who am I?
I didn't think it would have been necessary to post my name on this site, as anyone who knew anything at all about Perthshire Paperweights will be aware of who owns it; I am certainly not bothered about people knowing, as has been suggested by some. However, I did have an email from someone who had only read bits of the site and said, "I've just been reading your website. I wonder why you did not put your name to this work?"
So for him and anyone else who is unaware, my name is Barry McDougall. I worked at Perthshire Paperweights for a couple of months short of 30 years, I was responsible for taking all of the photographs at Perthshire - despite what you might have read in certain books - and I was responsible for all of the complicated cutting done at the factory and all of the cutting design. I share the same name as Peter McDougall because we share the same parents. Therefore, I have known the two-faced-hypocrite all my life and have always known what he was capable of, so while what happened at Perthshire was a shock even for me, I believe it was totally in character for Peter.
For more information about how he treated me in the last few months of Perthshire, read the rest of this page, and remember, if this is how he treats people with whom he has work for many years and is a member of his own family, don't think you will be any different. Peter's loyalty is to whoever is in a position to help him at any given time. That's probably why he thinks he and John Deacons are now so friendly, having tried to make it a sacking offence to even visit John previously!
my last few months
I started at Perthshire Paperweights in April 1973. I studied under Tony Moravec, who was the manager until his position was made so uncomfortable by a certain individual (you know who you are!), that he left the company.
I was in charge of the cutting room for around 20 years and oversaw the cutting of all new pieces as well as the day-to-day work. I had quite a few apprentices over the years but unfortunately none of them turned out to be much good; they all lacked any real ability and the imagination to come up with new ideas, which probably explains the poor standard of cutting on Peter's weights now!
The one who was there at the same time as me when Perthshire Paperweights closed was Gordon Taylor. Gordon was the kind of person who would be your friend if, and only if, it suited him. Gordon made up a few things about me which he went to Peter with; things which were untrue and were investigated. Obviously nothing was found to substantiate the claims but my reputation was severely damaged.
Thanks directly to Peter's inept management, assisted by some very tall stories from Gordon, my last few months working at Perthshire were not pleasant.
I was accused of things and suspended for two weeks without even knowing what it was I was meant to be guilty of, and despite a lengthy investigation, nothing emerged which supported the accusations, obviously!
After being suspended for two weeks, I eventually found out what these accusations were, and part of the claim was that I was taking paperweights home. I reminded Peter that of course I was taking paperweights home, I had told him only a few weeks prior to this, that I was going to re-photograph many of the regular weights at home to build up an archive and also to have new pictures for the upcoming brochure; at that time I was not aware that there would be no new brochure and no need for photographs, as Perthshire Paperweights was soon to close! I did of course bring the weights back when I had photographed them! What I was accused of was complete rubbish and the suspension was removed, but the damage had been done. Peter never did make any apology for the way he treated me.
It has always concerned me as to why Peter would have acted the way he did to the accusations against me. Why he didn't tell me anything about any accusations against me; who they were made by, what evidence there might have been, was this supposed evidence reliable? Peter McDougall could easily have conducted an investigation without the need for a suspension, especially since it was proven that there was basis for it. However, he didn't.
At the time I was too annoyed to wonder why the events had gone the way they did, but with hindsight, and having seen what Peter has subsequently done. I suspect that because I was responsible for the taking of photographs for the brochure, I would be likely to ask questions about why there were none. This could possibly have encouraged others to wonder what was happening. With me being suspended, even though it was for what was proved to be a trumped up charge, others might be less likely to be interested in anything I might have said. Of course I could just be paranoid, but the fact is, I was suspended for something which was clearly a lie, I wasn't told anything about why I had been suspended, and Peter McDougall did nothing to make amends for my ill-treatment when I finally came back to work.
When the end was imminent at Perthshire, Gordon asked to buy some cutting wheels, and when Peter said no, Gordon took Peter's pair of diamond sheers, dismantled them and dropped them into the toilet cistern to rust. After that he just took the wheels he wanted anyway; Diamond wheels, felt wheels and others worth hundreds of pounds which he probably still uses to this day. I told Peter at the time that Gordon was taking wheels but he was uninterested. Given that I had been suspended based on Gordon's wild accusations, I found that a little irksome to say the least!
Over the next few months, Gordon would remove several weights and lots of equipment to which he was not entitled. Every so often, he would produce a weight, or something else, from his bag and claim someone had planted it there. Of course, no one had actually planted it there at all. What he was doing was covering himself so that if he were ever caught with something in his bag, he would say that also been planted. Peter was never a good manager and wasn't really too clever, and actually believed this rubbish.
When the factory closed, Peter offered to sell me one of the old machines; I told him what he could do with it, then he changed his mind and gave me it; after working there for just short of 30 years, I got an old machine; thanks for nothing.
calum and the email
Another thing I later found I had been suspected of was sending an email from Calum's email account. I can only suppose that since I know my way around computers, he assumed that I would know how to do such things. Whatever the reason, Calum has been in a huff ever since. Of course, he could have actually asked me about this, but for some reason, he has never mentioned it to me, although he has to many others.
While I am unconcerned about his huff, I will point out that I did not send the email to which he refers. Not only that, and much more importantly, the email concerned was not even from his email account, nor was it sent by me. I do know my way around computers, I know who sent it and from where it was sent, but it was certainly nothing to do with me; I can get myself into enough trouble without being accused of things I didn't do! I had enough of that from Gordon and Peter! Had Calum botherd to ask me, I would have told him, he didn't though!
I would say that for most of my 29 years I did enjoy working at Perthshire Paperweights, but when it closed, I had little sympathy for many of those who lost their jobs; and now have no sympathy for Peter now that P McD Glass is closed.
a small selection of Perthshire Paperweights
What was produced by Peter McDougall was NOT Perthshire Paperweights, it was PmcD Glass.
real PP weights V P McD glass
If, you have been looking at Peter McDougall's weights for so long, you can't quite remember what a quality Perthshire Paperweight looks like, which I think would be understandable, have a look at The Pictures Page of this site to see some weights made at Perthshire, and compare these to the sub-standard dross Peter produces; examples on the P McD Page.