Ian Jardine’s Story

Ian Jardine – Buddy

I was born in Moffat in 1954 into a farming family, my dad being a farmer all his days, firstly at Heathfield Johnstonebridge and then Newbigging Farm Lockerbie and that connection has shaped my life, ever since. Before she married dad, my mum worked at the Forestry Offices at Twiglees Forest. At that time around seventy men worked in the forests around Twiglees and Eskdalemuir and each week, she would get on the bus into Lockerbie, alone, to collect all the men’s wages from the bank, in cash, and then come back to the office on the bus!. That certainly wouldn’t happen now.

I have one sibling, a sister called Elma who is now retired from her job as a librarian.

I went to school at Sibbaldbie Primary (now closed) with about 20 other kids and then onto Secondary School at Lockerbie Academy, where one of my favourite subjects was woodwork. Leaving after third year, I went straight into working on the family farm, going to the Barony Agricultural College two days a week, which was a wee break away from the farm.

My wife, Moira, of whom I was very proud, sadly died in 2016. We had three great children, two boys and a girl, all of whom made us very happy. Our oldest son, Kevin, now runs Newbigging Farm. whilst our middle child Nicola, has a dog kennel business and is also married to a farmer. The youngest, Callum, is in Brisbane, trading as a Joiner and Surveyor.

I have six grandkids, two in Brisbane and four in the UK.

Early in 2019, I thought I had stones in my kidneys (I did have, but they were only just removed in 2025 but blood tests back then showed I had a high PSA reading which was eventually 18.1 by the time I was treated for Prostate Cancer in 2020, just before Covid struck the UK.

I first had 23 radiotherapy treatments at the Western General in Edinburgh, immediately followed by Brachytherapy treatment, with 70 radioactive seed implants. I’ve had no issues to date and naturally, hope this continues.

It was Robert Copland that introduced me to Prostate Buddies D & G in 2023 and since my first visit have only missed a few of the monthly meetings. Prostate Buddies is a great organisation, is well run and has been so helpful to me that I’m proud to say that in July 2026, I was recruited as a Buddy. I’d recommend Prostate Buddies to any man suffering from Prostate Cancer.