Fri a packed kirk ti men, weemen and bairns on the streets, it was plain ti sei how weel thought o' hei was. Ee could hear the applause ripple roond the toon es the procession went by an' folk showed their appreciation for the voice o' rugby. An' it was a nice touch ti sei the schuil bairns oot wi rugby tops oan.

A hear the folk in the Kirk a' got a Hawick Ball on the way in. They must hev hed a bumper sales week wi a' the publicity they got. A wonder if the makers wull make a wee donation ti a charity in his name?

The tributes continued ti pour in fri across the world wi the result that Bill McLaren was still pittin' Hawick on the map, like hei aye did. A'm telt there wull be a memorial service in Edinburgh later oan an' various other things are happenin' including internet campaigns for memorials, an' a stand named in his honour. Nae doobt oor toon is considerin' how best ti permanently honour um ana'.

An speakin' o' the internet, now that A'v got the hang o'd A was showed how ti git onti Youtube ti sei a' the Bill McLaren videos that er gaun aboot. A' the cliver phrases hei yis ti invent, an' oov been readin' aboot this week, er there for ee ti hear ower again.

A'm telt they suspendeed the awfi roadworks for the funeral. Howts they seem ti be diggin' everywhere the now.

What's gaun oan? What wi potholes fri the bad weather an' various folk diggin up the roads for this thing or that thing. Niver mind linin' the streets, it looks like oor mining the streets.

Nowni, speakin' aboot streets, A seen in the paper last week that oor gaun ti be gittin' a new statue in 2014.

Exactly a hunder years efter oo got The Horse at yin end o' the High Street, oov ti git a statue o' the Callant fri Hornshole gittin off his horse at the other end o' the High Sreet an' bein' met be ordinary toonsfolk whaes lives the Callants undoubtedly saved. What a guid idea. It kinda brings the story back ti the heart o' Hawick in mare ways than yin.

Time moves oan quick din't eet? A mind when they first sterteed speakin' aboot 2014 A thought ti masel, howts that's years away, an' so it was, bit now its creepin' up gei quick.

An' speakin' o' which it'll no be lang ti this year's Common Riding. A sei thum stertin' ti ride oot on their horses, gittin' thum back inti exercise efter the wunter, an' the hint ends back into the saddle. There's still a bit o' a nip in the air, bit afore lang the buds'll be oot, the leaves wull burst inti life, an' folk'll be linin' the streets again. For a very different reason.