Hugh MacLean is 'Still Game'

Hugh MacLean, 72, from Tarbert, in Argyll, is a very well-known former salesman for Hamilton Brothers, covering the west of Scotland and 27 islands in his 49 (and a half) years in their employment.

He has been blessed with the gift of the gab which has stood him in good stead in both his long career and in his huge social circle which he still nurtures faithfully. We meet Hugh on a stop off during one of his many engagements.

Where are you from and how long did you work for Hamilton Bros?

I’m originally from Bridge of Weir, in Renfrewshire, my sister is still in the area, so I visit often.

What gets you up in the morning?

Enthusiasm for meeting people. I enjoyed my job, I always had to plan for the week ahead, so I still do what I always did when I was working. Going to markets, shows and sales, but I have nothing to sell now. Although I am meeting the same people and getting the craic. Life is all about people.

I retired in 2009 to look after my wife who was ill with MS, unfortunately she passed away in 2013, otherwise I would probably still be working in some capacity. As long as I keep fit and well, I will keep circulating. There is a fresh challenge every day.

What is the best change you have witnessed in Scottish farming and the worst?

The best change was when I was still selling, the single farm payment moved onto acreage away from headage – that helped farmers. Forestation is the worst thing – I see lots of good places all going under trees.

Who is your hero?

My late good friend, David Dixon, a local farmer who travelled with me to the Outer Isles cattle sales for 35 years. He was well educated, well read, a wise council, very witty, and had a photographic memory. He would see a problem coming before I could see it. He would say to me: “I’ll tell you what is going to happen here,” and he was usually right.

Proudest career moment?

I was working in a very poor agricultural area (the Highlands and Islands) and managed to top the MF sales league in the UK in 1976. My prize was the chance to go to the Olympics in Montreal, which was a terrific experience.

In your opinion, what makes a farmer a good farmer?

Hard work is number one. But there's also dedication, a bit of luck, and attention to detail.

What has been the toughest time in your career?

The two tough times that come to mind were in 1996 during the BSE crisis and in 2001 throughout the foot-and-mouth outbreak. During those times farmers stopped buying, the shutters went up.

I had to change my selling strategy away from farms towards ground keepers at golf courses and also direct more effort towards the construction industry, selling diggers, JCBs etc.

What time of year do you look forward to and why?

Spring. All the sale plans were out and you could really go out and promote the goods with the out of season promotions, especially for silage equipment.

I am a people person, and enjoyed doing my local Argyll shows, which are mostly in August.

I have heard dealers saying it’s not worth doing the local shows but by supporting the local shows you are putting something back into the community for all the support they have given you over the years and you are flying the company flag.

Life is about people, I keep saying it I know, but if you support them, they will support you. A bit of loyalty goes a long way.

Knowing what you know now, if you met yourself as a young man, what advice would you give yourself?

Find a job with a well-run, established, company that you enjoy working with. Be keen and enthusiastic. Be a people person and get on well with other people and do your best at all times.

What makes you laugh?

Donald Morrison, the auctioneer, with his sharp wit and jokes.

Tom Dunlop, the Kubota ground care rep, who is always ready with a quick joke and witty remarks, sometimes at my expense. I enjoy meeting up with old friends for a dram and the craic that follows, it always makes me laugh.

How do you relax?

I like accordion and fiddle music and if there is an accordion and fiddle club wherever I am on my travels, I go to them.

I attend the Inveraray and District Accordion and Fiddle Club once a month throughout the winter.

Last winter returning from Sandy Linklater’s silver wedding on Orkney, I was checking into the Pentland Hotel, in Thurso.

Two ladies were passing with bags going into the lounge bar. I said: “What’s on tonight, girls?”

“It’s the Caithness Accordian and Fiddle Club tonight,” they said. I dropped my bag in the room and went straight down.

What a welcome I got. I got £1 off the ticket price for being a club member at Inveraray and with that £1 I bought a raffle ticket and won first prize in the raffle!

I had a great night of Caithness music and met a lot of great, friendly characters that night, it was brilliant.

What was your first ever sale? What machine did you love to sell and why?

My first sale was a Howard 72-inch Rotavator to John Young, at Auchens, Linwood.

He said: “I hear you are on the sales now (I had served my time as a mechanic for Hamiltons), get me a leaflet on a Howard Rotavator and I will give you an order. It was 1965 and it cost £270.

My favourite thing to sell was wheelbarrows. Everyone laughs at this, but going to the islands or Uist I could get 18 pans on the roof rack and all the trams and pneumatic tyres inside my Vauxhall Cavalier hatchback car.

I would build them up when I got to Uist and demonstrate them, bouncing them up and down on the pneumatic tyre.

They were galvanised, two bearings in the wheel and very light with rubber grips on the handles.

One year I sold 300 barrows. The crofters up there were mucking out byres by hand so they needed the barrows and the seaweed factory used to take six at a time.

It paid the carriage for the car on the ferry and led to a lot of other sales once you got a name in the book.

What was your secret selling tactic?

I won a lot of sales competitions, but it was through hard work, dedication, attention to detail and a bit of luck, and, of course, the right products.

Photography is one of your great loves. What gets you running for your camera?

I started with one of those Polaroid instant cameras. In the early days when I was going to the Uist cattle sales with David Dixon who had cross Highland heifers to sell privately, he was always looking for the second last bidder.

One night I remember, he said to me: “Who is the big man over there with the blue cap? Get that camera out and take his picture and we will find out later in the bar."

He did find out who it was and we headed the five miles up the road to this particular John McDonald’s house. When we arrived there was a lively ceilidh going on, as John and his neighbours were celebrating a good sale and we were made very welcome and we joined in the ceilidh.

We were there 'til the sun came up and sure enough Davy sold his two heifers and got orders for two more.

Nowadays, I work with a Panasonic digital which fits the pocket and lies around the car.

It is still mainly people or characters I take. I covered 27 islands and took pictures of all the characters on all the islands.

Davy would say, take his picture in case we are never back here. I have a bookcase with 130 books in it full of photos.

In 2000, while I was in Australia, I took 200 pictures, but when I was back there in 2009, I took 1400.

I also have a lot on my computer. If I ever see vintage tractors or machinery anywhere, I have to take a picture. I have a great library of island photos.

You’ve invested in some whisky barrels – is that for business or pleasure?

I have three barrels. Two in Bruichladdich on Islay, and one in Ardnamurchan. It is for pleasure and for social purposes. I was given a present of the first one for services rendered in 2005, in a Bourbon cask.

Ten of us go every year to sample it. We spend three days on Islay. I don’t care much for peaty whiskies, but Bruichladdich in a Bourbon cask is just right.

The second cask I bought in 2012, it is just starting to come good. Though we are on the island for three days, eight of us are from the mainland, so we have a minibus and a driver at our disposal.

We start off with a ceilidh and meal at Ian Brown’s and a few refreshments and then move to Uiskentuie, for more refreshments.

We have two nights in the Lochindaal Hotel, in Port Charlotte, arrive at the distillery for the tasting at lunchtime and at night we have a large seafood meal in the hotel, along with the two locals who join us for the whisky tasting.

Next day we buy a few bottles of the latest Bruichladdich whiskies and gin, it’s all for pleasure.

You’ve been to many shows, are there any that you haven’t managed to get to and which is your favourite?

I did 10 shows in my area every year with the machinery, as well as Ayr Show and the Highland.

Bunessan, on Mull, is one that is on my hit list. It always clashed with Campbeltown and I had to go to Campbeltown with work.

I always liked Dalmally Show. It was one of the last shows of the season and it is the old style with a great home industry section.

It has the best Blackface sheep classes you will see anywhere, and a large Highland cattle entry.

It is one of the shows you would still sell machinery at. It always gets a good attendance. They come from near and far to Dalmally, even on a wet day!

The Royal Highland, at Ingliston, is still the best in Britain. I really look forward to it.

I am a people person, you might have noticed, but I do have one complaint. They have to watch they don’t price everyone out with the entry charges.

It’s a lot of money for a farm worker to take his family to the show for a day out.

Do you have any other interests?

I do a bit of public speaking, maybe just a couple a year, but my diary is so full that I need lots of notice before I can commit.

I do a little bit of judging of vintage machinery at local shows. The vintage machines are such a big attraction these days.

When I look back on my days with Hamilton Bros they were filled with characters and friends.

The longer I was at it, the more loyalty and trust I had with my customers. There was a time when I was heading over to Islay and one of my customers phoned me up and asked me to go to Curry’s to pick up a washing machine for him and shove it in the back of my car before heading over.

That’s more than a working relationship!