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Clyne Chronicle No 17 – Spring 2014 Kiss the Water: A feature film tribute to the artistry and industry of Megan Boyd, salmon fly tier By Robin C Sutherland, Turriff (formerly of Golspie) Robin Sutherland is the son of the late Bertie and Norma Sutherland, Golspie, and was born about a mile from Dunrobin Castle. A member of Clyne Heritage Society since 2006, he is a retired civil engineer, now residing in Turriff, Aberdeenshire. He has also contributed the Peerage article on page 40. It was a month after I saw the film that the Editor asked me to put down my thoughts for the Chronicle, and if my memory is faulty I beg forgiveness. My principal thought was amazement at what the American film-maker Eric Steel had been able to reconstruct of the life of Megan Boyd, perhaps the world’s greatest tier of salmon flies. Steel was in the habit of reading each day the obituaries in the New York Times. Megan died in 2001 and her obituary, for some reason, caught his attention, although he didn’t eat salmon, was not a fisherman and had never visited Scotland. He cut out the notice and pinned it to his wall, and thought about the life behind it. But 10 more years were to pass before he came to Scotland for the first time and to East Sutherland to make this film about the life that had captured his thoughts so frequently. This is an unconventional film which, in some ways, reflected the unconventional life of Megan. Locals who knew her talked, against a bland background, about the life and work of a woman who lived alone, very simply, and worked tirelessly. Some of her students recalled the perfectionist, whilst the screen showed the painstaking creation of objects of stunning beauty. Superb views of the Helmsdale and Brora Rivers showed the solitary pursuits of the dedicated fisherman, matching the solitary labours of the woman who tied the lures they loved to use. Lingering, unmoving and eerie views from her ruined cottage, near Kintradwell, recalled the long hours she spent at her workbench, with just her dog for company (pictured left), and only the passing road and rail traffic for her to know that there was still other life out there. A beautiful view of Brora Beach doesn’t put food on your plate; only work does that. 7
Clyne Chronicle No 17 – Spring 2014 Brora Scottish Country Dance group recalled Megan’s love of dancing and demonstrated in dance intricate and beautiful patterns and we could see that Megan also wove many such beautiful and intricate patterns into her work. It was recalled that on Sundays she took off in her car to see friends, so that she wasn’t working alone for 7 days a week. This writer recalls one Sunday’s outing with Inverness cousins to Applecross in Wester Ross and there, by chance, meeting Megan with Golspie friends on just such a day away from her labours. Those of us who knew Megan will have very personal views of this film. The omission of any reference to Bob Trussler, who first showed her, at age 12, how to tie a salmon fly, is regrettable. The beautiful hand-painted animation of a swimming salmon provided a stunning link for the various aspects of the film but, in the end, for me there was too much of it. Was it used to pad out the film to make it up to a standard length Overall, I enjoyed the film and thought it substantially evoked warm-hearted memories of an unconventional, kind, respected, and self-respecting, hardworking artist and perfectionist. And in the final frames she appeared in person. 23 rd February, 2014 Footnote: Megan (pictured below as a young girl) was born in Reigate, Surrey, in 1915 to Thomas Boyd and Sussex-born Annie Noakes, who were married in Wandsworth, London in 1911. Thomas was born in Manchester, but both of his parents were from Scotland; Thomas (senior) from Lockerbie and Mary Ann from Stornoway, Lewis. It seems likely that the Boyd family moved to Brora, en masse, after the Great War and Thomas (senior) and Mary Ann settled first at North Brora Muir and then moved to Ivy Cottage, Doll. It is not yet confirmed, but it appears that Megan’s parents and her siblings first came to live at Kintradwell at what became Megan’s lifelong home. Her father, Thomas, was the Green-keeper at Brora Golf Club – for the latter information we are indebted to Donnie Baillie, who was an under-caddy when he was a youth, working for Thomas. 8
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