BURNFOOT, LOWER DRYBURGH, RIVER TWEED.
It was a sad but glorious morning at Burnfoot on the Lower Dryburgh beat when we tipped his ashes from the urn into the river – the magnificent beech and oak trees were starting to colour with autumn hues and bowed gently with respect in the very slight breeze.
It was his favourite spot where he had once caught a 30lb salmon and a specific request after his death so we felt duty bound to honour it.
Several hours later a salmon fisher who had never caught a fish from this particular pool edged his way along the side of the Tweed to where some of his ash still remained on the river bed.
“One for Turkey John” he muttered under his breath casting across the river and at that moment a 20lb salmon took the fly – the largest fish caught and returned on the Tweed that day – and the sun still shone brightly.
Coincidence or what? I prefer to think the old salmon fisher was looking down on us and smiling quietly and the famous lines from Hamlet came to mind : “There are more things in Heaven and Earth Horatio than are dreamt of in you philosophy.”
