Musings from the Merse
Sunday, June 14, 2009
FLITTING UP THE BRAE
Lairds were fairly heavy handed in the 18th century in these parts-as I learned from an 'Observer' as I was buying a 'Scotsman on Sunday' at Nairns this morning. Apparently the nearby village of Gavinton has just celebrated the 250th anniversary of its foundation by a gentleman called Gavin. He had just bought Langton House in 1758 and (as you can read more fully here The interesting bit is as follows
"Learning that the estate of Langton was in the market, David Gavin purchased it in 1758 and decided that his new house should overlook Langton Glen. Unfortunately the dilapidated cottages which had huddled under the protecting walls of the old castle were a blot on the landscape. But a wealthy financier had potent magic at his command. He waved his wand; a new village (to be called Gavinton in his honour) appeared on the crest of the Crimson or Crimstane Hill half a mile away, and the cottagers “flitted” up the brae. The ancient hamlet of Langton was razed to the ground and the historic tower demolished. The new owner of Langton was no dilettante country gentleman however and he soon set about improving the land, giving it the benefit of the marl that was plentiful on the estate end of the line, which he transported from Northumberland. As a result, the rental that had been £1100 when he came to Langton rose to upwards of £3000 by 1773."
So at one stroke he improved his new property, got rid of the eyes sores and the 'poisonous little Nimbies' they sheltered and just about trebled his income. What an example for the twenty first Century Lairds to emulate. Any one wanting to be 'flitted up the Brae' should look around Berwickshire for potential flitters; TD15 might do. In that case:
some one might be tempted to start with, say, Paxton.
(Thank you Chris Maginn for the images of two ancient maps-showing Langton House just after the offending yokels has been flitted and the location of present day Gavinton)
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Dogged Doings Revisited
Coming back to the Merse a couple of days earlier than scheduled for complicated reasons not unconnected with sore teeth another reference to the burning topic of dog waste caught my eye in the letter columns of the Berwickshire
, - I write on behalf of Duns Amateur Football Club to appeal to the dog owner(s) who have recently been allowing their pet(s) to foul on the football pitch at Gavinton without picking up their mess.
I am sure that the culprit(s) will already be aware that it is against the law not to pick up after your dog(s) and that the irresponsibility of their actions can also have serious consequences to the health and safety of others.
Please put a stop to this disgusting practice, pick up after your dog(s) and have more consideration for the many adults and children who share Gavinton football pitch.
Reading between the lines I suspect that the writer has a suspect or even suspect (s) in mind who may have one incontinent mongrel or a number of cur(s) . Its actually quite rare in country parts and unknown in Spitall to have one man, one dog, and the professional dogwalkers can have up to a dozen on leash with the human minder's pockets bulging with little plastic bags, or in the case of Spitall, not.
Gavinton is a small, neat ,well organised village and irresponsible dog owners would be pretty conspicous and especially so when allowing their charges to crap all over the football pitch. For goodness sake make use of the miles amd miles of lush uncrowded pastures where your best friend can foul the endless fields of billous rape to its heart's content.
Gavinton has a tradition of an annual Pantomime. Lots of local dramatic talent. One would hope that the offending animal owners could be suitably pilloried-named and shamed in deathless dramatic drama in a production say of
Dick Whittington and his Incontinent Cat?
Goldilocks and the Three Curs?
The possibilities are endless
Coming back to the Merse a couple of days earlier than scheduled for complicated reasons not unconnected with sore teeth another reference to the burning topic of dog waste caught my eye in the letter columns of the Berwickshire
, - I write on behalf of Duns Amateur Football Club to appeal to the dog owner(s) who have recently been allowing their pet(s) to foul on the football pitch at Gavinton without picking up their mess.
I am sure that the culprit(s) will already be aware that it is against the law not to pick up after your dog(s) and that the irresponsibility of their actions can also have serious consequences to the health and safety of others.
Please put a stop to this disgusting practice, pick up after your dog(s) and have more consideration for the many adults and children who share Gavinton football pitch.
Reading between the lines I suspect that the writer has a suspect or even suspect (s) in mind who may have one incontinent mongrel or a number of cur(s) . Its actually quite rare in country parts and unknown in Spitall to have one man, one dog, and the professional dogwalkers can have up to a dozen on leash with the human minder's pockets bulging with little plastic bags, or in the case of Spitall, not.
Gavinton is a small, neat ,well organised village and irresponsible dog owners would be pretty conspicous and especially so when allowing their charges to crap all over the football pitch. For goodness sake make use of the miles amd miles of lush uncrowded pastures where your best friend can foul the endless fields of billous rape to its heart's content.
Gavinton has a tradition of an annual Pantomime. Lots of local dramatic talent. One would hope that the offending animal owners could be suitably pilloried-named and shamed in deathless dramatic drama in a production say of
Dick Whittington and his Incontinent Cat?
Goldilocks and the Three Curs?
The possibilities are endless
