Bowden

TEA PARTY: Borders General Hospital cancer centre benefited by £1,160 as a result of a tea party held in the village hall on Saturday.

Denholm

MEMORIAL RUN: Results of Sunday's 48th annual Jimmie Guthrie Memorial Run, which attracted 150 entries – Denholm Householders' and Feuars' Shield for best car – 1935 Morris, G. Grierson, Ancrum, presented by Scott Tait; Steve Hislop Quaich – 1960 M.V., N. Cowan, Pitlochry, presented by Margaret Hislop; Mary Steel Rosebowl – 1962 Austin Healey, D. Stewart, Aberdeen, presented by Marilyn Douglas, New Zealand; Jimmie Guthrie Cup – 1912 Triumph, J. Hill, Cramlington, also presented by Marilyn Douglas, New Zealand – See page 13.

Earlston

QUIZ: Winner of the Earlston Twinning quiz sheet was G. Maxwell, Newtown.
CIVIC WEEK: Festivities run from Sunday till July 4. Sunday – 10am, church service in the marquee; 2pm, car treasure hunt; 6.30pm, junior five-a-side football. Monday – superstars bowling event. Tuesday – 6pm, pet show and superstars high jump event; 7pm, White Hill race (juniors); 7.30pm, Black Hill race; 8.30pm, quiz in the marquee. Wednesday – 1pm, kids' party time in the marquee; 6pm, adult five-a-side football; 7pm, superstars netball shooting event. Thursday – bowling tournament at the bowling club; bingo in the marquee. Friday – 1.30pm, senior citizens' entertainment in the rugby club; 8pm, cabaret, tickets available from The Black Bull. Saturday – 11.45am, fancy dress and floats at the primary school playground followed by parade at 1.15pm; 2pm, fun afternoon with various entertainment and final of the superstars event; 10.15pm, torchlight parade from the primary school. Children must be accompanied by an adult; 10.45pm, firework display at the rugby field; 11pm-1am, Rebel Rouser disco (ID card required).

Eccles

CHURCH: Sunday – 9.45am – morning worship.

Eckford

WRI: For their summer evening out, members visited Sue Elliot's workshop at Selkirk where she makes silk scarves by painting silk and incorporating other fabrics into her designs. The party then went next door to Rob Elliot's workshop where members admired his tables and chairs, all made from elm. This was followed by a meal at the Waterwheel which became a special occasion because a member was congratulated on her award of an MBE – she had several offers of hats for her big day.
SUMMER FAIR: The village hall is the venue for a summer fair on Saturday, from 1-4pm. Attractions include strawberry teas, plants, produce, crafts, games and competitions. There will also be a book sale, the proceeds of which will be shared with Books for All.

Edgerston

FUNDRAISERS: The Race for Life and Teenage Cancer Trust will benefit from wine and desserts in the marquee at Kath's at Bonjedward from 7pm tomorrow and on Saturday with soup and bacon rolls in Edgerston Hall (11am-2pm). All welcome – donations gratefully received.

Ettrickbridge

COFFEE MORNING: The next monthly coffee morning and plant and produce sale in aid of hall funds will be held in the village hall from 10am-noon on July 4, when anyone wanting to sell plants or any other produce should bring them along for sale. Tables will be available and a small donation to hall funds will be the fee. Further details are available from George on 01750 52243.

Ettrick Valley

PICNIC: Valley members of Macmillan Cancer Support have organised a picnic for Sunday as part of the charity's The Big Picnic, which is taking place during June and July all over the UK. The local fundraiser will be held at the Boston Hall from 2pm. Attractions include games and sideshows.

Hawick

Rotary Club: The club council met prior to the main meeting in the Buccleuch Hotel last Thursday when it was agreed that the club will support, along with other Borders Rotary clubs, the raising of funds for the purchase of two kidney dialysis units for Borders General Hospital. The proceeds of several fundraising events held by the Hawick club during the course of the next year will be designated for this cause. The club was well represented at a teach-in on the Hawick 'talking newspaper' arranged by past president Robin Mason and held in Teviot Church hall last Friday morning – Jack Swanston, Ron Laidlaw, Sandy Bannerman and Billy McWatters attended, as well as several wives of Rotarians. Tom Ingoldsby of Galashiels Rotary Club gave a practical insight into how everything worked. Peter Paterson-Brown, who has been involved for some time with the 'talking newspaper', passed on his experiences to those present. President Keith Bird welcomed Angela Dewar as guest speaker to the club meeting last week. She is president elect of the newly-formed Rotary Club of Melrose and gave Hawick Rotarians an insight into how the club began. The official handover and club assembly night takes place next week where the new office bearers will be installed. Alistair Davies, of Langholm Rotary Club, will tomorrow be installed as the new district governor and a dinner is being held to commemorate the event which will be attended be several Hawick Rotarians. The Hawick club is to receive a presidential citation that night. The club's international committee has organised a duck race in aid of funds. Hawick will be the organising host club for the Borders in respect of a visiting group study exchange team from South Africa in October. The editor of the club magazine, Iain Smith, wants contributions for the next issue. The annual conference of Rotary District 1020 will be held in York this year and among the entertainers will be Hawick band Scocha. The Rotary coffee morning held in Trinity Church Hall raised £528 for Foundation, which is Rotary's own charity.

Innerleithen

Church: Morning worship will be held at 10.30am on Sunday, with the Bible study group meeting in Innerleithen committee room at 6pm. Also in the committee room there will be a communion service next Thursday at 9.30am.

Jedburgh

ROTARY: Speaker Margaret Jeary told how the reminiscences of a one-time Border shepherd during the early 19th century came to her in email form from one of his descendents in California. She became engrossed and has now published the autobiography of the life of George Taylor who, at the age of 50, decided to follow his brothers to the United States where he introduced the cultivation of celery to the state of Michigan.
COFFEE MORNING: The Friends of Kelso Hospital are holding a coffee morning (10am start) on July 11 in the British Legion, Jedburgh.

Kelso

BRIDGE CLUB: The club welcomed 104 players to its third annual congress on June 14, held in the the Tweedie Stand at Kelso Racecourse. The afternoon session (congress pairs) was won by Norman and Bett Morrison (Dunbar), with Billy Potts and Archie Stewart (Kelso) in second place, and Renee Lees and Isabel Thom (Carlton Bridge Club) third. The evening session (Swiss teams) was won by the Berwick entry of Catherine McConnachie,
M. McDonald, Joan Tait and Marian Mead, with the team of Ken and Gwen Cole (Duns) and Iain and Anne Bannatyne (Fairlie) second. Third place went to Marguerite Robson, Betty Kelly, Christine McCreath and Gerald Sandwith (Berwick). Results from June 17 – N/S – 1, John Hayton and Lee Leeson; 2, Peter Jackson and Avril Ronald; 3, Archie Stewart and Billy Potts; E/W – 1, Brian Saywood and Ken Ross; 2, Helen and Malcolm Ouldcott; 3, Annie Mitchell and Jeanette Chalmers. June 18 – N/S – 1, Alastair and Alison Ireland; 2, Donald Swanson and Avril Ronald; 3, Georgina Hall and Isobel Amos; E/W – 1, Evelyn Erskine and Brian Saywood; 2, Peter Jackson and John Hayton; 3, Annie Mitchell and Jeanette Chalmers.
KELSO NORTH AND EDNAM: A party, led by the minister, has returned from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Later in the year there will be a slide show presentation of the trip. The church youth group, Spirals, travelled to Edinburgh for a visit to Dynamic Earth and the Scottish Parliament, followed by a meal at Carfraemill. Recent fundraising events have been well supported – the spring fair raised £1,875, the minister's soup and pudding lunch at the manse £350, plant sale £942 and the children's manse garden party £527. With £2,113 being raised through the minister's sponsored chest wax for the toddlers groups and playgroup, the children will be treated to summer outings. Tomorrow sees the manse barbecue at 20 Forestfield, beginning at 7pm – a bouncy castle will be erected in the front garden. Last Sunday's afternoon service for the blessing of pets was well received and much enjoyed, while this Sunday's worship will be shared by the minister and the Reverend Colin Johnstone, missionary partner from the United Church of Zambia who is about to take up an appointment in Israel. A songs of praise is being held at Ednam on Sunday at 6.30pm, featuring Grace Payne (organ), Gillian Payne (flute) and Gwen Mabon (soprano). Plans are now in hand for the next walking weekend in Perthshire (October 23-25) when the munro Ben Chonzie will be attempted. Both churches will be open to visitors during July and August, and during these months there will be only one diet of Sunday worship – July at Kelso North and August at Ednam. Plans are now on view for the refurbishment and redecoration of the vestibule and vestry at Kelso North, and comments are invited from the congregation.
FARMERS' MARKET: Kelso farmers' market will run from 9.30am-1.30pm in The Square on Saturday.

Langholm

Probus: The club meeting in the Eskdale hotel last Wednesday was attended by 22 members who were welcomed by president Tom Scott.
Guest speakers were Leslie Jardine and councillor Denis Male. Mr Jardine is soon to retire after 37 years in local government, latterly as head of corporate services for Dumfries and Galloway council. The topics he touched on ranged from conferences with study tours, to the freezing of the council tax. A lively question-and-answer period followed, in which Mr Jardine was quizzed about area managers, public consultation and sharing facilities with other regions. Mr Male answered the more local queries, such as why is a new school needing to be built when there is a building already there. He said it was not fit for purpose and is a listed building.
Young riders: The young riders' club celebrated the 250th anniversary of the Common Riding with a dinner in the Masonic Social Club last Friday evening. Ex-Cornet Tommy Morrison welcomed everyone and following a meal chairman Kieran Johnstone got proceedings under way. Cornet Derek Hogg and his Right and Left-Hand Men, Simon Richardson and Andrew Johnstone, were chief guests, along with Semi-Jubilee Cornet Billy Young. The toast to the Common Riding was made by Ex-Cornet David McVittie, with the reply from Michaela Maxwell. The Young Riders toast was proposed by Frank Steele, with Adam Park replying. Iain Little made the toast to Cornet Derek Hogg, to which the Cornet replied. There were songs from Nicky Henderson and Kyle Devlin, and Gregor Masterton played the bagpipes, plus music from some of the junior band members. Faron Young made presentations to the Cornet and Jubilee Cornet, and a vote of thanks was given by Dale Irving.

Langshaw

WRI: The final meeting before the summer break was a visit to the Robert Smail Print Works at Innerleithen before a meal at the Traquair Arms Hotel. The next meeting is in September.

Melrose

ROTARY CLUB: The club helped Melrose Festival committee with a number of events during festival week, including the bike ride and the crowning of the queen. At the latest meeting Ian Swanston and Bill Kloepfer, from North Berwick, shared their fundraising activities with the club and wanted to discuss how to attract new members. Malcolm Luing gave a talk on his role as the vulnerable persons secretary, which he undertakes in Melrose and has carried out at his previous club in Peebles. The official website – www.melroserotary.org.uk – has been updated by John Sharman with photographs of club events this year, details of upcoming events and pictures of Melrose. A section on the plant sale to be held in The Wynd on Saturday (9.30am-noon) has been added and it was confirmed that all proceeds would go to the kidney dialysis unit at the BGH. Southern Reporter editor Susan Windram will today be giving a presentation on how the newspaper supports local communities and charities.
CHURCH: Activities – Malawi Rice Challenge, 90 1kg bags to sell this summer at £2.75 to provide one child's education for a year; Church office open today; Sunday's services are at Bowden (9.30am communion) and Melrose (11am morning worship).
TRIMONTIUM: Representatives of The Trimontium Trust have returned from a week at the May-October commemoration in north Germany of the victory in 9 AD of the German tribes under Arminius over the Roman general Varus, who lost three legions and their followers in a prolonged ambush, caught between a marsh and a hill. What took the breath away was a huge re-enactment at the battle site attended by 26,000 people over four days, with a special stand built for spectators, 400 costumed re-enactors (including horses) from eight countries, a tented village for them to stay in and an interview with the local correspondent of the New York Times, curious to know why Scots had come. The trust will have a pictorial report on the Varusschlacht in October of this year.
FESTIVAL FANS: The newly-formed Melrose Festival Supporters' Group held their first fundraising event on a sunny Sunday morning at The Town House. This took the form of ladies' Sunday brunch, an idea proposed by two of the group committee members, and raised more than £1,700. The two guest speakers at the brunch were Esther Crawford, mother of two ex-Melrosians, and Deborah Cresswell (nee Lyall) who was Festival Queen in 1994. The group, which was formed to give financial support to the Melrose Festival, comprises a committee of 12 and many helpers. Anyone interested in joining should contact the secretary, Sarah Hirstwood, on 01896 822403.

Morebattle

Fishing: Winner of the boys' fishing competition was Greg Cessford, with Cameron Johnston runner-up. Pairs – 1, Drew Gibson and Brian McNulty; 2, Stuart McNulty (no partner); 3, Gilbert Elliot and George Cessford. The Caverton Mill competition will be held on Saturday, with the draw today at 9pm.
TRYSTING TREE: There was a large turnout of riders and spectators for the annual meeting of the Jethart Callant and Kelso Laddie at the Trysting Tree in Morebattle. The Reverend Robin McHaffie was MC and Councillor Alec Nichol delivered the address. The cup for best turned out Kelso rider went to Lea Cassie. Four Morebattle School pupils – Kate Thomson, Tamara Mallen, Silvie Henderson and Eildon Sibbald – performed the reel with the principals, followed by refreshments in the institute. Music was provided by the Jedburgh Silver Band.
Senior Citizens: The senior citizens' outing is to North Berwick on July 9. Names should be put on the list in the village shop.

Newcastleton

Fancy dress: The Legion week fancy dress competition took place last Saturday morning when Joe and Kerri Sergeant were the judges. The cup for the overall winners went to Mars Bars (Finlay Skelton, Ewan Kennedy, Sam and Oliver Downie), while best single entry was Amy Beaton, dressed as a clown. Results – four and under – most comical singles – Shane Richardson; pairs and groups – Rory and Callum Nixon (Reivers Return); best dressed singles – Amy Beaton (clown); 2, Sophie White (Spanish dancer); pairs and groups – Jodie, Nicola and Callum Adamson (Strictly Come Legion Dancing); most original singles – Abbi-Kate Taylor (weather girl); 2, Nicole Longstaff; 3, Elsa Michael; pairs and groups – Katie and Harry Adamson (Grand Prix). Five to 15 years – most comical singles – Callon Herd (guitarist); 2, Brandon Thomson (joker); pairs and groups – Finlay Skelton, Ewan Kennedy, Sam and Oliver Downie (Mars Bars); 2, Jamie Mitchell and Scott Lumsden (Blues Brothers); best dressed singles – Holly Thomson (matches for sale); 2, Michaela Richardson; 3, Evie Bond; pairs and groups – Ellie and Lisa Copeland (Beauty and the Beast); most original singles – Sadie Johnston (Alice); 2, Curtis Charlton (Robin); 3, Kacie Michael; pairs and groups – Connor and Sophie Mitchell (Who says there's now't in the Liddle); 2, Keira and Brodie Nichol; 3, Bethany Slater.

Oxnam

YOUTH CLUB: The next meeting of the youth club is tonight, featuring a barbecue and rounders at Rennieston at 6.30pm. Those attending are asked to bring something for the barbecue. More information from Cheryl on 01835 864541. Next month's meeting will be the summer trip on July 30 and is a day with Anna Craigen of Borders Forest Trust. Places must be booked beforehand with Wendy (01835 840644).

Selkirk

CUP NIGHT: Tickets for Saturday's Cup Night in the County Hotel are on sale in Rodgersons Newsagents, priced £6. Standard Bearer James Cheyne will sign the Ex-Standard Bearers' Roll and receive his Ex-Standard Bearers' tie. Speakers are former Merchant Company Standard Bearer John Smail, Standard Bearer Cheyne, Provost Jim Henderson and the winner of the Ex-Standard Bearers' Cup at the Rig, Guy Blair.

Traquair

PRAYER MEETING: A prayer meeting will be held next Thursday at 7pm in the vestry. The next morning service in Traquair Kirk will be on July 5 at 10.30am.

Walkerburn

SERVICE: The next service at Walkerburn will be in the village hall at 10.30am on July 19.

Westruther

FLOWER SHOW: The WRI flower show will be held on August 22. Doors open 2.30pm with the presentation of cups at 3pm. Sports at 1.30pm.

Yarrowford

DANCE: A dance held by Ettrick and Yarrow Ceilidh Club in Yarrowford Hall has resulted in £100 being given to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
CONCERT: The Sorries are in concert in Yarrowford Hall on Saturday from 7.30pm. Tickets available from Jim (01750 76204) or at the door.

Yetholm

RAMBLERS: Romany Ramblers meet on Saturday at the Wauchope Hall at 9am for a medium walk.
GARDENS: Yetholm residents were spoiled for choice on Sunday as two gardens were open to the public. The garden at Mindrum was open under the auspices of the Northumberland Gardens Scheme, while Meadowfield, Old Graden, near Kelso, welcomed members of the public under an event organised by Borders Flower Club which saw proceeds go to Breast Cancer Care.
WRI: Speaker this week was Amanda Withall, from Crookedshaws, who runs a farmhouse business specialising in making of pates. She is a member of the primary school council and a regular with the village pantomime.
PRIMARY SCHOOL SPORTS: Rain prevented the use of Yetholm playing field last week for the school sports, but the Wauchope Hall and school yard provided alternative venues. Jennie Robson repeated her success last year by lifting the girls' title, while top boy was James Dixon.
FUN RIDE: An equine ride was held in the Bowmont Valley last Sunday. It was organised by the Yetholm Border Shepherds' Show and was over a 10km route starting at Swindon Folds.
DOGS: There was a good variety of dogs seen in the village last weekend – Kelso Dog Show was taking place and a number of owners chose to stay in the village.
SHOP: The village shop is extending its hours – from next week it will remain open until 6pm, Monday-Friday.