It is interesting that whenever Huttonian moves away from the Merse hit figures for the Blog drop dramatically. Is it that the habitual bloggee is only interested in this peaceful if(in ancient times) strife torn location? Is it that devotees of the old blog are hoping for the sort of trenchant comment which caused local difficulties before? Huttonian has foresworn the confrontational approach (sorry, Peevish of Peebles) but there may be issues which if aired as they should be may raise a rankle or two.
I suspect that 'Housing in the Countryside' may be one of those. With big money at stake and with property prices rising at a rate never before seen in this neck of the marshes the temptation to go after the big bucks may be hard to resist in certain (carefully unspecified) circles. And with farming apparently in the doldrums the custodians of the countryside are going to face hard choices. Land owners in these parts have clout-how many people own rural Berwickshire, I wonder? It is interesting how the Tweed has so far escaped popular development. What other river of its size in the UK has escaped the pleasure boating, water skiing, booze cruising and other tourist orientated enterprises>? What major river in the UK has one bank at least owned by so few people. Fishing interests are all powerful in what is now authoratively described as the 'Best Salmon River in the World'. This is healthy for the fish and for the environment but I wonder if the pressure of 'Market Forces' may yet change all this. Perhaps even the Tweed Commissioners have their price?
Any ideas for the shape of future rants or subjects in this area to be examined in depth by the Hutton Think Tank (Ht2) please feel free to use the comment feature. Every point raised will be dealt with and ideas aired unless advised otherwise. Anonimity is guarenteed
