Press Trip

So there I am, just off Union Street in Aberdeen with five high flying lawyers and Press and Journal snapper Kenny Elrick.

Legal eagles taking part in a charity run to raise funds for art organisations and I'd arranged for the briefs to be kitted out in their running gear for the P and J pic. I'd joked in the office I was only along to revel in their embarrassment.

So Kenny is setting up the shot and I'm trying to keep out of the way and thinking I'm being helpful I move his camera bag nearer to where he is working. Also a bit of a habit after working for years with photographers in areas where the locals wouldn't think twice of half-inching the gear given half a chance.

But I'm still in the way - and then it happened. As I moved, my foot got caught in the handle Kenny's camera bag. But this wasn't just a little tumble - the sort where you hope no-one notices and you just carry on as normal.

This was a full-blown Olympic medal winning heid-first dive in to the turf. No hands to save me - cos I'm carrying his damn bag. Sprawled full length, the tin flute is covered in mud and there is no way of recovering gracefully. As I pick myself up the lawyers are bent over double in hysterical laughter, as I would be if it was someone else who had gone for a burton.

And to add insult to injury, across the street there are a couple of geezers having a fag outside a social club and they are also poorless, gesturing that they have caught the episode on a camera phone.

It turns out the social club smokers were joking about getting my belly flop on camera so it won't be appearing on YouTube, thank God. As for the end result - the P and J used the words but not the pic. Welcome to the world of PR.