It even had the audacity to delay Acting Father Gordon Jackson's return to Teridom from a short trip to Poland, ahead of the Picking Night towards the end of April.

But in his Toast to the Common-Riding at the Friday Morning Hut, Drew Penman talked of a very different eruption, one that was taking place inside the limits of the grey auld toon and one that Fither Jackson and his Cornet Greg Easton and the whole of Hawick were in the middle of.

He said: "The volcano that is Hawick Common-Riding has been bubbling away since Picking Night.

"When our Cornet stepped through that door at precisely 9.50am, the top of Mount Teribus had well and truly come off.

"A dense plume of blue and yellow smoke has been blown to the four corners of the world wherever exiled Teries stay. Think of the exiles who would give anything to be where we are right now. Think of the tears that plume of smoke, remember it's royal blue with gold running through, are bringing right now to the eyes of a young, scared, but determined Hawick Callant as he sits in his fox hole in Helmand province, ever proud to bear the brunt but anxiously waiting, ready to fight to defend the freedom which we can so exuberantly enjoy today."

Inside the tardis that is the hallowed Hut, there were more than 300 riders, supporters, guests and principals from all over the Borders.
And among the speeches were references to famous figures including golfer Tiger Woods, former US president John F. Kennedy and singer Nanci Griffith.

But at that moment, in that historic old building, there was nobody more famous, nobody more revered and acclaimed, than one Greg Colin Easton, Hawick Cornet 2010.

The cheers which greeted him on his arrival couldn't have been any more had he sunk the winning putt at the British Open. And the support he and his Acting Father Gordon received was greater than some enjoyed by the finest double acts the world has ever known.

In his Toast to the Cornet, Golden Jubilee Cornet Jed Huggan said: "As we passed up to the Nipknowes this morning, with the crowds cheering and your uniform on and the Banner Blue cracking in the wind, you must have been a very proud man.

"I believe the people of Hawick were prouder."

And speaking with a maturity which belied his youthful years, Cornet Greg conceded that pride certainly was one of the many feelings he was experiencing at that moment.

He said: "On leaving this hallowed building this morning, I will have two very different emotions. Sadness as it will be my last time at the Hut as Cornet and immense pride as I lead my mounted supporters to ride the meiths and marches of the Hawick Common as our fathers did of yore." He then went on to praise the "team effort" of everyone who has made this, his special year, possible, from his family and friends, to the Common-Riding committee, marshals and supporters.

Fresh from his hugely emotional speech at the Colour-Bussing the previous night, Chief Guest Alan Brydon was still riding high on the crest of a wave, and he saved some stirring words for his appearance at the top table.

Describing the Hut, he said: "It can make us laugh and sing and it regularly makes us greet with the level of emotion that hits you when you step inside.

"Tears are shed here, but none are shed in shame."

Somehow just the talk of those tears being shed changed the emotion among the hundreds and after being toasted by Silver Jubilee Acting Father Sam Barker, Gordon Jackson took centre stage.

With the pride and passion that has become synonymous with both himself and his Cornet, Fither Jackson broke with tradition and proposed a Toast to the man who made this year possible for him.

He said: "Ex-Cornets Richardson and Graham, the town owes you a huge debt of gratitude for having the foresight in choosing Greg Colin Easton as the Cornet for 2010, a young man who has united this town and further afield over the past five weeks and who has lifted Teri spirits amid the recent redundancies.

"For that I'll be forever in your debt.

"Cornet, in front of everybody that counts, and that's Hawick folk outside and your equestrian supporters, Greg, I'll spend the rest of my life thanking you for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

And with that, and the last songs from John Tait, Ian 'Scocha' Scott, Henry Douglas, Bernie Armstrong, Keith 'Chugger' Brown, Graeme Tinlin and Ronnie Tait – with Ian Landles on piano – still echoing around the Hut for the last time this year, it was time to bid farewell to that old building at St Leonards for another 12 months.