And our story to end on this week comes courtesy of the Aberdeen Press and Journal, a paper seen as so parochial that there is a longstanding urban myth that when the Titanic went down it ran the front page headline “North East man lost at sea”.
Seemingly aware the exclusives haven’t exactly been coming thick and fast since 1912, we can only applaud its longstanding staff photographer, Sandy McCook, who has been bringing home the bacon this week in a rather dramatic way.
When it became so cold in the Cairngorms that even the RAF Mountain Rescue helicopter was forced to land on a mountain, here were the thought processes that apparently went through Sandy’s head. “Bit nippy out. -25c, in fact. So cold that if I get stuck, even the RAF won’t be around to rescue me. So what I’ll do is spend two hours climbing by myself in whiteout conditions to get a picture of what a helicopter looks like in the snow”
Admittedly here at EPUK Towers, where our ages are more hip-op than hip-hop, and our only knowledge of snow is not to eat the yellow stuff, that seems like bravery somewhat above the call of duty.
So here are the fruits of his labour: final definitive proof of what a helicopter in the snow looks like. But unfortunately, from the comments on the newspaper’s website, it seems like the good Scots don’t exactly appreciate his endeavours.