A good old fashioned challenge

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A good old fashioned challenge

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Golden Brown Whisky on the rocks in a glass | Brent Hofacker/Brent Hofacker - Fotolia

Having had more than my fair share of successes in life, I’m always one for giving back to society. But when a chum recently challenged me to dump a bucket of iced water over my head in the name of charity, I wasn’t so sure.

Now, I’m more than happy to write a generous cheque to support research into ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, for those of you who haven’t been reading your health and science journals. But what I don’t get is this whole ice bucket thing.  

Call me old fashioned (and mind you, I’m proud to be called that any day of the week), but even if you are doing something for a good cause, you should always uphold the rules of gentlemanly behaviour. Capturing yourself on tape looking like a bewildered wet dog for all the world to see is definitely something I would consider to be out of bounds.

And let’s not forget, you’re also wasting a precious resource when a good chunk of the world’s population doesn’t have access to clean drinking water. Sure you can do a Matt Damon and get it from your toilet bowl. But in the name of hygiene and health, no thank you.

Nevertheless, a man never backs away from a challenge. So naturally, I obliged my chum, but on my own terms. That involved replacing the bucket with a crystal tumbler, the water with my favourite single malt and downing it all in the comfort of my plush armchair. Now that’s my idea of a challenge!

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