Eric W Classey, J.P., F.R.E.S. :: 1916 - 2008
Memory no.10
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Gerry Haggett |
I well remember a very enjoyable field trip to
Scotland with Eric in early July 1968. I wanted to see
some of the Scottish Burnet moths, as did Eric, but he also
hoped to see some rare Orchids. We based ourselves in a
small guest house at Braemar where we stayed for a few
days. We found the local species of Burnet moth on the
top of a mountain to the north of Braemar and Eric was
delighted, as he had never seen this species alive in its
natural habitat before. A day or so later we explored
the lowland area between Braemar and Aberdeen, where we were
looking for Orchids. In a woodland clearing we had to
cross a small river (too wide to jump across) via a loose
plank of wood and as I was two or three hundred metres ahead
of Eric, I crossed first, noticing that the plank was unstable
and somewhat wobbly. Having crossed safely, I shouted to
Eric to be careful when crossing because of the unstable
plank. A minute or so later I heard a shout and turning
I saw Eric losing his balance and falling into the river
completely up to his waist in water. Fortunately he was
able to keep his camera etc above the water line, but he was
unable to get out without my help. I managed to pull him
out and there he stood with water running out of him.
While I saw the funny side of the situation, I managed to keep
a straight face and refrain from laughing. Poor Eric, he
immediately began to shiver and we realised that he needed to
get out of his wet clothes immediately. In order to
return to the car we had to re-cross the river, but this time
Eric managed to do so without falling in again! We
realised that we were too far to return to our guest house in
Braemar, so we stopped at a nearby house and knocking on the
door, a lady opened it and with a delightful Scottish accent
said to Eric "Oh you poor thing, come in and dry your
clothes." Eric was provided with a dressing gown
and his clothes were hung up to dry. In the meantime, we
were provided with tea and home made shortcake. Finally,
we went on our way and Eric was none the worse for his
adventure.
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