BIENVENU Les FROGS

For the first time the Tour de France is going to have Le Grand Depart ( Unofficial Translation: On Your Bike, Mate) in London. This decision has caused much angst in the Hutton Think Tank who, in the spirit of the Auld Alliance (Unoff.Trans. Marriage of convenience) have been working for years to get Le Tour into the Borders. Hutton can offer a lot of advantages as compared with the Big Smoke: (a) no traffic disruption nor need to close roads:( no traffic and empty roads always avoiding Fishwick, of course). No traffic lights or pedestrian cossings to slow down for (b) good transport links to centres of population No 32 Bus, GNER Virgin. (c) Excellent local facilities for spectators: raised pavements for viewing, village halls in Hutton and Paxton, the Kirk for over flow and on the spot funeral management in the event of a fatality, Cross Inn in Paxton. (d)Medical and emergency; GP practice in Chirnside, cottage hospital in Duns and Berwick Infirmary for hopeless cases. Duns fire brigade. Coldstream Police Station-working hours only (e) and the 'killer' this the already existing Tweed Cycleway which has put the Merse on the cyclists map. (f) Add experience of similar events-The Jim Clarke Rally-the Hutton Whiteadder stage in which the village accomodated nearly 100 spectators with nae bother and you can see the strength of the Hutton Think Tank case. Just imagine a stage from Hutton up to the Lammermuirs, mountain stage one, back to the Cheviots, Mountain stage Two and a good supper in the Blue Bell Inn south of Coldstream.

Next year perhaps.  ¶ 9:58 AM