IT’s a competition that has proved successful for a number of Berwickshire photographers in the past few years, including Leitholm’s Ron McCombe (whose photo is above), and now the British Wildlife Photography Awards is seeking entries for 2012.

THE combination of fewer houses for sale in the Borders and the prices being lower than nearby Edinburgh, East Lothian and Midlothian means that people from these areas are being attracted to move into the region but the knock-on effect of this has been to push prices beyond the reach of over 50 per cent of Borders households on relatively lower wages.

FREEZING cancer patients who can’t afford to heat their homes due to rising fuel bills are increasingly relying on charity handouts to keep warm.

FUEL thieves have struck again in Berwickshire, continuing a string of related incidents in the area.

LAST week saw millions of people frantically logging onto their computers and enter a ballot to be in with a chance of securing a ticket for the Diamond Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace, but one Whitsome man didn’t have to go to such lengths to secure his recent invite to Britain’s most famous address.

A BUDDING farmer from the Borders is blossoming as an agricultural trainee on The Co-operative Farms’ apprenticeship scheme.

An appetite for rapid growth under new managing director Danny Hughes will see timber windows and doors manufacturer Allan Brothers focus on becoming a consumer brand across the UK during 2012.

Aberdeen-Angus breeders Messrs J. and W. Arnott of Haymount, Kelso, have sold one of their potential 2012 Perth stars, Haymount Wavestar K986, in a high price private deal to the Lucas family of Cheeklaw, Duns.

Here’s your chance to be on the River Thames as part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee River Thames Pageant in June.

‘building a successful Borders’ was the aim of Scottish Borders councillors when they were elected into office in 2012.

Food-loving Borderers can nominate their favourite restaurants, pubs and cafés for The Good Food Guide Readers’ Restaurant of the Year awards.

Langton SWRI’s 80 birthday celebrations were enjoyed at their February meeting, andvisitors from Berwickshire Federation chairman Linda Riddell, vice chairman Mary Macfarlane and secretary Joan Stewart plus guests from Birgham, Coldstream, Eccles, Leitholm, and Whitsome Rurals were there for the celebrations.

Scotland’s cattle farmers are being encouraged to feed in their views on how the Scottish industry’s planned eradication programme for Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) moves forward.

HAVING known each other for a decade and having experience of kids as a mum and an auntie, a dicussion amongst friends has led to two Eyemouth women opening a new children’s activity centre in Eyemouth.

It’s a busy time ahead for Duns and District Amateur Operatic Society as they gear up to bring their 2012 musical ‘The Sound of Music’ to the stage.

Borders MP and Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore and Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond had their first meeting earlier this week to discuss the Scottish Government’s independence referendum.

FAMOUS TV chef Clarissa Dickson Wright, will host an auction at Manderston at the start of next month.

AN area of agricultural land beside the Station Road industrial estate at Duns is to be taken into the industrial estate after a change of use to form employment land was approved by Scottish Borders Council’s planning committee.

LOTHIAN and Borders Police are appealing for information, following an indecent exposure in Dunbar last week.

SCOTTISH Borders Council’s 2012/13 capital and £264 million revenue budget had been approved by councillors when they met last Thursday.