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DICK AMOUR 1939-2007 I first met Dick in the mid 1970s, soon after he and Lesley moved to Inverness. Our children were of a similar age and we all formed a friendship that has endured over three decades. Dick was then, and ever remained, a prodigious hillwalker. In 1969 he became only the 94th person to complete the Munros, a feat he repeated in 1979; he also climbed all the subsidiary Munro tops and the Corbetts. When, as a comparative novice, I first went walking with Dick I knew little of this and thought I must be very unfit; later I realised I was an ordinary walker in the company of an extraordinary one. In 1978 Ann and I joined Invoc having attended its inaugural event at Cawdor. Dick held back, he was suspicious of competitive sports and running did not appeal to him - he claimed! However, a couple of years later, he was sufficiently intrigued to come to another Cawdor event. Standing nearby, I still recall Dick racing hard into the finish having completed the Blue (then B) course in a very creditable time. He had found it an interesting challenge and was soon hooked. For the next two or three events I beat him but, as he adjusted his mountain navigation to the lower visibility of the forest and the larger scale of the maps, I soon found myself trailing in his wake. He never did things by half and started training hard; surprising as it may seem now, he was at that time quite a heavy smoker but it was no coincidence that he then quit the evil weed. Dick of course quickly went on to become one of the UK's leading orienteers in his age group as well as a champion veteran hill runner and occasional mountain marathon participant. He took part in events the length and breadth of the country, winning many major championships and becoming a fixture in the Scottish Veterans team at the Home Internationals. His orienteering achievements are too numerous to list but he was delighted when the Inverness Sports Council made him the male Sports Personality of the Year for 2005. This award also recognised his huge contribution to the planning and controlling of major events such as the Scottish 6 days. In these roles his dedication and thoroughness became a byword throughout the orienteering community. As many of you will know, however, there was much more to Dick than his orienteering and athletic interests. In his working life he taught at Millburn Academy, always concerned that his pupils received a broad and true education rather than being processed through a sausage machine dictated by tick boxes and ever increasing bureaucracy. In part he achieved this by running the Academy's Outdoor Club introducing many to activities such as hillwalking and orienteering. Dick had a formidable intellect and an encyclopaedic knowledge base that encompassed both science and the arts; I doubt if there was any time that I met him and did not learn something - I just wish more had stuck! His interests were many and varied - geology, botany, ornithology, astronomy, photography, gardening, wine and beer making, fungi gleaning, cooking, reading, music, cinema, computing and weather forecasting are some that come to mind. As a person he was always modest, generous, amusing, great company and a loyal friend. He had no personal conceit and it was always good to know someone whose leisure wardrobe was as sartorially challenged as my own. His O suits had sustained at least as many close encounters with barbed wire and, when he dropped by for a cuppa after a walk or run in the woods near us, it was interesting to speculate as to which artifice of the tailors' trade was preventing his trousers from completely disintegrating. One story may suffice to illustrate Dick's amazing energy, his kindness - and his desktop publishing skills! In July 2006 Ann completed the Munros on Carn Mor Dearg which is beside Ben Nevis. Around 2pm, after the customary celebrations and refreshments had been partaken, we left the summit to return to Inverness. Dick was of course in the party and obviously felt the need for a bit more exercise - Carn Mor Dearg is after all only 4,000 feet high - and so he descended 1,500 feet down the East ridge and then climbed back up to 4,000 feet to traverse Aonach Mor en route home. At about 8pm six hours after we parted on the summit, we met up again 65 miles away in Inverness. By then Dick, now bathed and togged up in his Saturday best, was able to present Ann with a seven page commemorative book he had drafted since his return containing 22 photos he had taken that day and a narrative account of the event. What a guy! I never expected to be writing an account like this. To me Dick seemed almost indestructible and I could foresee him as one of those rare individuals still running strongly into his eighties, perhaps beyond. Sadly that was not to be but, if there is any consolation, it is in the manner of his death - quick and doing what he loved - and the fact that he had packed so much into his life particularly since his retirement in 1999. In all this he was supported by Lesley who understood his restless energy and love of the outdoors. Dick cherished his family, Lesley and his children, Julia and Alan, to whom everyone in Invoc will extend their sympathy. As John and Christine Martin posted on the SOA website, when will we see his like again? Ray Walder |