A Scottish Border Phenomena: A True Story By K.W.McRae
I was employed in the forestry profession for over forty five years in all aspects of the industry: tree planting, fencing, draining, brashing. But most of my forestry career was in tree surgery with Edinburgh Corporation and latterly self employed, except for seven years previous to retirement, when I returned to the now Edinburgh District Council, I was engaged as a forestry supervisor to oversee the disposal of Dutch elm diseased trees in the city parks and streets.
I began my forestry career in 1951 with the Forestry Commission, and it was when I was working with this well known organisation in Wauchope Forest, in the Border Region, that the following phenomena occurred.
It was late spring, and a squad of about twenty men, myself included, were planting young trees near the top of a high hill. As we planted we talked about the previous evening’s activities. Writing letters, reading, ‘blethering’ or listening to the radio. This was in the days before T.V.
For some reason everyone stopped talking and working. We turned and faced south and stared as an ominous blue, black cloud filled the distant horizon, and it was drifting very, very slowly towards us and the surrounding hills. As the cloud approached, daylight gradually faded to a half dark state. The light breeze that was blowing ceased. We seemed to be in a vacuum as the air around us ‘thinned.’ We gazed in awe as this threatening curtain approached us. As the cloud drifted closer and closer towards us on top of the exposed hill top, the atmosphere around us felt full of static electricity that made the hair on our heads stand on end.
Suddenly, across the top of one of the distant hills, a rod of jagged lightening flashed from the dark cloud and lit up the barren hills. This was followed by a volley of thunder that shook the ground under our feet. Loud exclamations of wonder shattered our silence, as each flash of lightening tried to undo the previous flash with its brilliance. Sheet lightening momentarily lit up the surrounding terrain. We stood transfixed, spellbound, and wide eyed, as this force of Nature vent its anger on the landscape. We all were enthralled by the fantastic spectacle around us. This ominous cloud, throwing shards of lightening and thunder from within its folds, advanced towards us standing on the exposed hilltop.
As we stood mesmerized, expecting to be cut down by a bolt of lightening, the dark cloud, low in the sky, slowly passed overhead, leaving us unharmed, and we continued staring at the lightening as it danced its way over the hills accompanied by an orchestra of thunder. After a few minutes the light breeze returned, and the sky brightened as the sun nervously came out from behind that glowering cloud. Surprisingly, not a drop of rain fell from out the sky.
After a discussion and debate at what we had witnessed, we returned to work planting young trees. When we returned to the forestry camp after work, and discussed the events of the day with the lads who worked in the forestry nursery, and had missed out on our fantastic occurrence, and even though we were on a high open hilltop, using steel bladed and half steel shafted planting spades, and vulnerable to a possible strike from the lightening, in the excitement of the event, until it was mentioned much later, the danger we had been in.
Over my many years in forestry I have witnessed many strange and wonderful sights of Nature, but I have never forgotten that incredible sight.
