Golspie butcher hangs up cleaver after 57 years
It is a remarkable achievement by anyone’s standards.
Well-known Golspie butcher Jimmy Macdonald (69) is hanging up his cleaver after notching up an amazing 57 years working with the one employer - the village’s Robert Grant Butchers.
Jimmy’s working life started in 1966 when, aged just 12, he got a job as the butcher’s message boy delivering meat on a bike to customers.
He enjoyed the job so much that he jumped at the chance to become an apprentice butcher at the age of 15, serving a five-year apprenticeship.
Jimmy has worked with three generations of the Grant family from Robert Grant (Bingo), his son Donald and now grandchildren Gary and Morven who currently run the business.
“I never considered another job”, he says, adding that the “craic” with customers made the work even more enjoyable.
He marked his half-century with the firm in 2016 when he received a “very generous gift”.
Married with three children, Jimmy’s son Austin followed his father’s footsteps, training first as a chef and then a butcher before going into the oil industry.
To celebrate his retirement, Jimmy and his wife Sandra, along with friends Val and Victor Ross, spent a weekend in Edinburgh.
“We went to the theatre and had a fantastic night at the Story of the Dubliners,” said Sandra.
Jimmy will now have more time to devote to gardening - he enjoys growing tomatoes and other vegetables. He also intends to go swimming weekly.
And, says Sandra: “There are always plenty wee jobs needing done about the house to keep him busy!”
Business operator Gary Grant said: “Jimmy has an amazing record of service to our family firm and we are very sorry to see him go. He will be missed.”
