District News

Cafe

The next community cafe will be held in the village hall from 11am-noon on Wednesday, June 15.

caddonfoot

Parish church

The Reverend Elspeth Harley conducted the service on Sunday. The Bible reading was delivered by Bill Birch, and music played by Andy and Catriona Bird. Bible study during the summer months will be held in Caddonfoot Church. There is a trial opening of the church this week – volunteers should contact Irene Bruce. The gardens at Yair House were open under Scotland’s Gardens Scheme on Sunday, with part of the proceeds going to the church. A few members of the congregation added their support. This Sunday’s service will be conducted by the Reverend Julie Woods, from Earlston, following the Local Congregational Review, and members are asked to attend early (from 9am) to chat to the minister, who would like to talk to as many as possible.

cappercleuch

Fun day

The village hall and St Mary’s Sailing Club will join forces on Saturday, June 11, from 2pm with a fun day at the sailing club field, St Mary’s Loch. The event, open to all, includes stalls, barbecue and a bar, plus races games and challenges.

earlston

Lunch club

Proceedings began with a hairdressing demonstration by Morag from Aquarious Hairdressers and one of the club members had her hair done. After lunch there was a game of indoor golf and the winner was Mrs M. Greenshields. The club was saddened by the loss of one of its members, May Cessford, last month. It is grateful to her family for a donation of £407. The next club gathering is Thursday, June 9.

Parish church

The service at 10.15pm on Sunday, June 12, will be conducted by members of the worship team. Holy communion will be celebrated on Sunday, June 19, at 10.15am.

Wednesday Club

Hostess Mrs S. McKay opened the latest meeting, welcoming members before entertaining them with a slide show entitled “Auld Earlston Part Two”. It brought back lots of memories and laughs. Competition – evening bag – 1, Ms K. Brownlie; 2, Mrs W. Henderson; 3, Mrs A. Penman. The next meeting is the annual trip – this year to Barony Castle to see the Great Polish Map of Scotland made by Polish soldiers. The bus will leave The Square at 12.15pm.

Eckford

Path launch

Impressionist and comedian Rory Bremner will launch the newly-created Jubilee Path linking the three villages in the Crailing, Eckford and Nisbet Community Council area on Friday, June 17, at 10am in The Loaning, Eckford.

Strawberry fair

A strawberry fair will be held in the village hall on Sunday, June 12 (11am-3pm).

galashiels

St Peter’s Church

Thursday, June 9 – 10am, communion in church hall, followed by study group and soup lunch. Saturday, June 11 – 12.30pm, soup and pud lunch. Sunday, June 12 – 9.30am, Sunday Squad, followed by juice and toast; 10.30am, sung eucharist followed, by coffee and chat; 6pm, healing and anointing service. Monday, June 13 – 11am, communion at Oakwood Park. Thursday, June 16 – 10am, communion in church hall, followed by study group and soup lunch.

Trinity Church

Sunday’s service was conducted by the minister, Elspeth Harley, and the music led by Dorothy Howden. Bible lessons were read by Marette Hose. Bill Cheyne announced that the coffee morning which was held on Saturday morning had raised £200. A short communion service was held at Caddonfoot Church on Sunday afternoon. On Saturday, June 11, there will be a service in the church at 8pm. This is a commissioning service for the new street pastors who will go out for the first time that evening at 10pm. On Sunday, June 12, the Reverend Julie Woods will be taking the service which will be followed by a lunch and local review in the hall. The kirk session will meet on Tuesday, June 14, at 7pm in the small hall.

glendouglas

Whist

The monthly whist drive will be held on Monday, June 13, at 7.30pm. Entry, £2, includes supper.

jedburgh

Bridge club

May 30 – 1, J. and M. Miller; 2, J. Bridger and A. N. Other; 3, J. Urquhart and J. Kyle; 4, M. Weightman and H. Long.

kelso

Sinfonia

Yetholm Sinfonia Wind Soloists presented an evening of entertainment to mark the 200th anniversary of Kelso Town Hall on Sunday. The opportunity to see the council chamber in the setting where concerts were regularly held during the early 20th century was celebrated in style with a memorable performance. Proceeds for this event are being donated to the Yetholm Macmillan committee.

Roxburgh Singers

The Roxburgh Singers performed Haydn’s “Creation” to appreciative audiences in Melrose Parish Church and St Andrew’s in Kelso. Directed by Marion Dodd, with an orchestra led by Cath Cormie and three soloists – Aimee Toshney (soprano), John Findon (tenor) and James Letham (baritone) – the performance was acclaimed as “polished”, “magic” and “very professional”. There will be a donation to TD1 Radio from the charity performance at Kelso. The Roxburgh Singers are looking for others to join them. They rehearse in Hawick (Drumlanrig School) on Mondays at 7.30m. Anyone interested should contact Margaret Moyes on 01750 22418 for further information.

Bridge club

Wednesday, June 1 – match-pointed pairs – N/S – 1, Joyce Thomson and Helenor Pratt; 2 (equal), Dominic and Diana Alkin, Jean Henry and Myra Thomson; E/W – 1, Sheena McPherson and Sheila Urquhart; 2, Ian and Eliz Ross; 3, Brian

Turn to page 46

From page 45

Saywood and Ken Ross. June 2 – aggregate pairs – N/S – 1, Bob Stevenson and Lee Leeson; 2, Mary and Nigel Lindsay; 3, Stuart Graham and Jim Stone; E/W – 1, Brian Saywood and Sheila Urquhart; 2, Marion Miller and Chris Anthony; 3, James Tweddle and Bill Elliot.

LANGHOLM

Fun day

The local Co-op held a fun day, with entertainment lasting several hours. The proceeds were shared between the British Red Cross and several local charities, and the Co-op car park was a hive of activity in sunny weather. The pipe band was in attendance, and the police and fire brigade were also on hand with demonstrations. Other attractions included a bouncy castle, throwing the wet sponge, face-painting, baking stall, tombola and raffle.

Common riding

Simon Tweddle was welcomed to the common riding members’ meeting held in the Crown Hotel and was congratulated by chairman Roger Maxwell on being elected Cornet for 2016. The chairman said it was the fifth year that Simon had stood, and he had waited a long time, but maybe that would make it all the more enjoyable for him, and he could rely on the full support of members. It was agreed that the allowance for the Cornet would be increased from £850 to £900. The allowance for the Right and Left-Hand Men will also go up, from £425 to £450. The Flute Band would get £200, as they did last year, and the Town and Pipe Bands would both receive £500, with the matter of a bonus payment to be discussed at a later date. The report on the public meeting night revealed it had been reasonably well attended and there had been no complaints about the running of the Common Riding. Jimmy Hotson said it was a worrying time with the marshalling of horses at the handing in of the flag when the Cornet came into the Market Place at the end. He wondered if it was possible to have the officiating magistrate give most of his speech when the Cornet had gone to the Townfoot with the procession, so that all that would be left would be the address to the Cornet and his reply. The chairman confirmed that the matter had been discussed at length among the members. Among other things brought up by the public was the condition of the wall at the Kirk Wynd and Councillor Denis Male will be contacted about this. It was also said there were insufficient rubbish bins in the High Street as they were overflowing, and it was asked if they could be be emptied during the day. But it was agreed this was not a matter to concern members and they would write to the public houses and chip shop, asking them to consider the matter and perhaps contact the council for additional waste bins. Stephen Rae was instructed to order a new gazebo for the Highland dancing area. It was confirmed that there will be no championship at the Cumberland wrestling this year. Vice-chairman Tommy Morrison confirmed that the Castleholm was generally in good order and that fencing was being erected that week. He said the Wynd also seemed to be in reasonable condition. Only sponsors providing cash will be specifically named in the programme.

Band concert

The Town Band concert coincided with the Spring Fling when members held their event in Canonbie United Parish Church. On the Friday evening a large audience enjoyed a wide and varied selection of music. Under the baton of Chris Shanks, the band played former conductor Alan Fernie’s Paul Lovatt Cooper tribute, “Prismatic Light”, a fitting opening item. “Carindale”, a Salvation Army march from the Southern Hemisphere followed, before a complete change of tempo when principal cornet Nicole Weatherstone played “My Love is like a Red Red Rose”. The band then performed the test piece they had done in March at the Scottish championship, “A Cambrian Suite”, which has three Welsh hymns at its core. Christine Calvert entertained with the flugel solo, “Under the Boardwalk”, before the first half ended with Paul Lovatt Cooper’s “The Dark Side of the Moon”. Following the interval the Junior Band, under Christine Calvert, delighted the audience with a number of popular musical items. The youngsters rehearse every Tuesday evening and are continuing to improve, thanks to several members of the main band. Pharell Williams’ “Happy” provided a rousing start to the second half of the concert and “I Will Follow Him”, from the film Sister Act, continued the energetic theme. Jacqueline Elliot and Chris Shanks enthralled with the euphonium duet take on the classic Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli number, “ The Prayer”, “Gigue”, “Alleluia Amen”, “In God Presence” and the Jimmy Webb classic, “MacArthur Park”, brought the second half to a close. To round off the evening, a further treat for the audience was the Town Band being joined by the junior members to play The Proclaimers hit, “I’m Gonna Be ( 500 Miles)” and Alan Fernie’s “African Funk”.

lauder

Historical society

Isabel Gordon will give a presentation about “England’s Rough Wooing” on Wednesday, June 15, at 7.30pm in Lauder Youth Trust Hall. This is an open event and a non-member pays £2 at the door. Afterwards there will be tea/coffee and biscuits available for £1.

Church

There will be a joint service in Lauder Church on Sunday, June 12, from 11.30am, led by the Reverend John Shields. Within the service will be an acknowledgement of the Queen’s 90th birthday.

melrose

Parish church

Bowden and Melrose held a united service, after which a congregational meeting was held to select a nominating committee of 13 people which met the presbytery’s advisory committee on Wednesday, June 8, as the next step in the procedure for filling the vacancy. Sunday, June 12 – services at Bowden (9.30am) and Melrose (11am – kirk session after); 7.30pm, Abbey Consort at Holy Trinity, celebrating Shakespeare.

Trimontium

You wait for ages for a bus – and then two come together. Trimontium waited 25 years for national news coverage, and then on the same day Trimontium Trust chairman John Reid was interviewed on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 (as well as Radio Wales and Radio Scotland), and he and Burnswark (site of last year’s trust dig) appeared on the front cover of the July issue of Current Archaeology magazine – with a seven-page article inside. The dig starts again this summer and BBC4 will be filming it for inclusion in the “Digging Britain” series to be shown this autumn. The trust has submitted a funding application for a museum/community extension at the Ormiston (for which an amount of match-funding will require to be raised). Thursday, June 9 – Trimontium Walk, 1.30-5.30pm.

Open day

National Care Home Open Day and June fair will be held at Grange Hall, Drygrange, on Saturday, June 18 (2-4pm). Everyone is welcome to visit the home, get a guided tour and to join in the fun of the fair. There will be afternoon tea, stalls and – hopefully – games outside, plus musical entertainment by Jackie Kerr.

morebattle

Fishing

Morebattle fishing competition took place on Saturday. Results – 1, Jim McNulty; 2, George Cessford; 3, Stuart McNulty. The Caverton Mill competition will be held on June 18. The draw takes place on June 16, in the Templehall – names to David Gray.

Blooming

Morebattle In Bloom committee members were at the Kelso-based Charity Begins At Home presentation in the Cross Keys Hotel on Sunday when they received a cheque for £500. The cash will go towards plants, tubs, etc.

Queen’s birthday

As part of the Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations, villagers are holding a garden party in the Templehall on Sunday, June 12, from 1pm – hog roast, salads, tray bakes, birthday cake, bouncy castle, face-painting, games, live music and fancy dress.

Coffee morning

Morebattle Institute’s coffee morning will be held this Saturday, June 11, at 10.30am.

Festival Week

A Festival Week meeting will be held in the village hall on Tuesday, June 14, at 7.30pm – all people and ideas welcome.

newtown

Collection

This year’s house-to-house collection in Newtown and Eildon for Christian Aid raised £867.06.

oxton

swi

Fourteen members attended the Annual Generral Meeting held on Wednesday, May 18. The previous minutes were read by Agnes Bell, president, and approved. A new committee was voted for, with Agnes remaining in post as president, Sylvia Thomson (treasurer), Wendy Gilchrist, Jackie Pinkerton and Margaret Smith making up the committee. The secretaries duties will be shared. Following the AGM, everyone enjoyed a variety of food and home-made liqueurs brought along by members to the taste and try evening. The summer outing is to Woodside Gardens on Wednesday, June 15 – bus leaves Oxton at 5.30pm.

SOUTHDEAN

Open gardens

Sunday, June 26, from 2-6pm. Starting at Southdean Hall, this is a visit a collection of local gardens, returning to the hall for a cream tea, plant stall and sale of nearly-new gardening books.

stow

Fair

A summer fair with a soup ‘n’ pud lunch will be held on Saturday, June 18, at Stow Church. The event runs between 11am and 2pm.

YETHOLM

Theatre group

Isosceles Theatre Group return to Yetholm on Thursday, June 9, at 7.30pm for a concert entitled “Probably The Best Comedy Songs in the World Ever, Maybe!!”. Tickets are £8 and can be bought at the village shop or by contacting Susan Stewart.

Festival Week

Festival Week events start on Friday, June 10, with the principals visiting the primary school in the morning and men’s darts in The Plough at 7.30pm. Programmes are on sale in the shop and butchers, with details of all events throughout the week.