The man whose image has appeared on packets of Scott’s Porage Oats for four-and-a-half decades has agreed to come out of retirement to take part in the London Olympics next year. An icon of kilted manliness, 1964 Olympic Gold Medallist Scottie McScott, now in his 70s, remains in the best of health, thanks to ‘getting his oats regularly and letting the wind blow free.’
Not content to enter just one event at the Olympics, McScott will also take part in the Chucking Weighty Things About Triathlon, which includes Tossing the Caber, Throwing the Hammer and Lobbing the Grand Piano. ‘All sports have historical origins,’ he explained; ‘the Put and the Caber were the proverbial sticks and stones used by ancient Giant Picts to keep the Weedy Sassenachs at bay, but I’m not sure about Throwing the Hammer; I think that was more of a 1960s DIY thing.’
It’s not just his ability to toss well which brought McScott fame. Prior to the Tokyo Olympics, he was already a Scottish legend for discovering and killing the Lochness Monster and is hoping his appearance at the Olympics will boost sales of his autobiography All About Me. The book is a roller-coaster of anecdotes, like the time the Duke of Edinburgh, mistaking him for a golfer with oversized balls menacingly close to Balmoral, took a pot at him with his grouse gun. Fortunately, due to having razor-sharp reactions, McScott spotted the bullet coming and made a dash for it. ‘Hoots mon,’ he remarked afterwards, ‘there’s a world of difference between a shot-putter and a shot putter;’ quickly adding ‘och, I’ll get m’coot.’
Lord Coe said he was delighted that Mr McScott had agreed to take part in the Games, and David Beckham, a lifelong devotee of the heroic Scotsman, will pay homage to him by playing his next LA Galaxy match in a tartan kilt. All About Me by Scottie McScott is available from Amazon, price £9.99.
