When your son is first minister of Scotland, you would be silly to not chance your luck and get him to pull a few strings for your cause.
That is exactly what Mr Salmond’s 92-year-old father did when he thought his fellow war veterans were in need of a well-deserved knees-up.
Mr Salmond is utterly amused as he describes the moment his World War II veteran father, Robert, who now resides at a veterans’ hospital in Erskine, told him he was not doing enough for his comrades.
“Last Christmas I did my first ministerial address at Erskine hospital, then we went out for a meal afterwards,” he recalls.
“My dad said to me, ‘you know, you’re not doing enough for the home’.
“I replied saying ‘look, we’ve got a veterans minister and we’ve done this, that and the next thing’.
“But he put me in my place and said ‘no, no, you need to do more for the home’.”
Mr Salmond asked his father what he had in mind, to which he replied it would be good to have reception at Edinburgh Castle.
“All the folk in the home would like that,” said Mr Salmond sen.
Like a dutiful son, Mr Salmond did what he asked and organised a reception for the charity, to which carers, fundraisers and veterans were all invited.
“Normally at Scottish Government receptions, people are very careful about being well-behaved and watch what they drink,” he laughs.
“But not the Erskine veterans. There was more whisky consumed during that reception than any reception the Scottish Government has ever held.”
Mr Salmond added that he would not usually use his power for personal gain.
“But I doubt anyone would begrudge them that,” he said.
“The recognition was much merited and well deserved.
“They all had a fantastic time and my advice to my successor is that she gets the next one sponsored by a local distillery.”