PLUCKY little Robert Kerr, from Biggar, has been inspired by the monumental efforts of Captain Tom Moore and is doing a walk for charity at the age of just one.

He has a lot to be thankful for to his chosen charity, the Scottish Ambulance Service, which played a major role in him being here today. He arrived quite speedily – if a little scarily – in the back of an ambulance at the foot of Tinto Hill, with the aid of paramedics and Karen's friend, Kirstyn Reeve. Both Kirstyn and Karen are vets with the Armac surgery in Biggar and have seen many births before – but this one was special!

He turned one last weekend and marked it by walking around his garden and has so far raised more than £1400. Karen said: "Here we are a year later and Robert and I would like to thank those who helped bring him safely into the world on the A72 at the foot of Tinto.

"We can’t have any of the regular celebrations or the fundraising coffee morning we had hoped for so in the spirit of Covid-19 lockdowns, Robert is taking inspiration from Sir Captain Tom who walked 100 laps of his garden for his 100th birthday, by walking one lap of his garden for his first birthday."

Wee robert was cheered on in his efforts by his brothers, Fraser (5) and Angus (2). "All three boys have had a trip in an ambulance and we would love to see Robert’s efforts going some way to give back and show our support to the wonderful service – the paramedics and technicians on the front line have been nothing short of heroic during this pandemic never mind in 'normal' circumstances."

You can applaud the wee man's efforts and show support for the Scottish Ambulance Service by donating through JustGiving, a simple, fast and totally secure method, at: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/robertkerr21

Walking to the 'bar!'

ANOTHER usually fertile social gathering that's fallen foul of Covid-19 is the SAOS annual conference – but the organisers have gone out of their way to make some fun out of it and provide an entertaining 'virtual' event, with a visit to the 'bar' afterwards.

Some clever 'so and so' had added up the collective mileage together from each of the team's homes to its conference home at Dunblane, and now the team have been set the task of covering the mileage collectively in January – walking, running, swimming, or on bikes. The target is a total of 1495 miles!

"Standup farmer comedian, Jim Smith, ran a really successful and amusing auction last year, raising £3000 for RSABI and we've decided to do something different to raise more money for RSABI this year," said SAOS.

"We'd really appreciate your support in helping us raise money for our good friends at RSABI and all the great work they do in the farming, agriculture and related supply chain communities. You can support us via our Virgin Money page at: SAOS Walk to the Conference."

The online conference is being hosted by the HopIn platform on January 28 and, fingers firmly crossed, back in Dunblane in Jan 2022. It promises a host of topical information and, wait for it, at the end there will be a virtual 'bar' session – BYOB (or tea!), of course.