A CENTURIES old initiation ritual remains well and alive at a Tullibody cooperage where three apprentices last week became fully fledged professionals.

Known as trussing the cooper, lads Breanden McDade, Liam Connelly and Connor MacLeod hopped into the last barrel they fixed as apprentices at Speyside Cooperage last Friday, July 21.

In a tradition many in the trade will be familiar with, they were showered in a rancid mix to be tarred and feathered before they emerged from the barrel as fully-fledged coopers.

It marked the completion of their four-year apprenticeships before they were hosed down by colleagues ahead of a much-need, though well-deserved, shower.

Connor, 21, from Tullibody, told the Advertiser that he has been thoroughly enjoying his time at the cooperage, owing to a “good group of boys”.

Nevertheless, he admitted that he could not hide his nervousness ahead of the ceremony.

Breanden, 22, from Alloa, said he loves the hands-on and physical aspect of the job, while Liam, 20, also from Tullibody, said he was looking forwards to a career in the trade.

All three knew family or friends who work or worked in the cooperage. Indeed, they spoke of the close-knit nature of the team at Speyside, located at Dumyat Business Park.

A rite of passage, the trio were piped in before they jumped into their barrels. Then they were given a spin around the yard, after their colleagues drenched them in their concoctions.

Brian Morgan, who endured the same ceremony in 2017, was proudly watching as the chicks hatched from their barrels.

They are great apprentices," he told the Advertiser. “If you apply yourself here you'll be alright.

“It's quite a rewarding job – it's physical, you'll know you've put a shift in but the rewards are great.

“It's a great trade to have and these boys are lucky.”

Since Brian joined the cooperage some 10 years ago, plenty of workers have been recruited with a steady stream of fresh blood entering the workshop.

He continued: “If you put the hard work in here you'll do really well and that's all we ask: show up to your work, have a good attitude, work hard and you'll be fine.

“It would be quite hard if you didn't have a good relationship with the boys, you want to instil that early on.

“Young guys coming into a working man's environment – they get a wee bit of a hard time sometimes, but it only moulds them into the person they are going to become and it will no do them any harm.”

The trussing in ceremony has its roots dating back to the 14th century. And with a steady stream of apprentices joining recently, there is plenty more to come at the Tullibody site.