Perthshire politician begins epic trek up Mount Kilimanjaro in memory of famous chef brother Andrew Fairlie

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Thousands of people every year dream of touching the board at the peak of the famous Mount Kilimanjaro.Reaching Africa’s highest point – 5895 metres above sea level – is the culmination of months of intense training, sleepless nights and tireless endeavour.For many it is the best moment of their lives.But for one local politician who hopes to do just that in memory of his late brother, renowned chef Andrew Fairlie, it would be even more poignant.

Jim Fairlie, MSP for Perthshire South and Kinross-shire, today (October 11) sets off on his journey up the world’s tallest free-standing mountain, following in the bootsteps of Andrew who reached the top in 2011.

After three days of altitude training in Tanzania, Jim and 21 others set off on their eight-day trek and have so far raised just over £83,000 – closing in on a £100,000 target – for two causes in dedication to the Perth-born two-Michelin star chef.Andrew sadly died from a brain tumour in January 2019 at the age of just 55, and in his final days the brothers reminisced about their lives together.And on the day Andrew died Jim decided to conquer the climb in his memory.Speaking to the PA just before he left for Tanzania, Jim said: “There is a picture of Andrew at the Kilimanjaro summit touching that board.“That is a very poignant thing for me because it just hit the nail on the head as far as my motivation for doing it – to retrace that for him.“In 2011 we talked about it then and that I could maybe go with him but he made it clear he wanted to do it on his own.“That was his own personal challenge.“He had also stopped his own chemotherapy at the time to climb it.“When he came back he said it was one of the hardest things to do but without doubt one of the best things he