The most influential factor in the UK economy has been seen by relatively few people. The offshore oil industry is over the horizon, out of sight and, for most of the time, out of mind. For over four decades it has been serviced by a remarkable group of men and women for whom commuting to and from work by helicopter has become second nature and whose fortnightly ‘trips’ on a permanent platform in the middle of a very fickle North Sea have become a way of life.

The fourteen days offshore can be monotonous and routine, but always there has to be a strict attention to detail and the observance of a rigorous safety code. Touching the very hot pipe that contains the oil once it has arrived at the platform from the bowels of the earth, is to be forcibly reminded of the potential dangers always inherent in the extration of this vital source of energy. Tragic incidents, both in the transportation of personnel and at their work place, are vivid testimonies to the need for eternal vigilance.

Andrew Wylie had (and still has!) no engineering knowledge, but a very varied career as a Church of Scotland minister brought him in close touch with a broad spectrum of people. ‘Just Being There’ is an account of how he sought to relate to and support the ‘bears and tigers’ on the oil platforms in the North Sea, in times that were both good and not so good. The book details how his experiences confirmed his understanding of part of the role of institutional religion but forced him to reconsider how the Church should deploy its resources more effectively.