COMMUNITY efforts to fund a bench carved in memory of a Moffat man have been praised.
Friends of local lad Simon Kerr, who passed away in October, were eager to have something meaningful and long-lasting made in his name.
Edward Malone, one of Simon’s best friends, said he was a “Moffat boy through and through”.
He added: “He was raised in Moffat all his life and I’ve known him all my life, he was a bit older than me but we both grew up on schemes and we were friends for years, all of us, we were all a big group of friends.”
After settling on the idea of a memorial bench, the group set up an online fundraising page, which was shared amongst people in the town and which Edward said “had a really great response”.
Soon it gathered enough donations for them to take the idea to local chainsaw carver Sam Bowsher.
Sam painstakingly incorporated eel, salmon, an owl and an eagle into the sculpture – paying tribute to Simon’s passion for local wildlife, fishing and his love of the River Annan, beside which the bench is situated.
Edward said: “Simon used to like it there years ago when Moffat salmon used to run up that river, and Simon used to like getting the eels at the duck pond. We agreed with the family it would be a nice spot, so we contacted the council to see if that would be ok and they allowed us to go there, they thought it would be a great idea, and obviously we incorporated things to match the area that it’s in.”
Furthermore, Edward is awaiting the arrival of a commemorative plaque, which will soon be fitted on the bench.
