that the Fallago environment fund is able to help to restore and preserve such a fascinating Borders landmark for local people and visitors to enjoy.”

Jedburgh’s tourist information centre has been spared the axe as part of the cull of advice offices for visitors announced by VisitScotland in October last year.

It will be the only VisitScotland iCentre left in the region following the closure of its counterpart in Peebles High Street in February next year and the handover of its opposite number in Hawick to leisure trust Live Borders eight months later.

Kelso’s town hall iCentre, one of 40 being scrapped nationwide by VisitScotland, has already shut.

Jedburgh’s iCentre’s future has been secured by its being named as the regional hub for the 70-plus tourist information points across the Borders.

The Murray’s Green office, next to the town’s abbey, is one of 26 such hubs being created nationwide and is now in line for extra investment, including having £6,000 spent on new signage.

VisitScotland points to a drop in footfall of almost 60% at its iCentres since 2005 as justification for closing them.

A spokesperson for the tourism promotion body said: “A pioneering tourism project by VisitScotland is being extended into the Scottish Borders region to meet the increasing changes in the ways visitors seek information.

“As digital channels and the widespread use of mobile devices have transformed the way visitors source information and make bookings, we have taken innovative steps to create a more consumer-orientated approach.

“The new strategy will address a 58% drop in footfall to VisitScotland information centres across Scotland from seven million visitors in 2005, with two out of three visitors now accessing information online.

“This dynamic approach is being introduced to ensure customer demands are met by an increase in the number of channels providing content on places to visit and stay.

“These steps will be supported by 26 manned centres in key high-profile locations across the country operating as regional travel hubs and benefiting from greater investment and a wider geographical remit.

“For the Borders, Jedburgh will now be the hub for the region, with the iCentre in Peebles ceasing trading from February 17, 2019.

“Jedburgh’s iCentre will be supported, however, by over 70 VisitScotland information partners across the Borders, including a wide range of accommodation establishments, encompassing hotels, bed-and-breakfasts, self-catering facilities and camping sites.

“This new approach will allow us to reflect changing visitor demands and deliver more personalised information through a diverse range of channels so people stay longer, spend more and help to grow the economy.”

VisitScotland is also investing around £10m in its digital activity.

Malcolm Roughead, chief executive of VisitScotland, added: “The way visitors access information has changed significantly, and we need to reflect this by switching investment to new initiatives in order to reach more people with personalised information so they stay longer, spend more and grow the visitor economy.

“The new two–year strategy will see a significant increase in the number of channels providing content on places to visit and stay, with a mix of industry partners and digital products sitting alongside 26 key iCentres in high-impact locations.”

Plans to stop providing plants for flowerbeds in a bid to cut costs have been put on hold by Scottish Borders Council following protests from community councils and horticultural groups.

The regional council has faced such widespread and vehement opposition since announcing earlier this year that it would stop providing bedding plants for floral displays from next spring that it has now backed down and put off making a decision until next year.

“Over the last six months, Scottish Borders Council has been meeting and discussing with local residents plans to change the way floral displays are managed,” said a spokesperson for the local authority.

“Having spent a lot of time listening and understanding concerns, the council has decided to defer plans to amend the current service until next year.

“This will allow time for further conversations to take place.”

Galashiels councillor Sandy Aitchison, the council’s executive member for neighbourhoods and locality services, said: “Many productive discussions have taken place with key local groups over several months regarding our plans to introduce permanent displays rather than seasonal planting and change or remove areas of bedding plants.

“What has become apparent is that both the council and communities need more time to discuss how we can, working together, deliver financially and environmentally-sustainable displays.

“It is for that reason that we have agreed to defer any changes for 12 months.

“During that time, we will continue to work closely with communities and in bloom groups to explore the support that they may require to play their part and undertake bedding plant maintenance and also look together at how some areas could be redesigned to meet all our objectives.”

The council remains committed to increasing the number of wildflower areas in the Borders, replacing more formal displays, and residents are being asked to suggest locations that could be turned into grassland or wildflower meadows to increase biodiversity.

Suggestions can be made online at www.scotborders.gov.uk/neighbourhoodservices

Jedburgh, Hawick, Ancrum and Kelso community councils were among those to register objections to the cost-cutting plans, and Rory Stewart, Ian Turnbull and David Coyle, chairmen of the first three respectively, sent a joint letter of complaint to council chiefs in June saying: “Bedding plants are also at risk of complete removal in next year’s budget, with Scottish Borders Council banking on members of the public taking it upon themselves to plant the stunning beds that we have enjoyed for many years under the heading #yourpart.

“There is only so much communities can take on and, yes, an odd bed here and there would be acceptable at a push, but asking the public, many of them elderly, to manage the planting schedule is another statement from the council that they are so out of touch with reality, and that the ivory tower in which they make these decisions is far more removed from everyday society, that councillors have forgotten who actually elected them into the position that they currently enjoy. Removal of this service will hammer another nail in the coffin of an already-delicate economy.”

A Galashiels mum has gone viral after a video of her phone being struck by lightning was viewed over 200,000 times.

Tracey Kutluol was filming last Thursday’s storm from her living room window when her iPhone was zapped by the thunderbolt.

The dramatic footage shows the mum-of-two joking “I’m going to get electrocuted” as she opened her window to get a better look at the storm.

The video shows dark clouds and thunder can be heard before a flash of lightning strikes the phone.

Tracey, who was with her children Max, 10, and Mia, 14, while filming the video, said her life flashed before her eyes.

The 43-year-old claims an electric shock ran up her left arm, leaving her with extreme pins and needles.

She said it was her new rubber phone cover - delivered just hours before she was struck - that saved her life.

Tracey, a stay at home mum, said: “I was trying to film how dark it was and hoping for a little lightning that I could capture but I did not anticipate that it would hit me.

“The lightning hit the pop socket on my phone.

“And if I am being honest, that saved my life otherwise my phone would have probably exploded.

“I was not hurt and all the kids and my friend who were with me were all fine. My kitchen light bulb managed to blow up though.

“You have no idea how powerful lightning is, I could still feel pins and needles from my left hand starting from my pinky all the way up to my elbow.

“When it hit, it was like a big blue light.

“That was when I realised that my life flashed before me. I just threw my phone and we all started to panic and scream.”

Terrified the house might catch on fire, Tracey and her kids ran to hide in her bedroom on the ground floor of the townhouse, where she thought it would be safest.

She said: “My son tried to make sure the cat wouldn’t jump out of the window. My daughter thought the place was going to go on fire.

“As a mother, my job was to try and comfort my kids and keep them calm. We pulled all the plugs off the sockets and run to my room.

“Then on the third floor, it’s my son’s room, bathroom, and our living room. So my room is on the lower ground so I felt we would be much safer there.

“We stayed there until 11.30pm.”

Tracey says the frightening incident is one she will “never forget” but said she is thankful to the eBay seller who she purchased the phone case from.

She said: “I message him the next day telling him I was so thankful for that case as it actually saved my life.

“At first, my children thought my case looked funny but I bet they are happy with it now. I think I will probably buy the pink version of that phone cover from him.”

Tracey says she wants to raise awareness for anyone else who plans to film lightning.

Since the incident, she has posted a video which has had over 200,000 views.

Police have launched an investigation into how bogus workmen defrauded a 92-year-old Melrose woman of a five-figure sum of cash.

Between June 28 and July 17, the pensioner was visited at her home on at least three occasions by two men claiming to be from an Edinburgh masonry company.

The pair advised the woman that they were carrying out work on the outer portion of her garden wall and were able to take her money over the course of the month.

A family member then contacted police after being made aware of these incidents and establishing that no work had been undertaken at the property.

The suspects are described only as white, in their forties and with skinny builds.

Inspector Bryan Burns from Melrose Police Station said: “These individuals have repeatedly targeted a vulnerable member of the Melrose community and were paid large sums of cash for work that was neither required in the first instance, nor carried out in any case.

“Anyone who believes they have information relevant to this investigation should contact police immediately.

“We would once again urge the public not to allow unsolicited callers to carry out any work or repairs on their properties. Only use trusted tradespeople, who you have contacted in advance.

“In addition, we would ask that our communities be wary of any suspicious activity around the homes of elderly or vulnerable friends, family and neighbours and report any concerns you may have to us.

“We have a range of really useful crime prevention advice available on our website at www.scotland.police.uk”

Those with information relating to this incident can contact Melrose Police Station via 101 and quote incident number 1540 of July 30. Alternatively, an anonymous report can be made to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Councillors have rejected plans to build a two-bedroom home on a plot of land at Darnick.

Builder and roofer Ian Maxwell, of Smith’s Road, lodged an appeal after his plans were rejected by council officers concerned about parking problems and overdevelopment.

The house was lined up for a small plot of land set back from the road behind his garden.

The initial application attracted several complaints from neighbours worried about loss of green space and the proximity of the development to their homes.

Neighbour Dawn MacIver said: “I can hardly bring myself to comprehend the resources and energy which have been wasted up to this point, but perhaps, just perhaps, in the inordinate amount of time that has lapsed since Mr Maxwell’s quest to win and personally benefit, we’ll all just forget that this actually a garden we are talking about, not, as has been alluded to, a building plot by any stretch of a very active imagination – in fact, a garden which used to house a particularly fetching pigeon coop and washing line and some organic brambles.

“This simple organic structure even then filled the space, and you would have been lucky to swing a very scrawny, skinny, possibly freakish feral cat in it, never mind build a house.

“Perhaps we should all start building houses in our teeny gardens and call it progress.”

Members of Scottish Borders Council’s local review body voted unanimously to uphold the initial rejection of the planning application.

Summarising his reasons for voting against the application, Galashiels councillor Andy Anderson said: “I’m inclined to agree with the officer’s original decision to reject this application. It appears to be rather large for the street, and it does appear to have been shoehorned in there.

“The parking issue is also mentioned in the reasons for rejection, and I’m inclined to agree with that too.”