Yetholm Online

Yetholm Website

Following a short period when we transferred the site to some new hosting facilities, we are pleased to announce that Yetholmonline is now back up and running at full strength. As you will see from some of the pages, we have new images, lots more information available for download and as always, the latest news, views and happenings from in and around the village.

We do look forward to regular contributions from our readers as this is the lifeblood of any community website. You can tell us what's happening, inform us of your forthcoming events or simply share your views and opinions by mailing us at yetholmonline@tiscali.co.uk
Just click on the link to open your e-mail page. We look forward to hearing from you.

Digital Up-Date July 2008

HELP SCHEME READY TO ASSIST VIEWERS IN BORDER REGION
Help for thousands of older and disabled viewers in the Border TV region has been unveiled by the Switchover Help Scheme. For a one-off payment of £40, eligible people will get easy-to-use satellite equipment to convert one television set to digital - eligible viewers on income benefits will receive free help. The fee covers installation and a demonstration.

The equipment, provided by Sky, will offer access to more than 200 free TV and radio channels. Other digital television options, including Freeview and Freesat, will be available. Click here for further information on the Help Scheme.

COUNTDOWN TO SELKIRK SWITCHOVER

The official countdown to the Selkirk transmitter group switchover begins this month with just over 100 days to go until viewers in the region go digital.
Messages telling people about the forthcoming switchover have been popping up on analogue television screens since May and the Digital UK team has also been in the area to answer any questions and offer advice on the ways people can make the switch to digital. The Selkirk transmitter group switchover will be a two-stage process, starting on November 6 and finishing on November 20 2008.

COMMUNITY GROUPS HEAR ABOUT DIGITAL SWITCHOVER

The drive to inform all sectors of the community served by the Selkirk and Caldbeck transmitter groups about the digital switchover has stepped up a gear as Digital UK prepares for the switchover.
Among the groups visited by Digital UK representatives in recent weeks are community councils, rural partnership representatives and professionals within the business and tourism sectors.

RETAILERS IN BORDER TV REGION GET HELPING HAND

Digital UK has expanded its team in the Border TV Region with the appointment of Victoria Vincent as retail support executive. Victoria will be working with local retail outlets to help them support customers with the switch to digital. She’s keen to hear from retailers within the region who would like further information about the digital switchover.

FINAL SWITCHOVER DATES ANNOUNCED FOR WEST COUNTRY

The dates for the start of switchover to digital television in Cornwall and parts of Devon have been announced by Digital UK. The Huntshaw Cross transmitter group, serving North Devon, will begin the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting on Wednesday 1 July 2009. Shortly afterwards, the Redruth transmitter group, serving west Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly will start switchover on Wednesday 8 July 2009.
The Caradon Hill transmitter group, serving Plymouth, parts of Devon and east Cornwall, will begin switchover on Wednesday 12 August 2009, making the West Country the first region of southern England to completely switch to digital TV.

PAC REPORT FINDS SWITCHOVER PROGRAMME ON TRACK

A report by the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has found that switchover is ‘on track’ and that Digital UK’s relationships with its partners are ‘strong’. Published in June, ‘Government Preparations for Digital Switchover’ also noted that take up of digital television has exceed Government expectations.
Also highlighted were the continuing sale of some analogue televisions and the need for a greater level of understanding of the ‘digital tick’ among retail staff. Digital UK introduced a range of measures to support the retail trade in 2008, which have already resulted in greater awareness and understanding of the tick. It also reassures viewers that analogue TVs do not become obsolete at switchover as virtually all sets can be converted with a digital box, from around £25.

BADGE HIGHLIGHTS MORE EASY-TO-INSTALL PRODUCTS

Ten new products have been awarded the ‘Easy to install’ badge by Digital UK and Ricability, the independent research and testing organisation. The scheme identifies digital TV products that are easy for consumers to self-install and re-tune. Televisions from Panasonic, Hitachi and Toshiba were among the products highlighted. The scheme was launched in April with badges initially awarded to six digital TV recorders. Read more here.

ANCIENT ANGLIAN TV READY FOR DIGITAL SWITCH IN 2011

Antiques enthusiast Richard Howard has demonstrated that viewers don’t need to buy a new TV to get set for digital. Mr Howard, who lives in the Anglia TV region, has connected a Freeview box to his 51-year old black and white Bush television, making it the oldest set yet to be converted. The walnut-encased 17in screen set, previously updated to receive 625-line analogue broadcasts, was bought by his father in 1957.

Kelso Laddie Visit 2008

The 2008 Kelso Laddie, Adrian Gajczak, arrived in Yetholm at the head of a 160 strong cavalcade on Saturday. After descending the Venchen Hill via the Brae Hoose and making their way to the War Memorial, a short service was conducted by Rev' Ian Clark before the riders made their way to Kirk Yetholm green. The official party were introduced by ex-Laddie Colin Henderson and welcomed to Yetholm by Festival Week Chairman, Stuart Smith. The Bari Gadgi, Steven Meins then presented the Kelso Laddie with the traditional gift of a Yetholm Jagger before the cavalcade made their way to Town Yetholm for some rest and refreshments.

 

Unfortunately, the Bari Manushi Jennifer Stewart suffered a slight mishap on the journey from Kelso but was able to catch up with the official party during their lunchtime stop sporting nothing more serious than a few bruises. As the cavalcade rested for lunch, the heavens opened but a break in the clouds allowed the traditional reel to be performed in front of the Plough Hotel with a large gathering of supporters to cheer them on their way. Shown in the picture left and in full flight are the Bari Gadgi Steven in the centre of the circle, surrounded by the Kelso Laddie and his official “Reel Party” Also taking part was the Yetholm Festival Queen from 1958, Ruby Cessford (Scott) and Kelso Provost, Margaret Riddell.
The cavalcade departed Yetholm via the Haugh, en-route to Kelso via Linton with only a few showers to dampen their return journey.

Yetholm Poet Scoops Top Award

In the recent Kelso Civic Week poetry competition, David Stewart, from Kirk Yetholm scooped the top prize with his poem entitled 'Sonnet 2'. David is the brother of this years Bari Manushi, Jennifer and is involved with press reporting for the Edinburgh Fringe. Having written poetry for many years, this is one of David's most succesful to date and describes the beauty of living in Yetholm. After learning of his top prize award, David commented “This piece of poetry came easily to mind and sums up the beauty of the Yetholm countryside and the benefits of living in such a vibrant and close-knit community. I thoroughly enjoyed entering this competition and am delighted to have been awarded with the first prize.” Congratulations to David from all in the village on this wonderful effort which is printed below

Sonnet Two

My heart skips a beat, when I see the hills meet the sun,
and the river that weaves through the field below.
A village filled with beauty, that grows and is never done,
even in long summer nights or under flakes of snow.
With a community spirit, from each other and every heart,
extending the hand of friendship keeps us alive.
Knowing that even if we were to part —
it doesnt break like crystal, but continues to thrive.
And if you were ever to leave, which some of us do,
with your hopes and dreams and your pack.
Village life never leaves you —this much is true —
dont think you wont ever be back.
And just like the words in the village song “No matter where I roam.”
Yetholm is held forever in my head and heart, as my one and only home.

J.D. Stewart

Neighbourhood Watch

A new Neighbourhood Watch scheme has been launched in Yetholm. The scheme will allow a network of contacts to be established who will assist with any problems or distressing activities in and around the village. Signage is being sought for the village and window stickers are now available along with an informative introductory booklet. The scheme is open to all residents and there is no membership fee.
If you would like further information, window display stickers or wish to join the group, please contact the following address Yetholm Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator

A membership application form can be downloaded here : Neighbourhood Watch Application

 

Summer Arts Programme

Youngsters across the Borders are being given the opportunity to take part in a broad range of arts activities over the summer holidays, thanks to a new Summer Arts Programme.
Designed by Scottish Borders Councils Cultural Co-ordinator Team, the new Summer Arts Programme offers 8—14 year olds the opportunity to take part in various activities including story-telling, animation, circus skills and dance and drama. The Summer Arts Programme offers children the chance to try something very different and exciting during the summer holidays. All the activities involve imagination and creativity and will be a lot of fun!
Events kick off from Monday 7 July with a series two day multi arts/film workshop entitled “Whats the Story” This event is run in partnership with The Heritage Hub, Heart of Hawick and gives children the chance to work with professional artists for two days, exploring stories from their local area then taking their work and developing it into a short animated film. The workshops will be held in Coldingham Village Hall, the Heritage Hub in Hawick, St Andrews Arts Centre in Galashiels and the Tweeddale Museum in Peebles.
Young people can also try their hand at circus skills, including juggling, plate-spinning and event stilt-walking at Galashiels on 10 July and Hawick on 11 July or even take part in a two day dance/drama and costume-making workshop at the Portrait Gallery at Bowhill Country House, Selkirk on 15 and 16 July.

Full details of the Programme and the booking form can be downloaded from
www.scotborders.gov.uk/culturalcoordinator/
Booking is essential for all activities.

 

Festival Week 2008

Yetholm has concluded an extremely successful Festival Week for 2008. A Festival Committee spokesman commented “2008 has proved once again to be a very busy and very popular week, with a few programme changes and the introduction of some new events. The weather has proved kind once again and all the outdoor events were able to go ahead as planned. In general, the week has proved an enormous success and the two principals have set a shining example to the younger generation who aspire to representing their village in years to come. We offer our congratulations to Steven and Jennifer for the manner in which they conducted themselves throughout the week and trust that they are as proud of their village as the village is of them”
For a full report on the week's events, you can click on the sub-menu on the left of the page or directly on the following link Festival Week 2008 Round-Up
( As the page contains a few photographs, please allow a little time to complete the up-load )

SBC Local Access Changes

As part of the Customer Service project roll out from Hawick we are changing the arrangements for public access for Roads and SB local Enquiries in Kelso.
From the 16th of June all face to face enquiries for Roads and SB local in Kelso will be dealt with at the council Contact Centre at WoodMarket rather than at the Roads office in Rose Lane. These new arrangements reflect the success of the new arrangements in Hawick
We are advertising this change in the local press and at the Roads office in Rose Lane.
If you require any more information please do not hesitate to contact me.

John Meehan

Customer Service Project Manager

Walking Week-End Success

 

As a large part of the country experienced stormy weather, the sun shone on Yetholm for the 2008 Walking Week-End. Spread over three days, over 120 walkers came from all over the UK to take part in the walks, covering over 50 miles of Borders countryside and venturing deep in to the heart of the Cheviots. Each of the six walks on the programme had been carefully checked out previously by the Romany Ramblers, who acted as guides and back-ups to supervise the walkers.

 

 

A spokesman commented " We are absolutely delighted with the turn out and standard of the walkers who have joined us this year. A fairly new event, we seem to be going from strength to strength and the visitors are delighted at some of the spectacular Borders scenery. This has always been a friendly week-end with demanding levels of routes but everyone taking part has thoroughly enjoyed themselves and are already looking forward to next year's event." The organisers would like to mention a special thank you to everyone who took part, the Borders Search & Rescue unit who were always on stand-by and to everyone behind the scenes who helped to make this such a success.

 

 

 

The Real cost of dog fouling

Despite risking fines of up to £500, there are still a number of dog owners out there who are not following the advice to Bag It, Tie It, BIN IT!
Scottish Borders Council and Lothian and Borders Police are now taking tougher action on the issue. SBC has taken on a new Senior Environmental Warden and four more agency staff to tackle the issue. These people, in addition to the existing dog wardens, community wardens, parks staff and community police, are patrolling the Borders to deal with the problem.
The extra staff are also taking a tougher stance with offenders. Since the start of April at total of 12 notices have been issued, with eight of those being issued in the last week alone. For one persistent offender, the consequences could be further reaching, as their case is going to court.
Michael Wynne of Lothian and Borders Police said: “Those who do not clean up after their dogs can only be described as irresponsible. This is a health hazard and I consider it anti social behaviour which will be acted upon. We will assist Scottish Borders Council staff combat this problem.”
Councillor Len Wyse, Executive Member for Environmental Services, said: “There has been much publicity regarding dog fouling in the last few months. If we can all tackle the issue together and make dog fouling socially unacceptable, we can make a difference. I will continue to campaign for everyone to play their part – the Council is increasing its resources and, as you can see, is taking a tougher stance, but we can all help. Let’s make our public areas somewhere that our children can play without fear of picking up diseases due to careless dog owners.”
If any members of the public witness any disregard of the rules or are aware of a persistent offender, please report the details to the Council on 0800 376 1030 or email dogfouling@scotborders.gov.uk, providing as much information as possible.

Digital Forum

Once again, Pat Angel has attended the series of digital forum meetings on behalf of Yetholm community. As we approach the proposed switch-over date to digital services, it is important that we are able to keep up to date with the latest developments and progress. You can read the full report from the 7th Digital Forum Group meeting by clicking the link below. We are very grateful to Pat for his continued input in this matter.

7th Digital Forum Meeting.

 

Surgery Reprieve

Following a long and protracted public consultation, the threatened closure of Yetholm GP Surgery will NOT now take place.
As an alternative, the surgery will remain open and provide an improved GP service to the communities of both Yetholm and Morebattle.
There has also been significant progress made in patient transport services and prescription delivery arrangements for the two villages.
The new service will be monitored over the next 9 months.
The situation was confirmed at a meeting of NHS Borders this afternoon

Chairman of Yetholm Community Council and the recently formed Save Our Surgery Action Group, Stuart Smith commented ;
" This is excellent news for the communities of both Yetholm and Morebattle. Following a long campaign and an unprecedented public response, the decision to retain facilities directly within the community, reflects the particular needs and requirements of serving a remote rural population. NHS Borders and Kelso Group Medical Practice, have acknowledged the particular concerns that closure would bring and have been instrumental in negotiating an acceptable and effective solution. Having been given a reprieve, I would urge both communities to make full use of these facilities and to reflect on the enormous amount of background work which has gone in to retaining this vitally important service. The campaign has highlighted the many difficulties associated with maintaining a small rural practice and we will now have both a surgery and a GP service of which we can be justifiably proud."

Kelso Traffic Proposals

Scottish Borders Council has been taking a close look at traffic flow through Kelso and have put forward a number of proposals which will involve a one way system. Comments are invited on these proposals which will affect all traffic movivements through the town. By clicking on the following links, you can download further details of the proposed changes and also a comment sheet, which can be returned to SBC. You must have Adobe Reader installed to view the documents.(free download click here - Adobe Reader )

Kelso Traffic Proposals

Traffic Proposal Comment Sheet

 

Yetholm Re-Cycling -New Facility

Following a long campaign by Yetholm Community Council, the village can now boast of a new, community re-cycling facility. It is some years since we managed to remove the old re-cycling point from Cheviot Place car park, following many complaints regarding noise and litter. The new site is located adjacent to the sport's pavilion and boasts re-cycling bins for glass - clear and coloured. The project was completed by SB Local and features a wooden screening surround in keeping with the location. It is hoped that the new facility will be well used and appreciated by the village. A Community Council spokesman added " This facility demonstrates the growing awareness of the village with regard to green issues and ensures that Yetholm continues to play a part in protecting our environment. The new site is in an ideal location, being accessible by car or on foot and the funding and assistance from Scottish Borders Council, has proved invaluable in returning such an asset to the village"

Yetholm Sinfonia - New Season Concert Dates

The Yetholm Sinfonia was created in 2006 in order to bring the world’s greatest music to this beautiful part of Britain, and to give the many talented Border musicians the opportunities to play it. We generally perform in Kelso’s Old Parish Church, which is not only warm, light, friendly and historical, but even has a free car park next to it.

To view the 2008 programme, just go to our 'Events Calendar' page, or click on this link Events Calendar

New Bus Service Timetables

Bus travellers who use the Kelso/Morebattle/Yetholm route should take note of the new timetable which is accessible by clicking the link below. Also note the new 'demand responsive' taxibus Sunday service, which will replace the old Munro 223 service. Contact details are listed below.

The main service will be provided by First Bus. Munro's will provide a town service journey on Mondays to Fridays at 0728 from High Croft to Pinnaclehill and will also continue to provide schoolday journeys between Morebattle and Kelso High School.

On Sundays, Munro's service 223 between Kelso, Morebattle and Yetholm is replaced by a demand responsive taxibus service operated by Mobility Assist - Telephone 01750 23456.
The service will depart Kelso at 1005, 1405, 1705 and arrive Kelso at 1100, 1500, 1800. The service will only run when passengers pre-book their journey with the operator either between 0800 and 1600 on the Saturday before travel or on the day of travel not less than 1 hour before the departure time from Kelso.

New Bus Timetable - Service 80 - 81