Flowers for Nicholas

This afternoon Minty and I walked up the old Gartmore road and along Millionaires Row. The views were disappointingly hazy and the wind bitter. (Minty rolled in fox poo and had to have a bath when we got home.)

At Jock's Burn just outside the village we came to these three bunches of flowers tied to the fence, so I presumed there must have been a recent fatal accident nearby.

After a few enquiries, however, I believe the flowers are in remembrance of a local boy/young man who was killed several years ago, having been knocked down by a tram in Amsterdam. His family place flowers there in his memory every year, possibly on his birthday.

I remember Nicholas well. He was small for his age, possibly as a result of having had meningitis as a baby, and he went through playgroup and primary school with D#1, the youngest of three boys in the family.

After leaving school he did his apprenticeship as a motor mechanic at the local garage and the last time I saw him was when he drove me home while my car was in for its MOT. At the time he was excited about his imminent move to Amsterdam. The news of his tragic death saddened the whole village.

Any blippers in Scotland planning to watch the new BBC Scotland channel launching tonight?