grough is old enough to remember when a petition was something thrust under your nose as you tried to fight your way through the crowds intent on spending their money in the High Street on a Saturday afternoon.

Well, not anymore. The Internet is now the place to go to make your voice heard. To that end you can sign up to the rather bizarre concept of petitioning Scottish Television to broadcast a tribute to one of the country’s outdoor champions.

Tom Weir died five months ago and Vicki Balnaves thinks it’s high time there was a televised tribute to the broadcaster and mountaineer. She said: “Everyone who cares about Scotland, whether from the comfort of their armchair, from the heights of our wild mountains, or even from abroad, owes a great debt of gratitude to Tom Weir.

“Tom Weir was a man who campaigned ceaselessly to protect some of our finest landscapes to ensure they were handed over undamaged to future generations.

“Through his long-running TV series, Weir's Way, Tom effortlessly communicated his passion for walking, for the countryside, for its history, and in doing so, he made Scotland accessible to each and every one of us

“Most recently, repeats of Weir's Way achieved huge popularity amongst viewers young and old. Why then, five months after his death, are we still waiting to see a much deserved televised tribute on STV?”

Before Tom’s death, Vicki says she proposed a follow-up series to his original broadcasts, but was rebuffed. She has asked STV if there is a tribute to Tom in the pipeline, to be told there was nothing planned.

So if, like Vicki, you want to see Tom Weir’s life marked televisually, sign her online petition (we understand you do it with your keyboard rather than a ball-point pen).

Vicki said: “Ultimately, I do still believe a follow-up series to Weir's Way would be extremely popular, but for now, my priority is to see a televised tribute to the man himself, even if I have to make it myself.

“If you feel Mr. Tom Weir deserves, at the very least, a televised tribute to his life and work, please sign this petition.”

grough says: if you don’t sign the petition, you’ve only yourself to blame if you have to watch more nonentities eating worms in the jungle or scratching their gonads while yawning in the Big Brother house.