Between 1986 and 1988, John Charity worked on a commission funded by the local authority to photograph life in Ross and Cromarty, in the North West Highlands. In this image the men are clipping the sheep, a task that has been performed every summer for centuries. The boys are mainly observing, learning the trade, although seemingly without too much enthusiasm. As Charity remarked in 1990, the children are only interested for so long: "About lunchtime, they get fed up with the whole thing…" In recent years, Loch a’Bhraoin received some media attention as plans existed to dam the loch and pipe the water to a turbine house further down the glen. Opposition arose from various groups wanting to save the tranquil loch and its surroundings, and the planning application was eventually refused.