Snake among sewerage system finds

A LIVE snake, badger and a dead cow were among the bizarre things found in Scotland’s sewer network in the past year, water chiefs have said.
Scottish Water staff have also found a platoon of toy soldiers, a live frog and a goldfish clogging the pipes.
The firm spends £6m a year clearing system blockages and urged people to think about what they flush away.
Many items also enter the system by falling into drains or manholes found in fields and roads.
A worker at the Dunfermline waste water treatment works was stunned to see a Mexican desert kingsnake curled beneath a metal grid boardwalk he was strolling along.
He contacted the Scottish SPCA, who collected the non-venomous constrictor snake and took it away.
A live badger found in a pumping station well at Drongan in Ayrshire also made a full recovery after it was rescued by the SSPCA.
A goldfish named Pooh, recovered in East Kilbride, and a frog found in a pump in Dornoch, Highlands, were none the worse for their time inside the sewer system.
However, a sheep found in a manhole chamber and a cow recovered from a storm tank were not so lucky.

Soldiering on in the danger zone

FOR many local families, last week was a week to be dreaded.
One which saw the start of the major deployment of soldiers from the Borders’ own infantry regiment to the most dangerous place in the world – Afghanistan’s Helmand Province.
During the next few weeks a total of 400 troops of the Royal Scots Borderers will fly out to the war zone where just last week six British soldiers lost their lives in one of the grimmest periods for our army since being first sent to Afghanistan in 2001.
Nearly a decade on and with another bloody conflict having been fought in Iraq at the same time, it is becoming almost a tragic weekly occurrence to hear of more deaths of British soldiers in combat.
A decade ago few in the Borders would have known where Helmand was, yet now it is a name seared into our national consciousness. And rightly so. Because whether you agree or not about British forces being in Afghanistan, the men and women sent to war by our government are there on our behalf, doing a job most of us would run a mile from if asked.
Helmand is the largest of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. Mainly desert, it is the world’s largest opium-producing region and one which the Taliban has made a key battleground.
The next six months will be an anxious period for those Borders families with loved ones serving with the battalion. As they depart, we wish them well, knowing they will uphold the finest traditions of the Scottish infantry – professionalism, courage, compassion and steadfastness.
And we will long for the day, which seems so far off today, when we see them return home to their proud Borderland.

Most unfortunate names revealed

IMAGINE growing up as Annette Curtain, Tim Burr, Justin Case, Barb Dwyer or Stan Still.
It sounds like a bad joke, but a study has revealed that there really are unfortunate people with those names in the UK.
Joining them on the list are Terry Bull, Paige Turner, Mary Christmas and Anna Sasin.
And just imagine having to introduce yourself to a crowd as Doug Hole or Hazel Nutt.
The names were uncovered by researchers from parenting group TheBabyWebsite.com after trawling through online telephone records.
Retired airman Stan Still, 76, from Cirencester, Gloucestershire, said his name had been "a blooming millstone around my neck my entire life". But 51-year-old Rose Bush, from Coventry, West Midlands, said she loved her name.
Other unfortunate names uncovered include Pearl Button, Jo King, Barry Cade, Carrie Oakey and Priti Manek.
Researchers also scoured phone records in the US and found some unlikely names there too including San Franciso dentist Les Plack!

Flying Toblerones!

REPORTS of “flying Toblerones” and objects travelling at 1,100 mph across the Scottish sky have been released by the Ministry of Defence.
The files detail how unidentified objects have been witnessed flying over a range of locations across Scotland.
Among them were one from a senior air traffic controller at Prestwick Airport who reported seeing a fast-moving UFO on the airport radar.
While four fishermen spotted a flat, shiny object hovering off the coast.
The Scottish accounts are among the thousands of reports made of close encounters with UFOs across the UK which have been released in a joint project between the MoD and the National Archives.
Also included in the previously top secret files is the testimony of a West Lothian electrician who spotted a “Toblerone-shaped” UFO hovering over a field.
Another document describes a request submitted to former Prime Minister Tony Blair from a councillor for an inquiry into 600 alleged sightings in the so-called Bonnybridge Triangle, near Falkirk.

Scottish motorists most likely to hit animals

NEW research into the types of crashes motorists have has shown people in Scotland are the most likely in the UK to hit an animal.
Although rear end bumps are by far the most common road accidents, car insurance specialist elephant.co.uk. looked into the more unusual types of incidents, in particular where they happen.
elephant.co.uk looked at data from over 1.3 million claims over five years and found the top five postcode areas for accidents involving animals were all in Scotland.
Some of the unusual claims were more of a surprise and include incidents of motorists hitting badgers, swans, horses, cows and even monkeys. One policyholder even struck a rabbit which despite its small size, wrote off the car!
The Galashiels area was the fourth worst in the UK for cars hitting trees while Berwick was the fourth worst for hitting walls!

The voice of rugby Bill McLaren

EVEN if you are not a rugby fan you loved Bill McLaren who sadly died in his home town of Hawick earlier this week at the age of 86.
Scotland has lost 'the voice of rugby' and we will all miss the pearls of wisdom which made his commentaries legendary.
No-one loved his sport more. His knowledge was encyclopaedic, his attention to detail was extraordinary and his ability to recall facts and figures unrivalled.
The world of sport and broadcastling has lost a true legend.

Snow angels!

PROOF this week, if it were needed, that faced with adversity people rise to the challenge - and succeed.
Proof also that community spirit is alive and well in Berwickshire and the Borders, whether it is helping to keep elderly neighbours fed and warm; collecting prescriptions for those unable to get out or banding together to clear roads where the gritters feared to venture.
The big freeze has brought out the best in some of the good hearted people around the district and Scottish Borders workermn, NHS Borders staff and many nothjers have gone beyond the call of duty. Well done to all of you.
Unfortunately, one victim of the weather was the Berwickshire News!
For the first time in living memory, the paper - along with a number of others including our sister titles the Berwickshire Advertiser and Southern Reporter - printed at Sunderland did not hit the shelves last Thursday.
The vans bringing the papers north were stopped south of Berwick in the early hours of last Thursday morning and a combination of roads closed due to snow and vehicles being stuck meant the distribution company which delivers the titles was unable to get them here.
Apologies to all readers - we hope that picking up the paper a day later did not spoil your enjoyment.