The countdown to Christmas is here and a former Edinburgh shop owner has created his very own festive song.
The cost of living crisis is affecting millions up and down the country. With the upbeat song Santa, Will You Help Me Pay My Heating Bill This Year, one man wants to raise awareness of the climate, as well as people's spirits
Martin Wykes owned Boredom Free Zone, a store that sold film and music merchandise in Edinburgh and Glasgow and after spending most of his life singing and playing instruments, he dabbled in songwriting before taking seriously around 10 years ago.
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He shot for the stars when he tried to get One Direction to take one of his songs.
Now living in East Lothian in Seaton Mains, Martin spoke exclusively to Edinburgh Live as he hopes his new song could be the next Christmas hit.
"I was just thinking it will be really tough for families this year. Everyone knows it, with the energy bills, fuel costs, energy bills, your house, food costs - and nobody's wages are getting any bigger.
"You have the normal Christmas songs but I don't think these can really cut it this year. They don't really reflect what's happening in the country. And I just think most people would just want their heating bills paid for Christmas."
At 53-years old, Martin, as a self proclaimed 'creative' has tried his hand at a range of jobs from retail, business owner and even worked for the government at one point.
Along the way, while still interested in writing songs he befriended the late Bill Martin who wrote three Eurovision entries – Puppet on a String, Congratulations and Toi, and Edinburgh's David Paton who was the bassist in 70s Scottish rock band, Pilot.
Speaking about Bill, he said: "He was quite the character! One time we had a songwriting session in my studio. Picture the scene - He's an established Eurovision songwriter...and then there's me. He flew up to Edinburgh and is sitting in my flat. I'm just some wee guy who he met in a pub one night!"
Martin went on to share how he's tried to make it as a songwriter but sadly nothing has landed, though he did try and 'take a punt' on writing a song for One Direction.
"I did write a song called One Direction to My Heart," he said.
"But it was towards the end of 'One Direction's' career. I thought it was a great song for them because it was a ballad...but we never got anywhere with that."
Despite this, it hasn't dampened Martin's spirits. His daughter, Elsie, is guiding him through social media to share his work. And maybe Santa, Will You Help Me Pay My Heating Bill This Year could be the winner.
Martin explained that he had noticed the costs of prices too, he added: "Everything has gone up in price. Loads of people will be struggling."
While it is a serious matter and will surely cause stress for many families across Scotland, Martin added: We [Scottish people] have a good way of laughing about stuff and deflecting."
He said: "I think once people start laughing about stuff, we go, 'okay, we can get through this.'"
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