Press Stopped

The electronic Berwickshire News is a bit behind the game today but the hard copy carries a very good article on The Festival of Talents. I am sure you can't bear to wait for the website to be updated so pop out and get a copy.

Not page 3

9

Labels: Berwickshire News, Festival of Talents, Spectres on the Landscape

  ¶ 11:02 AM (0) comments

  Wrong Sort of Litter


To the usual issues beloved of the letter writers to the Berwickshire News add that of Litter
SIR, - I live just off the town square in Duns.
Every week day lunchtime, students from the High School gather there to eat carry out meals.
They throw the packaging and then the food trays onto the pavements and return to school.
A Scottish Borders Council workman is then employed to go round and gather up all the rubbish the children have deposited.
This work is undertaken from the Square out to the school.
Apart from littering being an offence, the situation shows a sad lack of community spirit from tomorrow’s citizens and is something they will doubtless carry on into adulthood.
It should be possible to replace the council worker who cleans up after the young with a police officer and a book of penalty tickets.
Also, does the school include social responsibility in its teaching?
If not, they should consider it. If it is a subject, it needs revisiting.

He should know I suppose-its not something that's impinged on my consciousness especially after visits to N13 and most other big towns.

Improving school meals might be one answer?

Not,I think issuing offenders with tickets.

What might they do with them?


Yes, that's right

(There are 170,000 images for Litter on Flickr. Enjoy)

Labels: . Duns, Berwickshire News, litter

  ¶ 4:53 PM (0) comments

  Berwickshire Books:we have em

Its good to see from reading here that the Border's most distinguished blogger is in the news in a positive way (not like Huttonian in the Mail in Sunday you might say)Richard Havers is certainly a prolific author and I doubt if you will come across many people who can produce books on such diverse subjects as the Second World War (this is his second) the Rolling Stones, the delights of flying (In Flight Confidential)Frank Sinatra and Marylin Monroe. Some indication of his prolific output is here

On a more modest level details of the Berwickshire Poetry Anthology : Spectres on the Landscape are with the ace reporter on the Berwickshire so we live in hopes of some publicity before the
the official launch on 18 October

Labels: Berwickshire News, Havering On, Spectres on the Landscape

  ¶ 10:39 AM (0) comments

 
Reston : the last Shufti. Hopefully

As seen from N13 on a glorious warm Autumnal day sense reigns supreme amongst the sun kissed voters on the Berwickshire News 'Issues' Poll


Should Reston station be reopened?
Yes [2.7%]
No [93.8%]
Don't Know [3.6%]

So apart from John Lamont and Big Jim F who has voted yes? Must be a number as each vote changes the percentage by .1 . Which equally shows that a very large number are voting no.

Power of the Blog?

Or common sense?

(The image, thank you Hutton Think Tank, Photos and Fish Section, for this mock up image from their Report : Reston Station: Gateway to Berwickshire: Predicted usage.
The title of the picture : 0800 Monday Rush hour. The figure who has just arrived has not been identified )

Labels: Berwickshire News, Big Jim Fullarton, John Lamont, Reston Station

  ¶ 5:10 PM (0) comments

  Huge Majority against reopening Reston Station shock

The 'issue' in today's Berwickshire News on line is whether Reston station should reopen .
The Will of the People is expressed as follows :

Should Reston station be reopened?
Yes [0%]
No [100%]
Don't Know [0%]

Pretty decisive, what?

But it is just occurred to me given the early hour that I may have been the only person

to vote!

So vote early and vote often seems to apply here as it did in Norn Iron up to the 1960s

I have done just that. The public are not fickle :

Should Reston station be reopened?
Yes [0%]
No [100%]
Don't Know [0%]

Keep them coming in

Labels: Berwickshire News, Reston Station

  ¶ 10:10 AM (4) comments

  Writing in Neutral

Huttonian nearly missed this letter in the Berwickshire:

I can assure readers of the Berwickshire News that the European Union has no plans to introduce “gender neutral legislation” (your report March 19).
So ‘Mr’ and ‘Mrs’ will not be banned and the tradition of the Common Riding is perfectly safe - contrary to what the Conservatives would have people believe.
All that has happened is that the European Parliament has produced a short guide for staff and translators who have to write documents for people from 27 different countries.
This is similar to advice already given to staff and Members at Holyrood, Westminster and the Welsh Assembly.
The Conservatives do recognise in their comments that there are major problems to solve in this world. My advice to them ahead of the European elections in June would be to focus on these rather than inventing ones that don’t exist.
ELSPETH ATWOOL,
Liberal Democrat MEP for Scotland.

Never mind the EU, gender neutrality has long been the bane of Academia and especially when writing books. Co-authoring a text book on Jordan as an academic virgin in the late 1990s I was pulled up short by my fellow writer, a long standing scholar and lecturer at Queens Belfast for penning : 'King Hussein's Statesmanship'. No, No; will not do: King Hussein's 'Statespersonship' is the correct formulation. Much too clumsy so I had to rewrite the entire paragraph, keeping it gender neutral and still stylistically readable. Foolishly,tongue in cheek, I wondered if 'King' Hussein was acceptable-King being identifiably masculine; the co-author pleased that I was catching on to the accepted niceties suggested that the king's title could be disguised by referring to him as the 'Jordanian Monarch'

Winston Churchill had it right when he said that when he referred to the male sex he meant 'Man as embracing woman'

In the meanwhile we can assume that the 'Coldstreamer' (invariably male) will not be inflicted with a Right and Left Hand Person. And the Reiver, in Duns, can hold on to his Lass (npi) -Reiver's Companion (sex irrelevant) does not quite have the same ring about it.

Labels: Berwickshire News, Gender Neutral, Politically Correct

  ¶ 12:59 PM (5) comments

 
Berwickshire News Post Box opens at Dunds newsagents

is a headline in the on-line Berwickshire. 'Dunds' is a nice variation on Duns if not as evocative as the original name of Dunse. The Berwickshire News office in the town closed some months ago very little printable material was emerging from the county capital apart from the doings of Sherif Kevin. Now if you have a story, a possible article, an exclusive photo, a Borders Tart or whatever, you can pop it into the blue container in Finnies, the more southern of the two newsagents in Duns and it will be whisked off to the Tweedsdale Press HQ in Berwick. (England not Berwickshire)

I don't know if we will have a sudden upsurge in Duns' stories but you can bet your bottom Clydesdale Bank dollar that readers of the letter column will have to put up with more effusions from the self appointed Regent of the (Stuart) Kingdom of Scotland. And he at least will not have to compromise his integrity by buying a second class stamp with the wrong sort of Monarch on it.

The image is of Duns North Street-Duns South Street leads you to Finnies and the other newsagent is Nairns north of the square. Just visible in this picture-if you know where it is and squint a bit.

Both stock the Grudian

and the Daily Mail-English version but you need to be quick off the mark.

Labels: Berwickshire News, Duns, Regent of Scotland

  ¶ 12:44 PM (2) comments

  It's a dog's life! is the headline heralding this summers most pointless story in the Berwickshire:



WHEN walking along a coastal pathway near Eyemouth last Thursday, a dog owner got a shock when his collie dog Ben fell over a cliff and onto the rocks below.
He immediately called the Coastguard who tasked Eyemouth lifeboat to assist. Due to the location of the dog, the crew launched their inflatable boat to get ashore.
Once ashore, a crewman found that the dog was uninjured and looking anxious to get back to its owner. He managed to collar the dog and was about to take it to safety when it scrambled back up the cliff and was captured by the waiting Coastguard team.

What cub (npi) reporter produced this drivel? Its on a par with the world's most boring headline;

NO ONE HURT IN SMALL EARTHQUAKE

Lets hope the silly season is over by the time we return from Norn Iron

Labels: Animal stories, Berwickshire News

  ¶ 8:29 PM (2) comments

 
Huttonian recently commented on the quality of local papers in French France as compared with our own dear Berwickshire News. The latter is a decent enough rag, well produced with the odd failing such as giving too much space to odd Loonies (tautology admitted) like the Uncrowned King/Regent of Scotland and gruesomely winsome pets, whether talking horses or incontinent curs and their unlikely escapades. The Finistere equivalent, Le Telegramme, is a daily and is of course also focused on local issues but also has an impressive international section. It covered the Olympics for example-admittedly only grudgingly mentioned non-French successes-so not much of a story then- (The medals table gradually slipped from page 3 to page 40 as the week wore on: Team UK Third Les Bleus: look over the page) but international events well outside La France were also covered.

Traditionally international events have not figured in the local British press unless a native son or daughter figure in them. The classic example was a northern Scottish weekly reporting the sinking of the Titanic with a small header:

ABERDEEN MAN LOST AT SEA

But it is always the local press which gives us our best moments-grisly pets and self styled Regents excepted.

The Cork Examiner in the 1950s caried a front page banner:

FATHER OF TEN SHOT DEAD
Mistaken for a rabbit

(The image is titled 'Marion lit le Telegramme'-she is happy Les Bleus have won a bronze for Origami' Fantastique)

Labels: Berwickshire News, Le Telegramme

  ¶ 10:30 AM (0) comments

 
Dogged, does it, again

The Berwickshire Dog of the Week silly season continues with

BURGLAR GETS 'WUFF' JUSTICE AS CROMWELL SEES HIM OFF

Yes, front page again. Apparently Cromwell, an English mastiff, all 22 stone of him, saw off a burglar who was trying to nick a lawnmower whilst his owner was in the bath. Screams were heard, the lawnmower was unnicked and all that was left at the scene of the attempted robbery was a 'vest with lots of holes in it' This 'gentle dog' had gone into 'guard dog mode' when his owner's property was under threat. It is thought that the man (male vest?) will not return to have another go. Sure thing.

What we do not know is what happened to the would be thief. Did Bruce tear off his vest whilst ignoring his shirt, trousers, jacket and tie? Do modern thieves just wear vests? Perhaps Cromwell swallowed him with one gulp, leaving only the one garment for 'Mr Manners'. He is a big lad, and according to the Berwickshire, could be the 'heaviest dog in the world'

Quite apt for the Borders then-some of them must be amongst the largest humans on the planet even if some of them are visiting caravanners and not natives. If Morrisons were to run a competition for the nation's fattest customer-it would be won by someone 'in-store' in Berwick.

You can bet your last holey vest on that.

(The image is from the Berwickshire-and note to Owner-don't visit Ireland with your pet-an English Mastiff called Cromwell might be a tiny bit resented)

Labels: Berwickshire News, Fat people, Silly dogs, silly season

  ¶ 11:23 AM (0) comments

 
Hoarse with excitement?

The Berwickshire is seemingly increasingly desperate to fill its vast column inches and when it is not dogs stuck down rabbit holes it is horses writing to the editor


SIR, - We would like to thank the person who contacted the RSPCA, as they were concerned about our welfare at the Law Field, Coldingham, as on the inspectors’ findings we were described as being in very good condition.
The case may be that this person has no knowledge of the equine world - well rest assured our owners do.
So we ask this person, next time in passing, to take a good look around our field, and not from the window of a passing bus and they too will find we are well cared for. Yes there is not a lot of grass in our field just now, but we are fed and watered daily and we have all the hay our hearts desire.
So we ask this person not to worry as we are in NEIGH danger of starving!
EDD and NAVARA,
(Horses at the Law Field, Coldingham).


And its good to know that there are still parts of this wild frontier you can reach by bus-presumably mostly used by country folk who might know a thing or two about horses. And if this is Big Jim country-if your fields can no longer support your equine friends, don't worry-offer them for development.

You know that makes sense

(The image may be of Edd or Navara looking for spell checker on his Pony Computer (PC)

Labels: Berwickshire News, building in the countryside, Horses as writers

  ¶ 9:27 AM (10) comments

 

PAPER!

Town Mouse has posted about the difficulty of getting a newspaper in the wilds of Dumfries and Galloway. Either bike or drive. Cycling to get one was never much of an option for the Huttonian ensemble. The nearest newsagent involves a crossing of the notorious Bluestane Ford-impassable after rain or when the Whiteadder Reservoir has one of its regular water lettings, said to be Wednesdays but could happen, without notice, just at the time one was wobbling across with the Grudiuan in the wife's swallow crap streaked basket. A rumble, a whoosh and you are on Spittal Beach with all the other flotsams and jetsams and soggy (and worse, unread) journals.

For our first few years we enjoyed the services of Dave the Paper. Sometimes arriving in his ancient land rover ,used when the other car was off the road having come off worse with an encounter with a (the?) local deer. Rain, shine, snow, ice-Bambis permitting, he would be there. He gave up as there was little money in it and after a court case when he was sued by an indigent customer who thought she had been intimidated by Dave when she had failed to pay his bill. He could look a bit intimidating with his barrel chest and jutting beard but was, in truth, a gentle giant and may, admittedly have been a bit cheesed off as the account remained unsettled for several months. I like to think that my character evidence secured his discharge. But he gave up his huge 6 hour Merse round in disgust

Now we take it in turns to get the papers (by car, I fear) with a neighbour. He insists on the English Edition of the Daily Mail which is not widely available outside Berwick-try asking for it in Greenlaw-dirty looks and no paper. But both newsagents in Duns have it (one more then than now) and the tiny shop in Chirnside which also takes the Guardian and the Observer. But the process is not always hazard free. Last Thursday one of the newsagents in Duns handed the Mail back to me saying, disapprovingly 'This is the English version' I agreed and said that I actually wanted it and handed it back for the scan commenting that she seemed to stock quite a few. 'No accounting for taste' She then said 'But you have two Berwickshire's. I agreed, again, explaining I got one for the same neighbour who reads the English edition of the Daily Mail. Her eyebrows disappeared into her hairline as if to say ' English Daily Mail, Scottish Berwickshire' There really is no accounting for taste'

But she should know that in Kirk Lane:

we are a broadminded lot.

One image is from the Scottish Daily Mail-same bugs as in England but possibly more of them-especially Midges.

And the other is of the Irish Daily Mail-won't get that in Greenlaw. But Town Mouse will find it in Dumfries-the high road to Stranraer-if desperate enough.

Labels: Berwickshire News, Daily Mail, English newspapers

  ¶ 9:13 AM (0) comments

 
Skimming through 50 year old copies of the Berwickshire as one does on wet and windy Fridays in the Borders Huttonian came across this little item from January 1958


THE Mid and East Berwick Area of the NFU Scotland have decided to make a strong protest to the Telephone Department of the GPO on the increases in telephone charges. The charge from Duns to Paxton, which serves Foulden and Hutton, is increased from 9d to 1s. But the Duns Group Area map seems to show Berwick and district has been deliberately left out, meaning a call from Duns to Berwick costs 1s. This is compared to just 3d for a call from Duns to Dunbar, despite being five miles further away. It was pointed out that Berwick was the main business area in relation to farming and as a result a grave injustice had been done.

When you consider that a shilling (5p) in 1958 was worth having in your pocket (You could go to the public loo 12 times or buy a dozen eggs) and worth a few quid purchasing power now, getting on the blower was not a cheap proposition. It would have been better to summon Jim's Taxi and deliver your message to Hutton personally. And you can imagine how the lines (three?) fron Duns to Dunbar must have been jammed all day by indigent Dingers desperate to get their money's worth for that extra five miles. : 'Is that you Rabbie? Great day for a comparatively cheap phone call. If you happen to be going to Berwick the day would you be sure to buy the Berwick Advertiser. Then when you get back to Dunbar, give us a tinkle and read me out the special offers from Joes. I could phone them myself
but One Shilling that's bloody daylight robbery'

Image is of a phone of the period-possibly in Joes and thus usually silent

Labels: Berwickshire News, Cheap phone calls

  ¶ 10:20 AM (3) comments

  The local equivalent of 'Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells' is surely Irascible of Eyemouth

She writes in the much abused letter column of the Berwickshire:


My observations on the influence of television/computer games on people.
‘Soaps’ on TV were created to show ‘kitchen sink’ dramas supposedly depicting everyday lives of families. My God, these shows depict violence; sexual deviance; adultery; heavy drinking; drug taking and anger! Are these responsible for us and our children emulating them?
Do we want censorship on normal TV? YES!
Good advice given to me was not to watch anything that does not uplift you. My censorship of TV my children were watching was to simply get up and switch off. No argument. But hold on, young people stay up later, and are exposed to adult viewing, videos, and DVDs which show horror or sexually explicit movies with foul language.
Even the news programmes cover gun crimes, death and disease, not to mention gory hospital dramas. Morning chat shows cover overweight, foul mouthed problem people, for what? If I thought TV depicted us today, I’d throw it out the nearest window.

(Eyemouth)


This is some indication of how desperate the editor must be for anyone to write to his organ if they have to publish such a stream of (un) consciousness. If we could only watch uplifting programmes on TV our choice would be very limited : England versus Australia at Rugby and Antiques Roadshow? Perhaps? But I am all for omitting gun crimes, death generally except when corpse over 100, died nicely and had an e-mail from the Queen, Famine etc, Afghanistan, Iraq, Foot and Mouth, Avian Flu, Peter Hain and anything else nasty or unwholesome from the News. That would leave more time for the Weather and local items of a suitable nature: News from the Guilds perhaps and of course the Hutton and Paxton Flower show-once live and 5 repeats.

Labels: Berwickshire News, letters, TV

  ¶ 8:33 AM (3) comments