Two legends, a walk and a book

The charity walk takes place at the weekend, with over 50 family, friends and former teammates of Clive Millar setting off from Watsonians' home ground of Myreside on Saturday morning aiming to arrive at Kelso’s Poyner Park around 6.30pm on Sunday. The event will raise money in memory of Millar, the popular Kelso wing-forward who died in November last year, starting on the day he would have turned 59.

Millar was born in Berwick and brought up on the family farm at West Foulden, but would leave for school at George Watson’s College, where he played centre for the school and Watsonians, sometimes alongside brothers Bruce and Keith, and go on to play for Edinburgh District on the wing and tour Zimbabwe with the Co-optimists.

When he returned with wife Hazel to farm at West Foulden, he joined Kelso in the 1988/89 season, which ended with Kelso winning the Scottish National league Division One title for the second time in a row, Millar scoring two tries in the final against Ayr as Kelso lifted the Melrose 7s trophy and the now back-row being selected for a Scotland B international against France.

Millar went on to captain the Poynder Park club in 1991/92, leading the team back to the top flight with the Division Two title, and made 160 appearances as well as representing the South. He would help steer Kelso to three Kings of the Sevens crowns in three years, between 1996 and 1998, and played sevens for the Saltires and Co-optimists, affirming his status as a Kelso legend.

Adding to the occasion is the launch of a new book, ‘The Life of Billy: A Provost’s Tale’, which tells the life story of a Kelso legend from off the pitch, Billy Paterson. A long-time ‘sponge-man’ for Kelso and the South, trainer and team manager of Kelso football and rugby clubs, and local window cleaner, Paterson, now 88, is renowned as the unofficial ‘Provost of Ednam’. His book features a collection of humorous and fascinating stories, including persuading John F. Kennedy’s priest to admit to being an alcoholic and abstaining! It also features stories from players such as Jim Renwick, John Rutherford, John Jeffrey and Roger Baird on tours with Billy.

Eric Paxton, who has helped friends to organise the walk and contributed to the book, explained: “We wanted to do something to raise money that remembered Clive, and gave something back to the Friends of Borders General Hospital and the Margaret Kerr Unit, that looked after Clive so well, so we decided to do this walk between his two clubs with Clive’s family on what would have been his birthday.

“And then, when we knew Billy was writing a book, we thought it would be great to have the launch at the club at the end of the walk because Clive knew Billy well – as we all do – and with lots of Kelso people and rugby people coming together it seemed like a good way to round off the weekend. It will be a tiring weekend, no doubt, but good fun too."

The Millar family, Hazel and children Holly, Brogan and Cameron, will be joined on the walk by former teammates of Clive’s, Roger Baird, Bob Hogarth, Andrew Ker and Adam Marshall among others, while the 2023 Kelso Laddie, Andrew Thomson, and Scotland and Lions star Jim Renwick will join Billy Paterson at the event at Poynder Park for an open discussion on the book at 7pm, with all welcome.

‘The Life of Billy: A Provost’s Tale’, published by Footeprint, will be available to buy on Sunday night, priced £10, and thereafter in local shops, with the profits being shared between the Friends of the BGH and the ex-Kelso Laddies Club.