tagged w/ Scotland
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Change the last words to 'Occupy is her name' and we have a song to march to.
http:llyoutube.com/watch?v=EillZOvRm-gChange the last words to 'Occupy is her name' and we have a song to march... more
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dinm76
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added this
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25 days ago
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Should Scotland leave the United Kingdom? Should Quebec have left Canada? What is gained or lost by dismemberment into smaller enclaves?Should Scotland leave the United Kingdom? Should Quebec have left Canada? What is... more
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This NED (non-educated-delinquent) is about to get the chucking of his life. Do not mess with Scottish BIG men.This NED (non-educated-delinquent) is about to get the chucking of his life. Do not... more
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http://www.youtube.com/user/WillowCreekPictures
Since 1947, the Edinburgh Festival Cavalcade has taken place in Edinburgh to signal the start of the Fringe Festival. The cavalcade is a parade made up from the performers of the Fringe in addition to local community groups and marching bands which includes the cast of the world renowned Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. The event takes place at the beginning of August annually and atracts many thousands of visitors visiting Scotland and local families and groups of friends. Despite occuring every year since it's inception, for the first time in it's history, the cavalcade did not take place in 2011 due to a lack of funding to support the event. Hopefully, the event will return in the future. Rumours have been around stating that the cavalcade may now become a two year event which would be possible with current funding available for staging the event.
I have always been a spectator to the event and so I wanted to try and gain an opportunity to film the event on the ground. To achieve this, I approached cavalcade Director, David Todd firstly in 2008 to seek permission to shoot the event. He gladly accepted and I took along my Hi8 camera to record the event. It wasn't until the following summer that David got in contact with me again to record the event a second time of the parade to take place during August, 2009.
My aim was to create a better video of the event than the one I produced in 2008 so I decided that using multi cameras might cover the event in more detail. I've been a member of the Edinburgh Cine & Video Society since 2006 so I posted an ad at the club to see if anyone would like to help collaborate with me on the project as a Camera Operator. The response was good initially where I managed to get together a team of five to record the event.
To gain the best coverage, I put together a very rough diagram of where I wanted to position cameras. One of the members of the team, Peter Dick wanted to try out his new HDV camera at a height so he ended up filming the parade from the Crags in Holyrood Park which produced some excellent results. I particularly enjoyed the shots of the Scottish Parliament in the background and the marching bands seen from afar.
Two of the Camera Operators were positioned on the ground within the parade route which included me. When I arrived a couple of hours before the event, me and Bob Bell, another ECVS member picked up some orange high visibility vests to alert people that we were filming. I quite liked having this as it made me feel more professional. Getting close to performers during filming was a good idea where between us we managed to gain some interesting, comical shots of the performers. Bob Bell managed to capture some shots of the crowds waving and smiling which added a community feel to the video. I especially liked his sneaky shot of a woman singing Batman where she obvisouly seems oblivious to the fact that she's being filmed, only to realize that she is at the last moment.
I enjoyed one of my shots where I weaved in between the Massed Pipes and Drums which I think adds excitement to the video. Another memorable moment for me was filming the Swiss Army band which were kind enough to march in a circle around a roundabout in order for a badly placed crowd to see some action. They loved the band for giving them a photo opportunity. Being able to follow the bands behind them worked well too for giving the audience an unsual look at the performers in my opinion. Bob managed to get a shot of the pipers by using a monopod lifted high in the air which created an interesting look. I found that when filming the bands, you have to be on your feet, watching out for where they are marching to and you have to make sure you don't get hit by a drum major's mace. Another of my shots which worked well was a pan shot on the ground of Royal Air Force Pipes and Drums which added another different perspective to the video. I also found that Chinese Dragons are easy to get tangled up in when filming!
There were two other Camera Operators who filmed the event really for fun which were Ann Sutherland and Jim Close, also members of the Edinburgh Cine and Video Society. Their cameras could only film footage in the 4:3 format so I never used any of the footage from their cameras. Their footage wasn't useable anyway in comparison with the footage from the other three cameras as their positions were within the crowds and the shots weren't very glamarous.
The Post Production stage was a challenging one. The three cameras were quite different from each other, one shooting HDV and the other two SD where Bob's Canon's video quality was superior to my P2 HVX200 I managed to borrow with permission from my college lecturer from Jewel & Esk College, Gerard Lohan. When placing some of the clips on the timeline, Peter's HDV footage played back at slow motion and featured a flickering motion. After a few days of frustration, I managed to set the correct frame field options for rendering within Sony Vegas and produce a good mpeg 2 video master mixing SD with HDV. At the time of producing the video, I was using the Platinum version of Sony Vegas which doesn't support 16:9 export! Sadly, this video should have been exported as 16:9 so I've been left with a letterboxed 16:9 video unfortunately with no option to create a proper 16:9 version. It happens. Having multiple coverage made it easier to cut the marching band segments to music as I could use a high angle shot followed by footage from the ground. I used some crossfading techniques to create the illusion that the shots occurred during the same march when in reality, the footage was taken from various different parts.
The music overlaid over the community floats section of the video was composed by Kevin MacLeod from incomptech.com, well known for providing royalty free music online licensed under the creative commons license. In addition to the video quality difference between the cameras me and Bob had, the sound quality was different too where it was much more muffled on my HVX200 and the video was softer. To compensate, I had to carry out some colour correction and adjust the sound levels although for my footage, the sound recorded just wasn't high enough in comparison with Bob's onboard microphone.
Looking back the day, it was interesting to film some of the Harley Davidson motorcycles prior to the start of the parade. Maybe in the future, I could think about recording some vox pops with some of the participants and carry out an interview with the cavalcade director to add some insight into the event. I chose not to include commentary in the video so that the viewer could enjoy the music more without interruption. I'm not sure if it needs a bit commentary in some places, I think I was right to choose not to for the marching bands. The captions seemed to work well with telling the audience about the group without spoiling the music.
Some interesting facts about the day; Bob Bell had an interesting discussion with a retired police officer he used to work with and he also spoke with a woman from the states which made for some interesting conversation. I was also offered some cheese from a member of the crowd which was delicious. There were a few other crews about on the day where I spoke to some of the photographers although even today, I'm unsure of who they were working for.
Let me know your own thoughts and opinions after viewing the video and post your comments here. If you have any suggestions for future projects too then don't be afraid to tell me them.
Article written by Alan Andrew Taylor, © 2011 Willow Creek Pictures
You are free to distribute this article under creative commons 3.0 attribution non commercially through other social media links, just ensure that you give me a credit.http://www.youtube.com/user/WillowCreekPictures
Since 1947, the Edinburgh Festival... more
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Weather alerts are issued in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland as severe gales from Hurricane Katia is set to hit those territories Monday morning.
In Scotland and Northern Ireland, an 'Amber Alert' weather warning is issued by the Met Office with winds expected to reach 80mph, Met Éireann has also issued a similar warning for Ireland with winds expected to reach 130 km/h. Ferry services are expected to be disrupted. The Met Office also advised for "...possibility of damage to trees and structures."
Sources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-14872365 (Scotland)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-14875812 (Northern Ireland)
http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0910/weather.html (Republic of Ireland)Weather alerts are issued in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland as... more
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A Scottish university is battling a tobacco giant's attempt to gain access to its research into the smoking habits of thousands of teenagers.
Philip Morris International (PMI), which makes Marlboro cigarettes, has submitted Freedom of Information (FoI) requests to Stirling University.
The research examines why the teenagers start smoking and what they think of tobacco marketing.
Academics said agreeing to the request would be a major breach of confidence.
They are also concerned it could jeopardise future research.
Prof Gerard Hastings, of the university's Centre for Tobacco Control Research, said: "It is deeply concerning they are even trying to get this data.
"We are talking about children and this is data the tobacco companies themselves would never be allowed to collect."
He said it would be "catastrophic" if the centre lost its fight and was forced to hand over the data.
'Enormous implications'
"Most fundamentally this information was given to us by young people in complete confidence," he said. "We assured them we would treat it with absolute confidence and that it would be restricted to the research.
"There is no way that Philip Morris qualifies in that definition.
"It has enormous implications for academic freedom."
The centre, which is part of the university's Institute for Social Marketing, of which Prof Hastings is director, was established in 1999 by Cancer Research UK and aims to discover why children start smoking.
Over the past decade the study has involved up to 6,000 teenagers and young people aged 13-24.
The department initially refused even to respond to the request, complaining it was "vexatious".
But the information commissioner said on 30 June that this was not the case and also found the university had failed to respond to the request within the time limit.
The university said it had now made a "proper response" to Philip Morris, but is still refusing to hand over its research.
A spokeswoman for the information commissioner said the company could appeal again.
"If the commissioner comes to the decision that the university was not correct and has not applied the right exemptions, he can order the release of the information," she added.
Private information
A Philip Morris International spokeswoman said: "PMI made a Freedom of Information request to understand more about a research project conducted by the University of Stirling regarding plain packaging for cigarettes.
"Such government-funded research conducted by public institutions is covered by the Freedom of Information Act, in accordance with which members of the public can request information held by public authorities."
She added: "With regards to this FoI request, the Scottish Information Commissioner confirmed in his decision of 30 June, that we had a legitimate interest in seeking the information and asked the university to respond to the request.
"We are not seeking any private or confidential information on any individuals involved with the research. As provided by the freedom of Information Act, confidential and private information concerning individuals should not be disclosed."
The spokeswoman added that the commissioner also concluded that the information request submitted by PMI was not designed to cause disruption or annoyance to the university.A Scottish university is battling a tobacco giant's attempt to gain access to its... more
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pdy
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added this
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5 months ago
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Scientists are probing whether pollution may have caused 70 pilot whales to strand in north west Scotland last month. The whales may have been poisoned by years of toxic waste.
Experts have now asked the UK government for £20,000 to carry out the first such major diagnostic tests on a super pod in Scotland - which could show the legacy of decades of pouring toxic chemicals into the sea.
No such link between strandings and pollution has ever been proved before - but scientists say they are now finding killer whales with toxic readings "hundreds" of times over the limit.
There are growing fears that Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB's) - which are now banned - are so prevalent in the marine environment that over a period of time they have entered the food chain widely.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is now being asked for £20,000 of the £50,000 of toxicology tests that the Scottish Agriculture College-led investigation into the recent stranding in Sutherland wants to probe.
The Cetacean Stranding Investigation Programme is continuing to investigate the cause of what is believed to have been Scotland's largest ever stranding of pilot whales, in the Kyle of Durness on July 22. Some 25 of the 70 whales are believed to have died.
Leading experts from the Sea Mammal Research Unit at St Andrews, the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science and Institute of Zoology in London will all be involved in the toxicology tests.
Samples have been taken from 16 of the dead whales.
SAC's Veterinary Investigations Officer Dr Andrew Brownlow said these samples provided an "unique" opportunity to conduct a whole range of diagnostic tests.
"Some of the pilot whales were around 50 years old - and their ages range down to those of a calf," he said.
"We want to run the tests to try and find the underlying cause of the stranding. We know these animals feed high-up in the food chain and many had lived a long time. PCBs have been around in the marine environment - perhaps more than anywhere else - for a very long time."
"They were used as coolants for things like generators and transformers. But they are highly toxic and long lasting. They can have a wide range of physiological effects none of which are good. Cetaceans are prone to them because they build up in the fat. Calves can have a particularly high level because they feed on fatty milk from their mothers.
"We want to see what levels of PCBs there were in this group. Some male killer whales have been found to have PCB levels hundreds of times higher than the suggested limit for humans. We just don't know the effect that PCBs are having on marine wildlife and this investigation will help us understand what is going ion in the seas. It could be very important - that is why we have asked for the funding. We hope to have an answer within a couple of weeks."
Dr Brownlow added that the possibility of killer whales, underwater earthquakes and naval explosive clearance in the area would also be probed.
Navy divers who helped in the rescue had been in the area carrying out explosions on undetonated devices in the days prior to the stranding. Nearby Garvie Island is a major military bombing range.
The Navy has denied that its explosions - which it has carried out for years in the area - could have caused the stranding.
But Dr Brownlow that the situation could be like "Russian roulette" - this time with the explosions going off at the wrong time when whales were in the area.
"We have asked the Navy for a timeline of its underwater explosions. I am also pretty sure that whatever brought them into the Kyle it was not food. It maybe that we never find a physical reason why they stranded but it's important that we look."
In May, around 60 pilot whales appeared in Loch Carnan, South Uist, although they left the loch after one of the mammals died. Another dead whale was later found on an island in the loch.
A post-mortem examination suggested the first had died of infection.
At the end of October last year, other pilot whales almost got stranded in Loch Carnan.
Less than a week later 33 whales, believed to be the same group, were found dead on a beach in Co Donegal in Ireland.
Pilot whales are known to prefer deep water but come inshore to feed on squid, their main food.
The investigation is the first one on a mass stranding in the UK for three years when a group of dolphins beached at Weymouth in Dorset.
More at the linkScientists are probing whether pollution may have caused 70 pilot whales to strand in... more
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Earlier today the British Olympic Association (BOA) announced that players from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland would be eligible for selection to a Great Britain Olympic football team.But the announcement was greeted with surprise by both the Scottish and Welsh FAs.
Scottish FA president George Peat said: "I am absolutely astounded that they have put out this statement. I know nothing about any such agreement and we want nothing to do with this tournament."
Welsh president Phil Pritchard said the FA had no right to speak on behalf of other associations. He denied that any conversation had taken place, saying "we have not discussed this at any time recently."
Jim Boyce, Britain's Fifa vice-president and former president of the Irish FA, said he knew nothing about the agreement.He said: "The three associations have made it clear to me they will not be changing their decision about a British Olympic team."
Football officials in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have long been opposed to their players taking part in a British team as they fear that it could end up with global governing body Fifa not recognising them as independent football nations.
The statement from the BOA quoted FA general secretary Alex Horne as thanking other FAs for their "understanding", he said:
"We're delighted there will be football teams representing Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics."It's important as the host nation, football plays its part in what is sure to be a fantastic spectacle."We will look to confirm coaches of the men's and women's teams in due course to allow them to plan and prepare their squads for the games."
If a team GB was created history would be made during the London 2012 Olympic Games as it would be the first time in 52 years such a team would return to the pitch in men’s Olympic football and the first time ever a British women’s Olympic football team would ever play in the tournament.
Source: British Olympic Association, Sky, BBC
Earlier today the British Olympic Association (BOA) announced that players... more
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We've been battling the police and the Scottish Government, to film a story we feel must be told. You've Been Trumped is an urgent examination of Donald Trump's plans to construct a luxury golf resort on one of the most environmentally sensitive stretches of land in Europe.
jónsi is doing his part. The lead singer from Sigur Ros has offered his extraordinary music for the film.
Now, we need your help.
What's at Stake
Described as 'Scotland's Amazon rain forest' by the country's leading climate change expert, the stretch of untouched coastal wilderness north of Aberdeen has Britain's top convservation ranking.
No large scale development is supposed to take place there. Yet Donald Trump is now building a millionaire's playground - 1500 houses, a 450 bed hotel and two golf courses.
Donald Trump claims he has 'great support' from the environmental groups. However, the film reveals how every major conservation group in Scotland has come out against the plan - including Scottish Natural Heritage, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Scottish Wildlife Trust, and the Ramblers Association. Scottish Natural Heritage - the Government's own environmental agency - says the resort will destroy the “the crown jewels” of Scotland’s natural heritage. And Scotland is bursting with golf courses already.
Yet Mr Trump has convinced the Scottish Government to upend the planning process and its own environmental laws on the pretext that the project is “in the national interest”.
The documentary calls into question this extraordinary decision. And follows a cast of real-life "Local Heroes" (the classic film was made just up the coast) as they battle against the odds to protect the ancient, globally important landscape that has been the backdrop to their lives. Their homes are under threat too - the authorities could level them to improve the view from the Trump hotel.
During the course of filming we became amongst the first journalists ever jailed in the United Kingdom simply for conducting an interview. Our crime? Investigating the cutting off of an 86-year-old woman's water by crews employed by Mr Trump. Our footage and camera equipment was confiscated too. According to the National Union of Journalists, this police action was 'unprecedented'. You can read about it here in The Guardian.
If you care about our planet, human decency, and freedom of speech, then please help us finish this film.
What We Need
You've Been Trumped will get its world premiere at North America's biggest film festival - Hot Docs in Toronto - on Tuesday 3rd May at 9pm. We're nearly there! Please check out our new website with full details.
We've paid for all the filming and almost all of the editing ourselves. But now we have to come up with almost $20,000 for what people in the business call “post production”. Stuff like the final sound mix, colour correction, and titling. And there's insurance, rights clearances and the like.We've been battling the police and the Scottish Government, to film a story we... more
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pdy
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added this
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8 months ago
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This short film is about the making and release of my album The Exile. It looks at how from a period of loneliness in New York I was able, through music, to find myself ‘Always Home’.
I made this with two dear and talented friends, JT Doran and Traci Gushiken.
Download The Exile from http://www.reachoot.comThis short film is about the making and release of my album The Exile. It looks at how... more
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The Scottish National Party has won a majority of the seat in the Scottish Parliament.
Despite a 50% turnout, the SNP secured 65 seats in Holyrood, an increase of 27 seats in the previous assembly election while other parties saw a slump. This will now be a step closer for the party's ambition to have a referendum on whetever Scotland will become an independant country. In the previous election in 2007, the Scottish parliament was a minority after partys failed to reach the goal.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-13305522The Scottish National Party has won a majority of the seat in the Scottish Parliament.... more
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Have you ever thought that our lives are so boring? Every day we do usual things: get up, go to work, come home, communicate with friends, cook, have a breakfast, dinner, etc. and the most remarkable occasion is traveling to another country. Of course, some people have very active and unusual life, buy there are just few of them. CNN recently offered 15 unusual places where you can spend a night. I bet you’ve never heard about most of them, but you’ll want to visit several for sure. Here they are: The Oxford Mal, England; Jules’s Undersea Lodge, United States; Das Park Hotel, Austria; Hotel Kakslauttanen, Finland; Utter Inn, Sweden; The Ice Hotel, Sweden; Sant’Angelo Luxury Resort, Italy; Milos windmill, Greece; La Balade Des Gnomes, Belgium; The Dovecote, England; Hoopoe Yurt Hotel, Spain; Bedouin Camp, Jordan; Hotel Monasterio, Peru; The Old Church of Urquhart, Scotland; Cabanes du Bois Landry, France.
Every place has its unique features, which are described in the article. Visiting one of this wonderful locations, you can get all unforgettable experience and have a lot of pleasure.
Read more here: http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/escape/15-unusual-places-spend-night-213174?page=0,0&hpt=SbinHave you ever thought that our lives are so boring? Every day we do usual things: get... more
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Hello, I am a children’s author and Andy is an illustrator. We want to reach out to show kids (and adults too!) that there are great, clean ways to help power our world. We have created ‘The Power Families’, a series of beautifully written and illustrated picture books set on renewable energy farms and we need your help to kickstart it!Hello, I am a children’s author and Andy is an illustrator. We want to reach out... more
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Thank You Skinhead Girl the award winning documentary is still going strong with its tour of Inda's Film Festival in Tamilnadu and it recent Screening in Turkey :
2009 - Ultimate Picture Palace, Oxford
2009 - Portobello Film Festival, London
2009 – Gonzaga University, Washington DC
2009 - Falstaff International Film Festival
2009 - 40th Anniversary of the Skinhead Spirit of 69 Margate
2010 - 8th Film Palace International Festival, Bulgaria
2010- San Lorenzo Festival in Rome, Italy
2010 - Edinburgh Fringe - Film Festival, Scotland
2010- FilmDirecting4Women International Film Festival, London
2010 - Art Museum of Estonia, Tallinn
2010 - Thame Cinema supporting Exit through the gift shop
2010 - The 1st Doi Saket International Film Festival, Chiang Mai, Thailand
2010 - 2011 - 12th Maduria Film Festival, Tamilnadu, India
2011 - 6th 7Island International film Festival, ANDHERI (W), MUMBAI, INDIA (
2011 - 9th International Filmmor Women's Film Festival, Istanbul, Turkey
Currently distributed by Concord Media in the UK later this year Germany company Sunny Bastards will be distributing the documentary film.
Feedback here:
http://www.imdb.com/video/wab/vi3062209817/Thank You Skinhead Girl the award winning documentary is still going strong with its... more
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Dundee students in Scotland have tracked down Charlie Sheen for an exclusive interview about the upcoming DUSA student elections
www.dusa.co.ukDundee students in Scotland have tracked down Charlie Sheen for an exclusive interview... more
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Documentary following three people who have been affected by Donald Trump's proposed golf course in Menie, near Aberdeen in Scotland.Documentary following three people who have been affected by Donald Trump's... more
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troshy
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added this
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11 months ago
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During Mitzi Szereto's recent appearance at the Wordplay book festival in the Shetland Islands of Scotland, she took a bit of time out to talk with the team from the "Sideways" programme about writing erotic fiction, books, blogging, and anything else suitable for broadcast!
http://mitziszereto.com/blog/mitzi-szereto-chats-on-bbc-radio-shetland/During Mitzi Szereto's recent appearance at the Wordplay book festival in the... more
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Latest News Updates As you install a kitchen sink you will invariably need to install a sink flange in the sink. Westhill-based ThinJack has extended its range of engineering services to include specialist consultancy for the oil and gas industry.Latest News Updates As you install a kitchen sink you will invariably need to install... more
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Adam Potter had a bit of a tumble, then stood up and checked his map. Though the tumble was 1000ft off a mountain in Scotland, which he was lucky to survive.
Potter (did Voldermort push him?) aged 35 was hiking on Sgurr Choinnich Mor with friends and a dog when he slipped and rolled off one cliff edge to another.
"‘The speed accumulated really fast. I was trying to slow myself down but every time I slowed myself down I would then go over a cliff edge, so I would get all my speed back."-Metro
After trying to slow down unsuccessfully Potter was knocked up, but managed to gain consciousness to pick up his hiking gear and check a map. Rescue teams followed the trail of trashed hiking gear, only to find a man standing up at the end of it.
"‘We honestly thought it couldn’t have been him, as he was on his feet reading a map. He must have literally glanced off the outcrops as he fell, almost flying. He is lucky to be alive.’"-Metro
Adam Potter is still planning to climb Everest in the futureAdam Potter had a bit of a tumble, then stood up and checked his map. Though the... more
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