It was a comforting moment for a family mourning the death of their father when they heard a stranger playing ‘Amazing Grace’ on bagpipes.
The family living on the Gold Coast of Australia were touched by the rendition of this classic hymn by the mystery bagpiper wearing high-vis work fluoros on the M1 as their father was Scottish.
Amber-May Robertson and her husband, Andrew, were driving on the M1 to get pancakes with their granddaughter, Ryleigh, when they were touched by what they experienced, “As we went under the bridge at Oxenford, we both sort of looked up and there was a gentleman playing the bagpipes,” Ms Robertson said.
“And we both looked at each other — because my husband’s father, Alex, was Scottish and he’d just passed away the week before.”
They were shocked with the uncanny coincidence and felt like God was sending them a sign. They were in Canberra before the border closure for Alex’s funeral, and looked to pull off at the nearest exit in search of the man. “Just as we pulled into the carpark … he was putting his bagpipes into the back of the ute,” he said.
“My husband was just so choked up he couldn’t speak. She said, “So, I’m leaning through the window going, ‘Excuse me, my father-in-law is Scottish and he’s just passed away and we were just wondering if we could hear some of your bagpipe music?’
The man was gracious enough to respond, “He just looked at us — and I think he could just tell, because we were both crying at that point, and he’s just like ‘sure’.”
He placed his hat on four-year-old Ryleigh and played ‘Amazing Grace.’ “It was just beautiful,” she said. “She [Ryleigh] was the only family member who did not go to his funeral, and she was the only one missing, that’s why it makes it super special.”
Watch: Bagpiper Plays ‘Amazing Grace’ For A Mourning Family
The latest update says the man has declined to be interviewed as his daughter, Taylor Richardson, said he would prefer to leave it “as a mystery good deed”.
