Stunned and speechless

Dominic Roskrow gets back to nature

Richard and I spotted them at about the same time, our gaze almost instinctively drawn upwards; four dots on the skyline, one larger than the other three. And we stood in awed silence as they approached, squinting through the sun-hazed cloud as we realised what we were watching.

The golden eagle led the way, dignified in flight but desperate to return to the stretch of bracken and heather behind it. The three buzzards had other plans though, and were working together to drive it away from their territory. Their assaults were not manic or jittery, however, but smooth and flowing, and the whole dogfight was conducted with grace and in silence as the birds came ever nearer.

Who knows how long we watched for. Two minutes? Three? And then the eagle accepted defeat and from almost directly above us, turned and retreated towards the celebrated paps of Jura and we were left stunned and speechless.

There have been moments in my life that were more amazing and adrenalin-charged than this, but not many. The birth of my sons, the moment my soccer team scored in extra time to win the first major trophy in its history; any number of rock music moments from Clapton, Led Zeppelin and Dylan to Husker Du, R.E.M. and The Replacements.

Nothing this natural, though. Or unexpected.

Those moments on Jura with Whyte & Mackay's master blender, Richard Paterson, completed a remarkable period for me – a period that has fundamentally changed my whole outlook on life. Quite literally.

I wrote las...

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• By : Dominic Roskrow
• In : Editor's View
• Issue : 13
• Page : 3
• Words : 663