Beauty weep? No thanks
It was another sidelined Saturday, rather than a Saturday on the sidelines for this hack, but one thing the decreased portions of footy has helped is my archery!
I really hope to get another game in this weekend, but if not, then I can still revel in the fact that I'm actually shooting quite well!
The extra 20yd sessions indoors have helped me sort out the basics of stance, draw, placement of certain body parts, etc, to such an extent that when I shot 50yds outdoors on Sunday, I was actually hitting the target more often than not!
Reading that back, that may not seem to many people to be a huge deal. But, trust me, to a happy twanger like myself, it's pretty cool. And, to top all that, I have also hit my first clout at 180yds. The second followed 10 minutes later. And the third a week after that.
I've only been shooting for about a year and a half.
So, this week, I'll hopefully be reporting on the Gala Fairydean vs Easthouses Lily match. The pitch is 50/50 at the moment, so a lot will depend on the weather between now and Saturday.
If the white stuff comes down again, I may just cry. It's supposed to be good for you, a wee cry, but that can't be the case. Have you seen folk after they've been crying?
I've never seen anyone who could be described as being pretty. The bulbous eyes, the resemblance to a panda if mascara is worn, the dribbly nose, the shiny face, the dry heaves. These are not the symptoms of having just gone through something that's good for you.
So maybe I won't cry after all ... I need all the help I can get!
Published Date:
03/02/2010
Modified Date:
05/02/2010
RIP Bill McLaren
Rugby has lost its legendary voice with the passing of the great Bill McLaren.
I could never lay claim to knowing the man well. In fact, when I first met him when I first started writing rugby reports, I was a bit starstruck. If it was down to me, I probably would have not opened up a conversation with him, but it was he who sat beside me and introduced himself, before taking me through the finer points of whatever game it was we were at.
I didn't see him anything like every week, but on the few occasions he was down to cover the same match I was at, I was in awe of the great man's style and knowledge. He didn't have to commentate on the game to make it magic, he just had to be there.
So, rest in peace Bill. They'll be dancing in the streets of Heaven tonight.
Published Date:
27/01/2010
Modified Date:
27/01/2010
The day after tomorrow
There could only be one topic for this week's blog.
It's white, it's cauld and it 's beginning to get on my wick.
Last Wednesday, I defied the radio chappie's screams at me not to leave the house, and actually managed to make it into work - thanks to the nice policeman who gave me a push when I got stuck opposite the Scott Park gates - and we managed to get the paper out on time.
But I couldn't get back as the road had closed. So I had to stay in a hotel, a mere six miles away from where my nice warm house was. It was nice, though, thanks to the guys at the Glen Hotel...
All the effort was for naught, though, as the lorry carrying the papers from the printers in Sunderland were stopped by police south of Berwick and they weren't delivered until the Friday. Hey ho.
Last week, at the height of the storm, the whole region looked absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. The snow landed on bare branches and laid several inches on top; the sunlight that dared to show its face creating colours only previously dreamed of by strange, mono-eared Dutch painters; the hills, the roads, the pavements, the houses, all bowed down to the sheer might of the crystalised moisture descending from the skies.
Now, however, the roads and pavements are almost as treacherous, everything (including me) looks grey and dirty and I'm getting a wee bit sick of it.
Once we get angry at something, the knee-jerk reaction is to blame someone. And there's no easier target than Scottish Borders Council. They ran so low on salt and grit stocks, that not even major roads were treated at the height of the crisis. Pavements, even now, are still icy danger risks.
But let's not forget that even the BBC weather forecast last Tuesday said that the Borders was due a light flurry of snow. We got 14 inches. If the meteorologists couldn't forecast that, what chance has SBC?
If the council ordered thousands of extra tons of grit before the winter and it turned out to be mild, we would then be bashing them because they had paid thousands of pounds on winter measures that were left sitting in a shed for more than 12 months.
The men who operate the gritters have been out 24/7 in weather that would make an eskimo cry frozen tears. They've been doing their best in a situation that not even Derek Acorah could have forecast.
When we are angry, it is too easy to blame those in charge. Let's look beyond that and look at ways we as individuals could have handled it better. That way, we might learn a few things and not be as angry next time it happens.
As for me? I reckon not going in on the Wednesday would have been a start ...
And it's still bloody snowing.
Published Date:
13/01/2010
Modified Date:
13/01/2010
Snow fair
All this white stuff may be lovely and all that, but it's becoming a pain in the posterior.
This coming weekend looks like it'll be another one free of any outside sport. I looked at the Fairydean pitch yesterday, and, going by the hard-packed ice and snow blanket, if they're lucky, they'll be holding their first match of 2010 sometime in July.
So it looks like all us sportlovers will have to find something else to do this weekend at least.
Does anyone have any ideas? I'm playing badminton tonight, but because that's just really for enjoyment and I get a row if I take it too competitively, it doesn't really count.
It is fun, though. I used to be not too bad at the old badders, but some of the sharpness and flexibility I enjoyed as a youth have all but gone. I'm more of a happy pinger.
Last week I was at Netherdale to cover the re-emergence of the South of Scotland rugby side. It was nothing short of a miracle that the game was on at all and the conditions on the night were pretty horrible.
I wasn't doing a report, but was videoing highlights of the match to put on the site. You can see the results here.
Borderers do have a healthy sense of loyalty to their home towns, especially when it comes to exponents of the oval ball game. That also leads to good-hearted banter between supporters. But it is brilliant to see all Borders sides come together to support the South.
It's something that's been missing from the region for a while, as the ill-fated Border Reivers never quite managed to catch the imagination of the Borders fans. But the South still evokes memories of people like John Jeffrey, John Rutherford and Jim Renwick taking on the best of the rest.
The quicker the powers that be can sort out a revamped district competition the better.
And if the snow ever stops falling, some of the games could even be played!
Published Date:
04/01/2010
Modified Date:
04/01/2010
Merry Christmas!
This message does what it says on the tin.
Here's wishing all an incredibly merry Christmas and a fantastic new year.
Me? Once again, I'm getting fed on Friday by my marvellously mad, fantastic wee sister (God love her) who feels sorry for me enough every year to invite me to indulge in a bit of turkey and all the trimmings.
And, I'm not being entirely biased when I say you've never had turkey and trimmings until you've had Vicky's turkey and trimmings. She really puts the boat out (and not just the gravy boat)! In fact, if you put just the tiniest bit of each "trimming" on your plate at once, you have in front of you enough food to last you until February.
And you eat it, because, let's face it, it is scrummy. All these folk who say they hate turkey because it's bland just don't know how to cook it properly. And the gallon of red wine helps wash it down, and help you to fall asleep in front of Doctor Who.
Must stop this train of thought because I'm drooling over the keyboard.
So what does the New Year hold? Well, hopefully, all my IT issues will be dealt with by then and I'll be able to get my teeth into my new job. And you'll be able to see the results on the website. It's beginning to show already, with more videos being put up and stories being updated daily by our hard-working reporters.
Please ensure your festive season is full of cheer, beer and no fear.
All the best
Kev
XX
Published Date:
23/12/2009
Modified Date:
23/12/2009
Festive freeze at Drumelzier Nativity
Went to Drumelzier Place Farm last night to video their fantastic Nativity play for the Southern Reporter site for the week coming up to Christmas.
It was pretty impressive, but by the time we got back to our cars, it was minus 10 degrees. Needless to say, the roads around Drumelzier have never seen a gritter since grit was invented, so it called for a fairly steady journey there and back.
I impressed myself by getting stuck only once. And by getting out of it without the need of a tractor.
If you want to see the finished product, go to the website this week, where there will be a new video each day. You'll also be able to catch up with the story if you missed any episodes.
Merry Christmas!
Kev
xx
Published Date:
20/12/2009
Modified Date:
21/12/2009
New job
Going by one of my former blogs, the chances that anyone will read this are fairly slim, as I've not updated this for absolute yonks. So, I could probably say anything and get away with it.
So what's been happening? Loads, in fact, which probably goes some way towards providing me with an excuse for my recent lack of activity blogwise.
I'm still doing the longbow archery, and Connor is still progressing at about the same rate as I am getting worse. There must be only so much skill apportioned to each family and if one member gets better, the other canny shoot a coo's bottom at five paces.
However, that does not explain how the bleedin Pearsons are both so damn good. Or the Stillies, for that matter. Must be something else.
Workwise, I've just started a new job (well, a 12-month secondment) working primarily on the websites for the Southern Reporter and her sister papers in the Tweeddale Press fleet, as well as special publications such as supplements and in-paper features.
It's all fairly exciting stuff ... so far.
I've decided to do a weekly video voxpop, asking members of the public their thoughts on the week's local issues. To kick this off, I chose the coldest morning of the year to ask Gala folk about Christmas shopping. I was absolutely amazed when most people were willing to talk to this strange fella with icicles hanging off the edge of his nose. However, when I explained the whole process involved them talking on camera, they suddenly remembered they were meeting their pals in the cafe.
Macaris must have been heaving on Friday morning!
Of the few who kindly agreed to talk to me and let others know about it, blokes were, for the most part, more up for being videoed than the ladies. Was that a Gala thing, I wonder, or will I encounter the same trend throughout the other towns in the Borders? Perhaps next time I will pick a warmer day, although the forecast for this week makes that almost impossible.
Check out the first offering by clicking here. I apologise in advance for the hunched posture, but as I have said, and completely undersold, it was damn cold. Next time, I might even learn from my mistake of standing with my back to the sun, although it does look atmospheric.
Until next time ... toodlepip, and if I see you in the street, please don't run the other way.
Published Date:
15/12/2009
Modified Date:
15/12/2009
Everybody get up!
And they say that working with children or animals is a bad thing.
The primary 4 to 7 kids at Walkerburn school have launched their pop careers with a message for the masses. Save the world by recycling, reusing and reducing... not necessarily in that order.
And I was lucky enough to be able to shoot their pop video. Next stop MTV!
The kids were a real laugh, even when they were asking questions. Is this going on the radio? Will this be on the telly? Will you film us doing our other songs?
Unfortunately, it was all in the negative, but it is up on our website.
It's no Spielberg, but it is fun...
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And as for the Culzean incident, the least said the better. The scenery, the company, the equipment, they were all in place. Some were more picturesque than others. But I shot like a dog. Connor beat me for the first time in a target shoot.
I seem to be getting worse in direct proportion to the rapidity of Connor improving.
Oh well...
Published Date:
22/05/2009
Modified Date:
26/05/2009