Ryan’s mini scrapyard

CHILDHOOD MEMORIES IN MODEL SCRAPYARD

Iain Ferguson The festive season is a time for celebrating and remembering, but for Ryan Watson, these have been combined in an unusual and tangible way.

Originally from Caol, but now living in Inverness, Ryan has the perfect way to do this with a diorama of his grandfather Williamson’s scrap metal yard in Fort William, showing it in full operation, complete with a figure of Jimmy Williamson at work.

Local model maker Robert Wilson built the scene from scratch, using pictures of the yard supplied by Ryan, re-creating a day from more than 30 years ago in a busy and bustling scene, frozen not only in time, but in exceptional miniature detail.

Robert, who also organises the Lochaber Model Show and Craft Show, spent time studying the images and gathering all the right materials which would have been present in that era, before setting about the build which is accurate in every detail.

Ryan, whose late older brother Sandy had just restarted the business before his passing a few months ago, was happy with the result.

He said: ‘Delighted with this wee model scrapyard with my grandad’s old lorry and my Williamson side of my family’s scrap yard. The lorry matches the one they had in the 90s when the yard was in its prime and so busy all the time.

‘Lots of good memories up there in my early childhood with Jimmy, Hamish, Brucie, my dad and all the cousins. My grampa Jimmy bought this land from Cameron of Lochiel on February 9 1967 and it’s been passed down the generations since. ‘ Although I haven’t worked in it, I feel privileged to have inherited part of it along with my brother. Thanks to Robert for making such an amazing and absolutely perfect model using the photograph of my grampa Jimmy and my dad in the lorry back in the day.’