Photo of the Week: Farming memories – 1965 building a stack

This week’s photo pick is featured in our 90th birthday memories gallery and was sent in by George Williamson.

It was taken in 1965 at Dixonfield Farm, Thurso, and features Georges late father, also named George.

He is building a stack, or as George tells us, also known as a “screw” in Caithness. His assistant, the late Jimmy Gunn is forking the sheaves to him.

George has an interest in old farming methods – he says he has gone back to cutting a small acreage with a Deering binder, stooking sheaves in fields and building “screw”.

George is a contractor and also farms 80 acres, growing feed barley and oats.

As a hobby, he grows old traditional Bere barley and ancient black oats. They are cut with a traditional binder and threshing mill.

© George Williamson