The choc-ices in the freezer compartment of the office fridge have a “best before” date of October, 2025. But what can I say? Summer has arrived in the Scottish Borders this week, and it mightn’t last longer than a day or two, so it’s a case of raiding the ice-tray while the sun shines.

Not that the ingredients boast of much that’s likely to spoil for an extra six months of cryogenic preservation: partially reconstituted skimmed cows milk concentrate, sugar, fat reduced cocoa powder, emulsifier, soya, glucose syrup, guar gum, and carotenes. Truly a product of nature’s bounty.

Too bad that British strawberries, reported to have arrived in southern supermarkets last week, have yet to reach north of the border – despite the fact that buds are starting to break on the beech trees alongside the finishing straight at Kelso Racecourse, and temperatures have risen consistently each day into Double Digits (which just happens to be the name of our selection at Hexham on Saturday).

The daffodils in the parade ring have started to curl, and across the Borders a bright patchwork quilt is starting to emerge including bright yellow oilseed rape and verdant rows of wheat, barley and oats.

With racing scheduled at Kelso on Wednesday, the groundstaff have been irrigating the track – predominately to make conditions perfect for the horses, but also because the sponsors of last year’s Groundstaff Awards (Agrovista, DLF and Duralock) will be attending the races to present the team with their winning plaque and it’d just be too embarrassing if the racecourse wasn’t looking tip-top for the time of year. Fortunately the John Deere mower is back from it’s extended holiday, having required more work than expected as part of its annual service, ensuring a neat sward for presentation purposes.

Despite the recent dry spell, the weather has already been much kinder to us this Spring than last – when there was almost no rainfall at all from the beginning of March until the end of May. The final two fixtures last season were eventually staged as all-hurdle cards as there wasn’t enough water available to irrigate both the hurdle track and the steeplechase track. This year, thankfully, we have plenty for now and there’s even a little rain forecast over the weekend which should ease the ground further.

No matter how well the groundstaff team applies the water, it’s always better when nature does it – as long as nature knows when to stop. And when the rain stops, hopefully the sun will come out again and we can restock the fridge-freezer with ice creams for 2028.