Support Colin our LOCAL NEWS columnist
August 29, 2010 by localnews · Leave a Comment
Colin Mackie, who has been a columnist with the LOCAL NEWS GLASGOW for several years will be running in the Glasgow10K road race on Sunday 5 September.
Over the years he has been writing about the Southern Necropolis, Oatlands and now British Sign Language (BSL) and the Deaf communities.
He said: ‘This being my 26th year taking part in the Glasgow event…(phew how time flies eh!), I would really appreciate any donations towards my chosen charity – the West of Scotland Deaf Children’s Society. They do a fantastic job.
‘My fundraising page can be found at… www.justgiving.com/colmacglasgowbsl
‘Here`s hoping for some good weather on the day and I`m sure there will be a fantastic turnout…just like last year. Thanks.’
See his websites:
Support Lorne’s drive to pass his Husky Dog Driving Licence
April 7, 2010 by localnews · Leave a Comment
This is the week our barking mad colleague Lorne Brown leaves for the Arctic Circle to sit his Husky Dog Driving Licence and to raise funds for Guide Dogs for the Blind.
Dear Website reader, we invite you to support our 78-year-old mad-cap, former production editor at the LOCAL NEWS GLASGOW. He aims to raise £5000 for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and you can help him by visiting his page – Lorne Brown – on JustGiving.com website. He’s more than half way there. Can you help him hit his target before his return? He’ll experience day-time temperatures of +3 or -13 when the wind chill factor is counted in. His four days of living as the Inuit people live – travelling by husky sledge, living in tents and making a hole in the ice to fish for supper, should end with him being tested driving a sledge by himself. ”These dogs are bigger than normal and there’s a lot of them in front of me,’ said Lorne. ‘It will be a real test for me for they’ve been bred to do this over hundreds of years and I’ve only manged to learn to ski a little in the past few months!’
He’s already been out to Ittoqqortoormiit, North of the Arctic Circle to acclimatise. On arrival, he was issued with a gun almost as tall as himself as protection against polar bears. The local people were NOT kidding! The skin of a recently shot bear was hanging up to dry outside his window.
Said Lorne: ‘I don’t know if I’m acting maturely, but I plan to raise enough to train a guide dog and have some fun at the same time.’
A confirmed workaholic, he found retiral and vacuuming the carpet uninteresting. While leafing through some National Geographic magazines, he saw the challenge to learn to drive huskies in the Arctic Circle. Since his daughter’s partner is blind, and Lorne himself had a bit of eye trouble, he is aware of the everyday problems every blind person faces.
‘I understand, a little, what the word BLIND really means. Nothing is there! NOTHING,’ said Lorne. ‘You cannot see the telly, people get irked when YOU bump into THEM. Cars parked on the pavement give you grief, dustbins and abandoned shopping trolleys, likewise. It goes on… But the help of a guide dog- this fantastic, trained dog, that steers a blind person in and out of lifts, stops at kerbs, improves confidence and prevents falls into potholes, is available. But all the funding is through charity. There is no government cash.’
Lorne has already paid for his eight-day trip and he’s packing his bagpipe too. All donations will go to the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association via JustGiving. So go there now and key in LORNE BROWN and support his amazing venture.
