Two very different but very funny takes on the Ice Bucket Challenge phenomenon from the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West.

Mindful of some concerns of wasting water, Alistair Carmichael did his with iced sea water from the beautiful Tingwall Pier near his Orkney home. He started with a  thinly veiled threat of terrible revenge on those who nominated him and then:

Afterwards, after a cup of tea and change of clothes, he challenged the supermarkets to back the campaign, given that they were benefitting from increased ice sales;

People who are aware of Gordon Aikman’s campaign to raise awareness and funds for Motor Neurone Disease Scotland cannot fail to be impressed by his bravery and enthusiasm in hugely challenging circumstances. I was delighted to take part in the ice bucket challenge and am pleased to report that the feeling has now returned to my fingers and toes.

Ice is not usually in short supply across the Northern Isles but the ice bucket challenge has seen something of a run on bags of ice in Orkney and Shetland recently.

I think that it is right that those profiting from these extra sales should give something back. I nominate the major supermarket chains to get involved and back this campaign.

A couple of hundred miles further south, Mike Crockart went out for a spot of canvassing for the Better Together campaign:

Both men were raising funds for MND Scotland, inspired by Gordon Aikman, the Research Director of Better Together who was diagnosed with the disease earlier this year. His JustGiving page has now raised over £56,000 with over £15,000 being raised from ice bucket challenges over the past 8 days.

We hope these short clips have provided you with amusement. If so, please feel free to make a donation to the charity of your choice. If you want to back Gordon’s Fightback, you can donate £5 by text by texting MNDS85 £5 to 70070.