Well-known Western Isles butcher and farmer Charles Macleod has died at the age of 67.
Charles, or Charlie Barley as he was known, was famed for being part of the family which produces the famous Charlie Barley’s Stornoway Black Pudding, however his real passion was farming.
Born and brought up in the village of Steinish on the outskirts of Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis, Charlie went to school on the island before attending the Balmacara Agricultural School.
However he only lasted one year and at the age of 14 gave up school to join the family business – Charles Macleod Butchers – alongside his parents Mabel and Charles Menendez Macleod, and his brother Iain.
At first his father was not keen for him to give up his education, but Charlie was determined and his father agreed to let him work at the shop but only after hearing he had applied and been accepted for a job at Lipton’s as a delivery boy.
As well as his passion for farming, Charlie was an adrenalin junkie with interests in water skiing, free fall sky diving, wind surfing and scuba diving. He was also a keen judo player and it was through this sport that he met wife Julia, who he married in January 1975.
Together the couple had three daughters, Lorna, Shona and Ria, and eventually three grandchildren, Charlie jun, Ronnie and Eva, who was born four weeks before his death.
Charlie’s love for farming was a key feature for his family and he even took wife Julia to the Perth Bull Sales on their honeymoon.
Many family holidays consisted of trips to mainland agricultural shows such as the Black Isle, Royal Highland and Turriff shows.
However it wasn’t just family trips that brought Charlie to agricultural events – he was well respected in the farming community and travelled to the mainland a number of times over the years to judge carcase competitions, including the Aberdeen Christmas Classic at Thainstone.
He was also a regular judge and exhibitor at shows across Lewis and Harris.
In 1999, Charlie was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s disease, although he had been displaying symptoms of the illness for a number of years prior to this.
Always positive and keen to make a joke, he never let the disease get in the way of his love of farming and the outdoors – he even managed to attend every summer agricultural show on Lewis and Harris this year, wheeling his electric wheelchair to the livestock pens to find out who had won the coveted rosettes.
In recent years the family started taking regular holidays to Kalami in Corfu twice every year, where, up until the age of 62, Charlie was able to pursue his passion for mono skiing.
In 2002 Charlie took a step back from the butchers shop but continued to run the family’s hill farm at Crobeag in the South Lochs area of Lewis.
The business is now run by Charlie’s daughters, Shona and Ria, and Iain’s daughter, Rona – they along with the other Stornoway butchers were instrumental in securing Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status for Stornoway Black Pudding.
Daughter Lorna says this was secured on the basis of the work her father and uncle had done building a strong reputation for the product.
Unfortunately Charlie’s health and mobility deteriorated following a hip operation in 2011 and his precious holidays to Corfu came to an end.
He spent the next two years in and out of hospital and in Easter 2012 the difficult decision was made to sell the farm. Daughter Lorna said: “This was devastating for my father, as the farm was his first love and his life’s work.”
So strong was Charlie’s love for livestock, a month after the sale of the farm he went to the auction mart and bought 80 sheep, which his family had to quickly find a home for.
His family jokes it was hard to stop him trying to tend to livestock or potter around in his byre in Steinish, where over the years him and his friends spent many a night putting the world to right over a dram or two. In recent years Charlie’s hobbies included crook making and photography, a passion shared by daughter Ria.
Although well travelled, Charlie always regretted not travelling to Patagonia, where his grandfather had gone to work as a shepherd many years ago. He did manage however to visit farms in many different countries, whether it be during a drive out to the countryside on a family trip or on an organised agricultural tour including one to Canada.
His funeral was held in Stornoway on Monday and attended by hundreds of people, including friends that travelled from as far away as Norway.
Charlie is survived by his wife Julia, daughters Lorna, Shona and Ria, and grandchildren Charlie jun, Ronnie and Eva.