The Southern Reporter - Comment Feed

SNITCH (15) The Pavilion, Galashiels

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 08:22:36 GMT

Let’s get a couple of things straight from the start. This is not a rom-com about middle class shoplifters, neither is it a smash ’n’ grab action overload, starring The Rock. Instead, it confronts a serious defect in the American judicial system, “based on real events.”

The Snows Of  Kilimanjaro (15) Heart of Hawick

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 08:22:33 GMT

Anyone going to the Heart of Hawick tonight expecting a retro evening with Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner will be sorely disappointed.

WORLD WAR Z (15)The Pavilion, Galashiels

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 08:22:30 GMT

There has always been something faintly ridiculous about zombies. Vampires are the same. Undead? What’s that? Payday for makeup artists?

Putting us on fancy dress parade

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 08:15:16 GMT

As I write, there’s a discussion on BBC Radio Scotland about whether the novelist Sir Walter Scott is more relevant today than he was at the time he was alive.

Food literacy is key for future

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 06:58:05 GMT

Reports such as “Eight out of 10 children don’t know milk comes from cows” or “Six out of 10 children think bananas grow in Britain” are familiar enough, emphasising the ever-increasing disconnection between farm and consumer.

I don’t buy this online shopping lark

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 11:00:31 GMT

Shopping. Love it or loathe it. There’s no in between. It’s something that has to be done and for me that actually means a trip to the shops.

It’s never been an easy life for man ... or woman

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 08:47:45 GMT

It’s hardly surprising that things have changed in 170 years. But it is still a sobering thought that in 1841 one in four people in Britain were employed in farming, while now it is less than one in 100.

Favourite barbie location lost to bees

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:36:07 GMT

Wow – more than a week of glorious sunshine! Could this be summer at last?

Delinquent turkey’s delusions of grandeur

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:34:50 GMT

No chickens this week. Or chicks. Or rally cars. This week I’m talking turkey. Well, one turkey in particular. A turkey that is trouble with a capital T.

Politics, like rugby, is a passing game

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:39:09 GMT

Harry Truman had a sign on his desk which famously read: “The buck stops here”.

Crowning 60 years of national service

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:39:05 GMT

Last week the Queen celebrated 60 years on the throne since her coronation in 1953.

Take time to think of Flodden slain

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 08:22:27 GMT

A tidal wave of pride and passion will sweep across the Borders during the coming weeks. In burghs Royal and other, in towns and villages, hearts will beat like the band’s big drum and tears will flow like a bonny Border burn. Coloured rosettes will be pinned to swollen chests and ties of various affiliations unearthed from the back of drawers for their annual airing.

Give your presentations online

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 07:59:07 GMT

If you have a new product or service to launch, wouldn’t it be good to be able to present it your existing and potential clients?

SNP must make a case for justice centre

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 15:55:50 GMT

Recently at a meeting of the Scottish Parliament justice committee, I asked the chief executive of the Scottish Court Service about the impact of setting up a justice centre in Galashiels.

Keeping it clean on the home front

Thu, 30 May 2013 08:35:38 GMT

This week I’m enjoying a five-day break from work. Well that’s not entirely true. I’m enjoying five days away from work with the paper, but have found plenty to keep me employed around the house. Living on my own and not inclined to spend my hard-earned wages on a butler or maid, work around the Burgess abode tends to build up.

The reasons why I will never, ever, be a llama farmer

Thu, 30 May 2013 08:28:35 GMT

Animals. You just gotta love ’em. Or do you? I think yes, if you’re a smallholder. It’s hard to get up at 5am, slog through the snow/mud/rain, open metal fasteners that stick to your fingers in the winter, break ice on water troughs and wrestle with doors that have frozen shut in the night for an animal you don’t love.

Arriving late ... very late ... meant this trip was pure murder

Thu, 30 May 2013 08:28:34 GMT

Some days nothing seems to go right and last Sunday was a perfect example.It was a lovely morning, so I decided to join the Scottish Wildlife Trust on a guided walk round Murder Moss.

Auto enrolment explained

Thu, 30 May 2013 07:29:25 GMT

Under the new pension auto-enrolment scheme all employers will have to automatically enrol eligible workers into a qualifying pension scheme.

Sensing hypocrisy in courts controversy

Wed, 29 May 2013 16:22:54 GMT

Ah well, back to the wee feud I’m having with the two Jays – Lamont and Hume.

A good time to set up your own enterprise

Thu, 23 May 2013 07:06:15 GMT

IT TAKES courage to start up a business at any time, and particularly when the economy is still depressed. But – and this may sound counter-intuitive – now is actually a good time set up on your own.