The Borders ... brum brum

Although we don't officially live in the Scottish Borders, we are within spitting distance of this very beautiful and peaceful part of the world, gorgeous scenery and wide open spaces. Well the quiet of the countryside what disturbed somewhat at the weekend by this lot. This is trialling an activity enjoyed by our our friends Carol and Alistair who take their little car all over the UK to drive it up and down hills. There is only one event of this type held in Scotland each year, in The Borders, so seemed a good idea to take a look and give them some support. Apparently it's not about speed, the aim is to drive as far as possible over a rough twisty uphill route without stopping or hitting the marker posts. To help each driver there is a passenger in the car who moves their weight around to get the best possible traction on each wheel. The further a driver gets up a section the lower the score, the one with the lowest score of the day is the winner.It certainly didn't look like a comfortable ride with the passenger often hanging out of the car or bouncing up and down to maintain momentum. Fortunately it was a nice sunny day, ground conditions were good for the drivers and it was warm enough for the supporters to stand around. As an ex fell runner there is a part of me that thinks running up and down the hills would be safer and healthier but each to their own. We enjoyed finding out about this type of event, previously we'd known very little about it except that Carol and Alistair keep a special vehicle under cover at their house and take it away on a trailer at weekends.

On the way home we noticed that one of the border villages was holding its annual show so we stopped off for a look and of course tea and home made cakes for less than the price of a high street coffee. The show was a much bigger event than our ours, this village has amenities like a shop, garage and a horticultural society so the standards particularly in the flower and produce sections were high. But it was the children's entries that amused me, I love the garden on a tin lid class and the winner of the vegetable animal was inspirational, an marrow octopus inside a pirate's treasure chest with grapes for jewels. Brilliant, what a nice day out.