Born in October 1960, in the Seaboard villages (Hilton, Balintore & Shandwick), a small fishing community in Easter Ross, Highland Region of Scotland UK. Attended Hilton Primary school, then Tain Royal Academy until leaving in 1978 for an apprenticeship with a local firm W.H.Mackay & Sons, Balmuchy.
My father “Charlie” was the last sibling of 13 children 7 brothers (Ian, John, Cumming, William, Daniel, Alan and Charles) and 6 sisters (Jessie, Isobel, Diana, Pearly, Ella, Georgina) and only one of them Ian died at a young age, the others lived long into their 70’s and beyond. A self-employed Salmon fisherman, he was one of 5 brothers who ran the family business. I did not know my grand-parents as they had both passed away prior to my birth.
My mother “Jean” was an only child and came from Tain, the local town, where her parents had moved too many years before from Wick, Caithness in the Far North. I have fond memories of my grandparents on my mothers side with regular visits on a Sunday to visit them while they were alive. My grandfather Jim Bruce was an all round sportsman, eventually refereeing local football matches, and an avid bowler at the St Duthus club down near the railway. He was also a Past-Master at the local Lodge (St. Duthus No. 82).
During my schooling I was avid football fanatic and represented the secondary school at levels for the local county team (Ross-shire select) where we played against other teams in the North of Scotland. Being too remote, none of our players every got the opportunity to represent our Country as this was predominantly selected from the Glasgow/Edinburgh area schools. Nowadays nothing has changed in that regard, the location of our local talent, get overlooked in favour of people closer to the action.