In her time Megan Boyd was regarded as the finest maker of salmon flies in Scotland, if not in the world, working from a modest croft in the village ofKintradwell in Scotland’s remote highlands where she lived for 53 years. I recall reading about Boyd way back in the early ‘80’s when they wrote about her as if she were some mystic goddess of fly tying. She retired aged 70 in 1985 due to deteriorating eyesight and died at the age of 85 in 2001.  Today her flies sell for up to $1000 a piece – if you can get your hands on one, that is.

What intrigues me about her was her unusual sense of self-unimportance. She was awarded the British Empire Medal by Queen Elizabeth II, but wrote a card to the queen saying she couldn’t come to Buckingham Palace to receive her medal as there was no one to take care of her dog that day.

Then years later an aide of Prince Charles turned up at her home and asked if she would urgently tie up a few salmon flies for the prince. She declined, saying she had a traditional dance engagement that evening. Years later Prince Charles personally visited her in the old age home she was then living in to pay her his respects.

She was some lady, maybe eccentric, but clearly she was a formidable talent behind a fly tying vice.

The Telegraph reports that a film made of her life was shown at the Edinburgh Film Festival this year.  See  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/10123786/Edinburgh-Film-Festival-2013-New-Megan-Boyd-film-explores-life-of-eccentric-master-of-flies-and-friend-of-Prince-Charles.html

Here’s a short preview of the film called Kiss the Water http://www.edfilmfest.org.uk/films/2013/kiss-the-water