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Published 25 Jan 2010 09:42
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HAWICK, the Borders and, it seemed some of the best rugby players ever to wear Scotland's blue, stood in tribute as The Voice of Rugby, Bill McLaren was laid to rest.
Convention would dictate that the apposite phrase there would be "silent" tribute but that would hardly have seemed right for the man with the most loquacious lexicon in broadcasting history.
Instead, alongside the grief that any family would feel in the circumstances of losing a loved one, there was warmth, affection and laughter among the 650 strong congregation in the Teviot Church and among the hundreds more who lined Hawick High Street and neighbouring thoroughfares - five deep in places - as applause greeted the cortege as it drove past on its way to Wellogate Cemetery.
Bill McLaren's death last week at the age of 86, has elicit a welter of tributes, all so sincere, from those who knew him and those who felt they knew him, simply because of his mellifluous tones and his ebullient humanity.
As the minister at Teviot Church, Neil Combe, so astutely remarked, Bill himself would have been dumb-founded at "such a fuss" as was seen this week, simply because he never took anything for granted.
Mourners started to arrive at the church the entire duration of a rugby match before proceedings began.
Naturally, the rugby fraternity was prominent. First XV players from the current Hawick team acted as pall bearers and representatives from clubs from the Borders and beyond were present.
From the current Scotland squad, the most-capped player Chris Paterson, was joined by Mike Blair, Nathan Hines, Hugo Southwell and Scott Lawson.
Heroes of yesteryear - John Rutherford, Gary Armstrong, Roy Laidlaw, John Jeffrey, Gavin Hastings, Colin Deans, Jim Renwick and Craig Chalmers - trooped into the church. So did Scotland coaches of the current squad - Andy Robinson and Gregor Townsend - and from the recent past: Frank Hadden, Richie Dixon and Jim Telfer.
As one mourner remarked you could have chosen a decent Scotland team from the congregation!
The BBC, Bill's employer for some 50 years, were well represented through such as on-screen presenters Jill Douglas and John Inverdale to those behind the scenes such as Grigor Stirling and Jim Preacher.
But Monday was not about celebrity. It was about community showing pride and saluting one of its own, as Bill's grandson, Gregor Lawson, did so movingly in a eulogy that was so skilfully crafted it might have been penned by the great man himself.
It was also an occasion for the family to express its gratitude not just to the thousands of well-wishers but also to the caring staff at the Hawick Community Hospital and friends and neighbours who had helped to nurse Bill through ill-health.
And the community that was uppermost in this week's events - Hawick - paid its own tribute through an evocative poem by local historian Ian Landles. It was entitled simply: The man that oo ca' Bill.
The Scottish Rugby Union confirmed it has been inundated with messages of sympathy for Bil McLaren following his death last week. In a statement they said his family have taken tremendous comfort and wished to thank the public for the outpouring of tributes.
Hawick Rugby Club have opened a Book of Condolence, which will be available for anyone to sign, at the Scottish Borders Council Customer Services Office at the Hawick Town Hall, High Street, Hawick from 10am to 4pm weekdays.
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