Double leap of faith April 1st 2005

By Doug Archibald

SCOTLAND'S Woman of the Year is due in Dumfries next week.

Mrs Tracy Cosgrove is to visit Pim Gemmell who is running the Asian Disaster Appeal Dumfries and Galloway.

Pim is also president of the region's Thai Culture Forum and Mrs Cosgrove was awarded the title for her Foundation's work which is mainly in Thailand.

She helps children suffering from Aids or HIV and street kids.

And she is about to open an orphanage in Burma.

She also visited the tsunami struck regions in Thailand and has first hand accounts of the effects of the disaster.

Mrs Cosgrove will be in town on Thursday when she will also meet Provost Ken Cameron and, possibly, MP Russell Brown.

Meanwhile, cash continues to flow into the appeal, which has topped £6,000, with the focus switching to Wallace Hall Academy at Thornhill today.

Teaching staff are due to take on pupils in a fundraising football match just before the end of term.

Pim's son Ton, a second year pupil at the school, had the idea and the schools was keen to help keep up fundraising for tsunami victims.

Head of PE, Ian Wilson said: "Ton has picked a team from his year and the staff have put forward a mixed team.

"We'll play a short game at 2pm and pupils will be charged to watch.

"We wanted to keep a spotlight on fundraising.

"The school is thinking about possibly establishing a more direct link with an affected country either with an area or a pupil."

Another £571 has gone into the fund thanks to the daredevil antics of two childhood pals.

Richard and Graham Scott recently hurled themselves off the world's highest single span bridge.

They were, of course, attached to bungee ropes at the time.

The Bloukrans Bridge in South Africa is 216 metres high and as such is the highest commercial bungee jump in the world.

Richard, aged 22 from College Avenue and Graham, aged 23, from Lincluden Road, both in Dumfries decided to raise money for the appeal while they were on holiday in South Africa.

The money was raised in sponsorship from workmates.

Richard said: "It was extremely nerve wracking, especially leading up to the jump when we had to walk along a metal mesh walkway 216 metres up.

"I was having doubts at that point and wondered if I'd got through with it.

"I felt better when we got on to the solid surface."

Richard was soon "strapped" up and being held over the edge.

When he pushed off, he said: "The first moment of falling was quite surreal.

"The river, trees, rocks looked like one massive hand lunging at my vision with nothing wind in my ears.

"It was then quite content bouncing up and down realising I wasn't going to hit the ground although my head felt like an over inflated balloon."

Graham had a similar experience and both boys reckon they would do it again.