Caithness porridge enthusiast’s Divine Spurtles raise over £2400 for charity
Caithness porridge enthusiast Doug Mackay has raised thousands of pounds for charity by selling handcrafted spurtles made from wood that came from an old church pew.
Working on a bench-top lathe in his garage at his home in Wick, Doug created 40 of the traditional-style stirring implements and sold them in aid of Mary’s Meals, a Scottish-based charity that provides school meals in some of the world’s poorest communities.
He raised more than £2400, allowing the charity to provide school meals for 120 children for a whole year.
The wood for Doug’s “Divine Spurtles” came from a pitch-pine pew that had been in Bridge Street Church in Wick. The church was built between 1862 and 1864 and closed in 2009.
“I would also like to thank everyone who supported the Divine Spurtles,” he said. “Just under half of the spurtles were bought by locals, two went to Alaska, and the rest to all parts of Scotland and England.

“I’m on the lookout for more pitch-pine wood from old church pews if any readers have some spare.”
Doug added: “There is an old myth that porridge should be stirred clockwise, otherwise it could invoke the Devil. If you’re left-handed it’s natural to stir anticlockwise – the Divine Spurtle, made from the old church pew, could protect you against this.”
He used multiple grades of sandpaper to achieve the finish he wanted, then added beeswax.
Doug (59) set himself the task after taking part in the World Porridge Making Championship for the second year in a row in 2024.
He is through to the world championship again this year, taking place in Carrbridge in October. The winner of the annual competition receives the coveted Golden Spurtle.
“Having competed the last couple of years, I will again be bringing some of the best produce of Caithness again to this competition to compete for the Golden Spurtle and speciality porridge dish,” Doug said.
“This will include some local harvested oats from this year’s crop from my cousin’s farm at Thuster Mains along with sea salt harvested from Sinclair’s Bay and some local water from Hempriggs.”
Doug, who is originally from Keiss and works as a developments manager for Dana Petroleum, said after last year’s championship that it had been a great opportunity to “explore the limitless possibilities of porridge” and meet fellow enthusiasts from around the world.