Did you feel the ferocity of Storm Arwen this weekend?
Then spare a thought for Friockheim teenager James Anderson.
Because the first real taste of winter has put 3am starts on the horizon for the 18-year-old volunteer who is the Angus village’s one-man winter taskforce.
Friockheim folk have many reasons to be grateful to the young lad who has been a community champion since his early teens.
Addressed UN
It’s a journey which has already taken him all the way to the United Nations in Geneva.
When he was still at Carnoustie High School, James spoke to an international conference there about his work to combat bullying and cyber bullying.
James has since become the driving force behind a busy community litter hub, leading the effort to keep the local park looking great.
And for the past few years he has made sure every pavement in the village is gritted when frost and snow hits.
He started out clearing neighbours’ paths and pavements in the community north of Arbroath.
But in a partnership which has seen Angus Council provide him with an industrial push-along salt spreader, James now tackles the entire village.
Weather watch
It’s a mammoth task.
He said: “The council do the paths on the main street which are a priority, but the rest I do.
“I keep an eye on the weather and if it’s pretty icy I get up at 3am.
“I don’t even have to set my alarm.
He said: “I usually finish by noon.”
And if Friock is blanketed in white, James simply reaches for the shovel.
“I can’t do every street if there’s heavy snow, but I try to clear pavements around important parts of the village,” he said.
“Last year was pretty bad, so we’ll just have to see how it goes this winter.”
Dedication
But James’s community commitment is very definitely all year-round.
He received a Saltire Award in recognition of over 500 hours of volunteering.
Much of that time is spent on litter picks around the village and in partnership with other local environmental groups.
It was a recognition of the good work he has done.
Litter-picking equipment was provided to kit out the growing band of village volunteers.
James, who has autism, said: “We have around 20 active litter pickers working through the hub.
“We work closely with Angus Council and have also had a lot of improvements done to the park.
“I’d say I’m normally doing about 20 hours a week through the community litter hub.
“Then when the winter comes it is a bit more when I’m out gritting the village.
“I like to do what I can to help people.”
That’s a bit of an understatement from a young man happy to face a freezing winter at 3am to make life less tricky underfoot for his fellow villagers.
You can read about some of our other Community Champions here.
If you would like to nominate someone, please email details to community@thecourier.co.uk