As the town prepares to host the first open Scottish Conker Championships, top-of-the-tree officials are worried about a shortage of chestnuts.

They are so worried they've mounted a Borders-wide appeal for the shiny Sapindaceae – the horse chestnut or buckeye to the North Americans.
Organisers reckon they'll need about 500 cheggers to satisfy the needs of competitors who are expected to flock to Peebles for the championships on October 28.

The championships are being run under world-title rules drawn up by the Ashton Conkers Club in Northamptonshire where the inaugural chestnut challenge was held in 1965.

And these rules mean that competitors have to use conkers and string supplied by officials – hence the great cheggie collecting flurry that's now under way.

The Scottish championships are part of the five-day Tweed Valley Forest Festival being organised by Forestry Commission Scotland.

Festival head Chris Sawers told TheSouthern: "We need around 500 for the three categories and we are hoping that people will gather them in and bring them to us. Collection bins have placed at the Eastgate Theatre in Peebles.

"Horse chestnuts are smaller than they have been in past years and some trees have also been attacked by a fungi-type disease. On a serious note, that is worrying. It was initially thought the disease was like Dutch Elm. But that is carried by beetles.

"The chestnut tree disease is not the same and we are still trying to determine how it is transmitted."

But she's sure there will be enough cheggies to satisfy the nutty title-chasers.

And a rebel element has emerged among the organisers. They've organised a rogue section that will be held outwith the world rules.
Chris revealed: "The rogues decided they wanted their own competition. It means that players in this section can play with their own nuts and string. We are expecting a large entry."

Harry Lukas of event-backers Buccleuch John Sale told us:
"It's great to see a traditional childhood game making a comeback and that Peebles is hosting the first championships. I'm sure this will become a tradition.

"It is bound to be a smashing day out for all – literally."

Playing chestnuts used to a popular playground pastime – if you got a sixer, you were something of a champ, and a target. The fun has now been banned in some schools because of injury fears. Safety equipment will be available at Peebles if requested by competitors.

As in all sports there are sadly cheats – with secret methods of turning a weedy cheggie into a champion. These included soaking a chestnut for a week in vinegar; several hours of slow, steady baking in a low oven; leaving them in the airing cupboard for a year and even the application of nail varnish!

The Tweed Valley Forest Festival runs from Wednesday to next Sunday and involves a host of events. For information on the festival or to register for the championships log onto www.forest-festival.com or phone 07801 308 99.

Late entries will be taken on the day up to 11am.

Age groups are seven to 11 years; 13-18 years; 18 years and over and rogues for anyone over seven years.

z That great Roman conqueror Julius Caesar might have wanted to say "Veni, vidi, aesculus hippocastanumi" ("I came, I saw, I conkered"). But he couldn't have – because the horse chestnut tree wasn't introduced to Britain until the 1600s and the first recorded game of conkers didn't take place until 1848.