Centenarian remembers farming days gone by

An ancient farming scene featuring Clydesdales, century-old implements and a dusty threshing mill attracted hundreds of spectators to the working horse event at Collessie at the weekend.

Looking on with a different perspective to most people was a 100-year-old man who had spent his entire working life as a farmworker – initially as an “orra laddie” and then as a horseman on a farm near Markinch in Fife.

Douglas Smith marked his big birthday by reminiscing about leaving school at 14 and starting work on a farm where Clydesdales provided the power.

“We went out to the stable at 5am every morning and started by feeding the horse, then work in the fields started at 7am, summer and winter, and in all weather,” he said.

“You’d stop working at 5.30pm but then you had to come back and feed the horses and get them ready for the night.

“It would be after 6pm when you left the stable door.”

Mr Smith, who now lives in Lower Largo, said he preferred working with horses to the early tractors which did not have modern comforts such as heaters, fridges or air conditioning.

“It was healthier long ago. The first tractors didn’t even have cabs and it was cold. You weren’t working hard enough to keep warm.”

He attributed his longevity to a healthy diet.

He added: “I ate a plate of porridge every single morning. If people would just eat decent food and not rubbish they’d be healthier.”