The Heavens Lament

It seemed entirely fitting that to day, for the funeral of His Lordship's walking companion, the heavens should have added their very own watery lament to that of the hundreds of mourners who joined together at Mortonhall.

It was his tragic accident on the slopes of Ben Cruachan twelve days ago that this morning brought together people from all walks of life to celebrate a life well lived and mourn his untimely passing.

There were tears mixed with laughter as his youngest son regaled us with anecdotes of his father's life, telling us how much time and effort had been invested in his family and how he had enjoyed so much of the outdoors with them.

We tend only to know certain sides of our friends and so it's very humbling to hear how much more there was to the friend we knew, and to hear about the other lives he touched as far afield as Uganda and Australia.

I'm sure Alec  would have been most embarrassed to hear the lovely things that were said both at the service and afterwards when we gathered for lunch.
He would have been embarrassed because he was a very modest gentleman.

How sad it is that we only feel able to celebrate someone's life and say how much they'll be missed, after their death.

RIP Alec, your four 'Last of the Summer Wine' walking companions will miss you on Wednesdays.