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Interviews
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Portia Simpson - Gamekeeper
Portia, became the first female to complete the HNC in Gamekeeping and Wildlife Management at the North Highland College. She was a Brownie in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire.Without any doubt, it must be the viewpoint on the Struie Road from Inverness to Ardgay. The viewpoint hangs precariously on the edge of a hill and takes in the whole sweep of the Dornoch Firth - my own stomping ground!! It leaves me in awe of the granduer of nature. I challenge anyone to pass it without stopping - a mission impossible - it takes your breath away!
The Highlands is like something out of a mystical scene - towering spectacular hills, purple with the heather in the autumn, and very surreal when the morning mist slowly rises from the hills as the sun warms up the land. The wisps of mist rises like smoke signals from the bracken like something out of a fairytale land. We have beautiful waterfalls, rivers and glens just waiting to be explored.
Although some men resent women trying to take on their jobs, others have been fantastic in giving inspiration like the lecturers at the Highland College in Thurso where I did my Game Keeping course.
The encouragement they gave me was fantastic and they were a big help in many ways. Definitely the place to go if you want to become a Game Keeper!
What would a typical gamekeepers day be like and what about a really unusual one?
In winter, going right up to the top of the hills in a 4x4 in the snow to feed the deer, collecting the stag's horns during the same journey. They fall off in late winter and are lying around - a danger to the vehicle's tyres with the spikes just above the snowline - you need the eyes of an Eagle to spot them.
A punctured tyre on the top of a hill in a snowstorm is no joke as is trying to do a three-point turn on the top of the hill in deep snow, with limited visibility and a big drop down the hill behind you!
In summer - taking guests out to Stalk Deer during the season - this must surely be the best bit of all! The hunt stirs the blood!
Getting a day off, or getting paid overtime! Seriously, it is a long day and weekend work without pay is quite normal in this line of work.
The best part is being in the hills all day and not cooped up in an office! The views are spectacular and intoxicating - definitely the life to go for!
The bad part - being caught out in bad weather on top of a hill with the rain, pouring down the back of your neck. No matter how hard you try, most parts always get wet! Worse still - getting caught on the top of a hill in thunder and lightening - very scarey!! Guess when I can do a mile in a minute?
I learned the value of Team Work and the ability to listen to everybody's opinions from the top to the bottom.
Everyone has something to contribute and no matter if you differ from everyone else - have your say and do not be frightened if you think different from everyone else - that is where originality stems from.
I learned to have a high respect for the harmony of nature - destroy that and you start some-thing that could have dire consequences. This has proved very relevant in today's world!
Brownies and Guiding give young girls the discipline to see a Project through to the end, no matter how many obstacles they face. The end result is always rewarding and lessons are learned along the way.
It also opens up new ideas to young girls and gives them the confidence and encouragement to try things they might normally have never thought of. That confidence may not have been there had they to tackle things entirely on their own. Once that confidence is there, they use it! Being part of the Pack meant having your own little "special Brownie/Guiding friends".
The young girls grow up to consider the values of "teamwork, giving difficult things a go, not being frightened to rock the boat or go against the tide of opinion, and to try something completely different from everyone else if they want to!"
Stick to your opinions and if the job you want to do means "throwing away the mould" then throw it away and do exactly what you want. Do your own thing, even if it singles you out from everyone else - that is what makes you unique!
We once did a project on identifying trees and I remember tackling that one with great joy! I put a lot of work into it and felt a great sense of achievement when I finished it.
It awoke my love for nature and my awareness of the beauty of the nearby forest which I played in a lot. I think the badge had a tree on it but I remember being so proud to have it sewn on my little uniform at the time - I felt very important!
Getting men to come out of the Victorian Age and accepting that today's woman has a place in the Game Keeping scene. Attitudes are slowly changing, but I should think it will take some time for us ladies to be accepted in this profession, but we are here to stay!
Determination to see the College Course through in spite of being outnumbered by men. Not to give up when they give you a hard time - and they will too! Be prepared to work hard on the land and do not expect a normal nine to five job - the rewards are fantastic though once you break into it.
Don't expect any special treatment because you are a woman - in fact, you try harder as you do feel you have to prove yourself to the men. If you want it, go for it, let nothing stand in your way and be prepared to get up after you have been knocked down. Show people that you
I have to say, "Flower of Scotland" - it is a lovely haunting tune about the hills and glens of Scotland and the struggles of the people. It would be traitorous to say anything else.
Definitely a Golden Eagle - I could get up and down the mountain a lot faster with a set of wings!
I probably would divide it up, but I think the Samaritans do good work and of course I would give to Cancer Research and the British Heart Foundation.
Actually, the character of Jess was "inspired" by me according to the script writers - I gave them the idea when I came to work at Ardverikie - that is where the series was filmed.
I met up accidentally with some of the TV crew one night and told them off for their "all male game-keeping cast".
I told them they should write in a female character to give their stories a bit of "zing!", and the scriptwriters did just that and told me, it was based on me.
They even added a little sports car to the series like the one I drive around in and wrote some stories about ideas I put forward.
To find out more about Gamekeeping please see www.nhcscotland.com
