Tributes to Speysound stalwart Lewis Thomson
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Tributes have flowed this week to one of the strath's true gentlemen after the news of Lewis Thomson's death in Central Scotland.
For many years a very popular resident of Kincraig, Mr Thomson had given selfless service to so many local causes, not least Badenoch and Strathspey Community Transport Company – for whom he continued to volunteer after a successful part-time career – and the Rotary Club of Spey Valley, with whom he was an especially popular member.
In latter years he shone in his own gentle limelight as a presenter with Speysound Radio, specialising in outdoor broadcasts where he interviewed local people from a huge range of professions and backgrounds.
"Lewis was a great member of Speysound, a stalwart of the outside broadcasts and a very good board member," said fellow presenter Pete Carson, on announcing the news earlier this week.
The Strathy received a statement from Kate Gregory on behalf of the board on Wednesday: "Lewis, a former primary school headteacher and further education lecturer, joined Speysound in 2013 initially presenting our one-time training programme Melody FM.
"By mid-2015 he had become such a confident broadcaster that he was presenting two programmes a week – Musica Mundi, a world music programme – and Music for Driving, his own special selection of tunes to drive home with on a Thursday evening.
"Then in October 2015, Lewis approached Speysound's board, which he had joined as a director the year before, with a suggestion for a new community programme. His plan was that each week the programme would focus on a different local group, personality or event mixing chat with the guest's selection of music.
"He said he thought he already had enough interest to do six programmes and hoped that more people would volunteer to be featured once the show started airing."
Out & About with Speysound was born and proved such a success that it continued a long way past the initial six originally promised, to eventually number 150 programmes covering a vast range of contributors and topics.
"Ever the innovator, Lewis went on to introduce two more new shows.
"Firstly, Starmaker, which started airing in 2018, made a feature out of the new music sent in to Speysound each week by hopeful artists and later, when recovering from a hip-replacement made recording Out and About more of a challenge for him, the Speysound Magazine, a mix of pre-recorded interviews and music."
Lewis was also a regular sight at outside broadcasts, he would often be the first to arrive and the last to leave, notching up attendance at over 25 events between 2015 and 2019.
When asked why he enjoyed being involved in outside broadcasts so much, he said it was because they gave him the chance to play whatever he wanted, as his regular programme formats had inadvertently restricted his music choices.
As he wrote in his own profile for the station: "My main occupation was as a primary school headteacher and I have also lectured in further education. I have three children, all now in their thirties, and two grand daughters.
"My daughter is a teacher and my sons are in the music industry, one a tour manager and show rep, and the other a sound man who also plays in Glasgow band, Honey and the Herbs."
By the time ill health sadly meant Lewis had to retire from broadcasting, in May 2020, he was providing Speysound with four hours of content per week.
"His happy personality and wonderfully eclectic selection of shows have been greatly missed," said Kate on behalf of her colleagues at the Aviemore studios.
"Everyone involved with Speysound is so sad to hear of his passing and our thoughts are with his family, some of whom we have had the pleasure of meeting when they visited Lewis at our outside broadcasts."
"It's very sad news," said Dave Craig, of Newtonmore-based Spirit of the Spey. "I remember Lewis well from when he regularly brought pupils from his school to Lagganlia Centre."
Former pupil Alasdair MacNèill said: "He was my old headmaster at Almondbank Primary School in Livingston.
"Many years later we met up at Culloden House and spent a very pleasant day catching up. Was surreal having a beer together and calling him by his name!
"A genuinely lovely man I will truly miss."
Speysound listeners will be pleased to hear that archive editions of Out & About still air on Speysound on Sundays at 5pm – except for the first and second Sundays of the month – with repeats on Tuesdays at 3pm, Thursdays 1pm and Saturdays 2am.
"On Sunday, June 20 we will be airing a ‘showcase’ edition which Lewis compiled from the shows he had produced to date in 2019 (original air date 1st September 2019)."
