The man known as “Mr Perth Highland Games” has stepped down as secretary of the event after 37 years’ dedicated service.
Sunday’s show was the last Andy Rettie will oversee, having taken on the voluntary role in 1977, when the Perth games were relaunched after a gap of more than 40 years.
He played a key role in building the games into the successful annual event it has become, but there were many hurdles to overcome along the way.
It was held on Perth’s South Inch from 1977 to 1999 but had to be moved to the grounds of Scone Palace in 2000 and 2001 due to the construction of Perth’s flood prevention works.
The games returned to the South Inch in 2003 but the weather caused problems in 2007 when the event had to be cancelled at very short notice following very heavy rain.
Then, in 2008, heavy rain forced another transfer this time to Perth Racecourse before, in 2012, again due to poor ground conditions, the games moved to its current location on the North Inch.
Committee member Monica Straughan said: “Andy and his colleagues on the organising committee saw the games though all of these challenges and they are now a very popular fixture in Scotland’s annual Highland games circuit, attracting average crowds of more than 5,000 people every year.
“As well as his long service with Perth games, Andy was also on the Perthshire and the Scottish Highland Games Associations in the past, so Highland games in Scotland, and Perth games in particular, owe him a huge debt of gratitude.”
This year’s games went ahead despite heavy rain in the afternoon, with one of the highlights a presentation to Andy of gifts from his fellow committee members. They included a bottle of whisky with a special label for “Mr Perth Highland Games”.
“The games won’t be the same without him,” Monica added.