Eulogy -Working Life by Joanne Russell
Created by Elaine 4 years ago Allan and I worked together for the past 25 years and every day was a lot of fun, but as you might expect also involved a lot of nonsense.
Although Allan started working on barley in the mid-80s, and was renowned as a ‘barley man’, he was also known for his work on trees, which was when we first started working together. From mahogany to eucalyptus, and coconut to scots pine, Allan could turn his hand to any species, and if someone suggested it might be impossible to grow or get DNA from, that would be his challenge and he always succeeded. A few years ago, we did some work on forest species from across Africa and received 75 packets of the most weird and wonderful looking seeds. Allan, undaunted, set about germinating them and extracting DNA, several of which you would find growing illegally in a polytunnel at work for many years afterwards!
Allan always went that extra mile. We often helped with forensic work and Allan relished those challenges, getting DNA from foosty old samples. He actually went out and collected samples from trees in Cupar so he could compare those to the cold case samples. He loved the detective work as he was passionate about these projects.
Over the last 5 years his attentions turned to the revival of old barley varieties for brewing and distilling. As part of this, he spent time on Orkney looking after the field trials at the College in Kirkwall. The first time he visited Orkney was to run the marathon, but he still found time to go visit the trials, take photos and advise the agronomists on how to tend his valuable material.
Allan was truly a talented and dedicated researcher; he was as conformable in the lab as he was in the field. He was one of the only people at work who could cross barley successfully. In the last few years he developed 1,000s of barley lines that will provide a lasting legacy for future barley researchers. He was passionate about barley and was responsible for starting the work with Alison and Dan Milne, the Crafty Maltsters. He persuaded them to grow some old varieties last year, and he helped tend those fields to ensure the project was a success. It was down to his dedication that helped this be successful and this year that material will be grown on a field scale to develop the first malts that have been grown locally and malted locally. I believe they are releasing a special brew this year dedicated to Allan- a perfect memorial for him.
Allan didn’t keep these talents to himself, he was always willing to teach others and pass on his experiences. Although when you introduced a new student or visitor, you did have to warn them not to believe everything he said, as he had a wicked way of making the most ridiculous things sounding true. In fact he spent two weeks in Adelaide convincing Australians that kangaroos were actually descended from deer, mainly because kangaroo tastes like venison!
Allan also recently went to Brisbane to learn the art of speed breeding. He was the natural choice, not just because he was the best technical person to send, but also because of his willingness to learn and his ability to interact and get the most out of a 3 month visit. He not only gained the skills to successfully set the facility up at the Institute, but he became part of the team in Brisbane. He went the extra mile working with the PhD students in the field, covered in black flies and wearing a ridiculous hat. Lee Hickey, the head of the group, wrote of Allan: He even found time to watch rugby and sink some tinnies, as well as volunteering to paint the local community centre for kids.
Allan was meticulous in his planning of field trials and over the years I spent a lot of time with Allan, his tape measures and sticks, so that his detailed trialling systems would be perfect, these would often require hand planting and harvesting. We had many trips over the last few summers to Orkney. Our best and most memorable times were the drives in a Transit van heading for Gills Bay, Allan telling us notorious stories about rugby trips and the pubs they ransacked, to take the ferry to St Margaret’s Hope. We would stay at the Hotel in Burray, working all day and then relaxing with drinks watching the tide come in while the sun went down. When it came to dinner, Allan would inevitably order the most expensive meal on the menu! Trips and trials won’t be the same again and, as Bill Thomas for whom Allan worked with for over 30 years posted on Twitter, Allan was a star that illuminated our barley planet.
Allan was the heart and soul of our barley world, and one of the nicest, genuine and funny people to have had the pleasure to know. He will be sorely missed, talented and full of nonsense, he could still convince me with a straight face that his nonsense was true, and I would believe it- even after 25 years!
Although Allan started working on barley in the mid-80s, and was renowned as a ‘barley man’, he was also known for his work on trees, which was when we first started working together. From mahogany to eucalyptus, and coconut to scots pine, Allan could turn his hand to any species, and if someone suggested it might be impossible to grow or get DNA from, that would be his challenge and he always succeeded. A few years ago, we did some work on forest species from across Africa and received 75 packets of the most weird and wonderful looking seeds. Allan, undaunted, set about germinating them and extracting DNA, several of which you would find growing illegally in a polytunnel at work for many years afterwards!
Allan always went that extra mile. We often helped with forensic work and Allan relished those challenges, getting DNA from foosty old samples. He actually went out and collected samples from trees in Cupar so he could compare those to the cold case samples. He loved the detective work as he was passionate about these projects.
Over the last 5 years his attentions turned to the revival of old barley varieties for brewing and distilling. As part of this, he spent time on Orkney looking after the field trials at the College in Kirkwall. The first time he visited Orkney was to run the marathon, but he still found time to go visit the trials, take photos and advise the agronomists on how to tend his valuable material.
Allan was truly a talented and dedicated researcher; he was as conformable in the lab as he was in the field. He was one of the only people at work who could cross barley successfully. In the last few years he developed 1,000s of barley lines that will provide a lasting legacy for future barley researchers. He was passionate about barley and was responsible for starting the work with Alison and Dan Milne, the Crafty Maltsters. He persuaded them to grow some old varieties last year, and he helped tend those fields to ensure the project was a success. It was down to his dedication that helped this be successful and this year that material will be grown on a field scale to develop the first malts that have been grown locally and malted locally. I believe they are releasing a special brew this year dedicated to Allan- a perfect memorial for him.
Allan didn’t keep these talents to himself, he was always willing to teach others and pass on his experiences. Although when you introduced a new student or visitor, you did have to warn them not to believe everything he said, as he had a wicked way of making the most ridiculous things sounding true. In fact he spent two weeks in Adelaide convincing Australians that kangaroos were actually descended from deer, mainly because kangaroo tastes like venison!
Allan also recently went to Brisbane to learn the art of speed breeding. He was the natural choice, not just because he was the best technical person to send, but also because of his willingness to learn and his ability to interact and get the most out of a 3 month visit. He not only gained the skills to successfully set the facility up at the Institute, but he became part of the team in Brisbane. He went the extra mile working with the PhD students in the field, covered in black flies and wearing a ridiculous hat. Lee Hickey, the head of the group, wrote of Allan: He even found time to watch rugby and sink some tinnies, as well as volunteering to paint the local community centre for kids.
Allan was meticulous in his planning of field trials and over the years I spent a lot of time with Allan, his tape measures and sticks, so that his detailed trialling systems would be perfect, these would often require hand planting and harvesting. We had many trips over the last few summers to Orkney. Our best and most memorable times were the drives in a Transit van heading for Gills Bay, Allan telling us notorious stories about rugby trips and the pubs they ransacked, to take the ferry to St Margaret’s Hope. We would stay at the Hotel in Burray, working all day and then relaxing with drinks watching the tide come in while the sun went down. When it came to dinner, Allan would inevitably order the most expensive meal on the menu! Trips and trials won’t be the same again and, as Bill Thomas for whom Allan worked with for over 30 years posted on Twitter, Allan was a star that illuminated our barley planet.
Allan was the heart and soul of our barley world, and one of the nicest, genuine and funny people to have had the pleasure to know. He will be sorely missed, talented and full of nonsense, he could still convince me with a straight face that his nonsense was true, and I would believe it- even after 25 years!
Pictures
Allan22