The Forfar Moth

[Jack Harrison]

I had an air force colleague - I think he was called Neil Carnegie – who was a great raconteur. One evening in the mess bar, Neil decided to regale us with the tale of “The Forfar Moth” – Neil came from Forfar. I was attentive expecting some lepidopterous insights. But no, it was the most fabulous shaggy dog story imaginable. Neil started on track about a moth pest in the Forfar area but quickly digressed into some totally unrelated matter. But he was soon back on track only to go off on a different tangent. This carried on for perhaps 30 minutes and was a quite amazing marathon; we of course kept Neil well lubricated. I learned nothing about the moths of Forfar nor can I recall any details of the saga. But I do remember the skill and dedication that Neil showed that evening. A belated thank you Neil even though it’s 50+ years later.

Jack