Tonight I am speaking at the Borders SAR 50 th Anniversary dinner, it will be a special night for this team who cover an incredible and beautiful area. I was lucky enough to walk in the area and enjoy some of the beauty with Seymour the Team Leader, what a man. I also had an enjoyable night with the team at a training evening on GPS Navigation. Lyle Brotherton a good friend took the training and it was a superb evening. 18 of the team attended a great turnout. It is amazing the dedication of all these people and the time they give up in pursuit of being a Mountain Rescue Team Member.
The Borders Teams are very special to me the time I was at Leuchars and we trained down in this area every year. It paid off with the various incidents occurring. The most tragic was Lockerbie which involved the Borders, Tweed Valley and Moffat Mountain Rescue Teams the job these teams did was hardly known about by any outside the area. I have had a great time down in the Borders and so enjoyed the remoteness and friendship shown. This is a special area and the hills have a remoteness and a beauty of there own. I will definitely be back.
It is a chance tonight to thank everyone in the past and present for what they have done and the sacrifices the team have made and their families over the years. There is a great photo in the 1960’s of a Morris Minor open backed with team member’s around it. These were the days with no funding and limited kit, what people and what an effort in these early days.
I was very impressed with the Borders and amazed by the quietness, we visited an aircraft crash and this area has many around Cheviot the big hill in the area. I was amazed by the awful signs put up in this lovely area how out-of-place they looked , I wonder who thought this up as way of passing on information?
I have just finished my we talk and hope it goes down well, tonight I will meet some great friends again, people who are very special and who say little about what they do or have done. I hope it all goes well and everyone has a great time, I am sure I will learn so much about this special bunch of folk, there will be few tales about. It is a chance to thank the families who also give so much.
A huge thank you for all the support over the years to the Team – without your support it would not happen.”
Please remember all Mountain Rescue Teams rely heavily on donations, many teams struggle and if you can help in any way please support your local team. Over one third of rescues teams are now involved in are urban or rural.
It could be your Grandparents,Mum, Dad, or child they are looking for in the future?
Reblogged this on windfarmaction and commented:
We hear much about Police Scotland and Fire Scotland but not enough about the volunteers of the Mountain Rescue and RNLI. If ever any guys and gals deserve a great dinner, these do. Lets hope you don’t get a call out. Hats off to you all guys.
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Thanks I will do great people!
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