Sometimes, when it’s hard to look at your life straight on, it helps to consider moments in it as a story – or metaphor.
The week before my husband left me, we’d booked tickets for a ten-day music festival in Scotland. Six months later I went to that festival with a friend.
It was a wonderful, yet difficult, experience. My ex and I had seen Dougie MacLean – the main performer – just a year earlier, and although I loved the company of my friend, I couldn’t help thinking about my ex, and how he should be here with me. The fact that the festival happened during our first wedding anniversary apart made it all just a little more painful. But it was a great ten days – the music toe-tapping or soulful, but always inspiring.
The final concert was to be held in a large tent in the grounds of an upmarket hotel. As it was only a mile away, we decided to walk.
On the way it started to rain. And rain. And rain. And rain. Too late to turn back, we just kept plodding on, getting wetter and wetter. Loads of cars passed us, but none offered us a lift, and by the time we got to the hotel, we had to try and dry ourselves out under the hand dryers in the Ladies.
Not a good start.
But the concert, with all the musicians who had participated in the festival that week, was amazing. And in keeping with true Scots hospitality, tea and biscuits (or a ‘wee sensation’) was served at the interval.
The last night of the Perthshire Amber Festival 2015
When the concert ended, Dougie MacLean asked us not to head home, but to gather outside on the lawn. He wanted to record his song ‘Wild and Windy Night’ with the audience singing the chorus.
Fortunately the wind and rain had stopped by then. The sky was littered with stars, the trees around the hotel lit up with fairy lights.
And then we sang.
Will you hear me if I’m calling on this wild and windy night? Will you catch me if I’m falling on this wild and windy night?
With all those voices around us – some on-key, some off – it was pure magic. (And my friend and I can now say – legitimately – that we have sung with Dougie Maclean!)
But there was more magic to come. We met up with some friends and decided to walk home together in the dark. Plenty of people now stopped to offer us a lift, but now that the storm was over, the sky was so clear, the stars so bright, the constellations shimmering… none of us had ever seen anything like it, and we didn’t want to miss a moment by getting inside a car.
What about the story/metaphor? Only six months since my husband had left me, I truly was in the middle of my own personal Wild and Windy night. But, just for a moment, the skies cleared, the stars came out, my friends gathered around me to hear and catch me when I was calling and falling. It was a night of peace and hope in the middle of what was, for me, a very dark emotional landscape.
As my friend said of that evening… we were truly blessed.
I am truly blessed.
Listen to Wild and Windy night on Dougie MacLean’s latest album (aptly named) New Tomorrow.
thegreydivorcee 
Hi John Brown here founder of Dougie’s Fan Club which I reluctantly handed over the running to Sherry Keith a few years ago as I was having my life changing experience
I have only just become aware of your story
I was on that lawn at Dunkeld too singing my heart out and for the first time alone having parted ftom my wife the year before
We were both fans of Dougie in fact I have seen him perform live on over 200 occasions and introduced my wife to his music when we first met in 1994
Perthshire Amber was our annual trip to Pitlochry and we hadn’t missed one festival
So alone for the first time even though I was surrounded by fans I had one of my moments singing along with them and Dougie the first time I can recall that Dougie has ever asked for fans to join him outside to record
Nobody knew what I was going through that night but I was completely overcome with emotion singing outdoors with all those lovely people I felt so alone
I still struggle
Mynow ex wife who is 18 years my junior never wanted children yet when I was 58 in 2010 she announced she was pregnant and a wonderful little boy was born in July 2011 not long after my 58th nirthday
So I am now the very proud father of an 11 year old son who I see regularly and is the most important special person in my life
We continued to holiday in Pitlochry albeit in separate accommodation me to see Dougie and they being my ex her mother and others to do what they felt like as their interest in Dougie waned
All that changed with Covid as we were all restricted from then on
Yes I recall that evening on the lawn and every do often I play the song and reminisce
Strange that over 200 live shows never impacted me so much as that brief session on 2015
I think the divorce and being alone together with the unique atmosphere was responsible
I left the Fan Club and rejoined more than once as I struggled with my own “demons”
Sherry has been a good friend and I am so glad that she was happy to take over the running of the Club
Your words touched me and I hope you didn’t mind my comments
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Thank you for this wonderful story. I am also (2 years ag) divorced at 56. I also love Scotland and Dougie, and I LOVE that song. I just went on line searching for the backing vocals (who is that crowd singing behind Dougie in W & W N?), and your story popped up. How truly beautiful and magical.
Bless.
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I was once divorced after a heartbreaking experience with my husbands unfaithfulness and my second husband passed away after 32 years. But this song is not for them, it is for my son. I knew Dougies music through my sister who loves him. When my son died in a tragic car accident I was more than heartbroken. He had a rough life due to drugs and most times seemed so lost. I tried to help him, to no avail but we loved each other without a doubt. The day he passed, I asked Amazon to play Dougie MacLean. Well, Wild and Windy Night came on with the beautiful background singing. It was like he was talking to me. I play that song all the time now and feel like my son, Nathan is right there with me. Love and light out to Dougie. ❤️
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