I'm sure there are a few Almighty fans on here who'd be interested in this.
http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/feed/t ... _page.html
GREAT SCOT: THE FINAL 12
The 12 finalists are:
1. Explorer Jordan Maguire.
2. Tsunami "angels" Sam Fernando, left, and Arlene Kidd.
3. Brave brothers Ryan and Cian Moran with their mum Helen.
4. Caring City founder Rev. Neil Galbraith.
5. Marathon man Jim Montgomerie.
6. Army hero Andrew Nicholls.
7. Cancer survivor Floyd London.
8. Mountain rescue volunteer Jock McCraw.
9. Police chief Owen Kelly.
10. Paralympian Tom Killin.
11. Judo star Brian Thomson.
12. Scottish Youth Theatre's Mary McCluskey.
INSPIRATIONAL CANDIDATES FOR THE PEOPLE'S OSCAR 2006
By Heather Greenaway
HERE they are... the fabulous finalists in our Great Scot awards 2006.
They are all ordinary men women and children who have achieved the extraordinary and every one of them is already a winner.
Four of the finalists will be presented with Unsung Hero awards in recognition of their achievements at a star-studded awards night in Glasgow's Thistle Hotel on October 28.
And one will be named our Great Scot 2006.
We launched our annual search for a Great Scot in June and the response was staggering - the biggest in our 16-year history.
Thousands of entries came in from all corners of Scotland, all with stories of remarkable Scots.
Our judging panel, chaired by Lord McCluskey, included Colin Middlemiss of Morrisons, entrepreneur John Boyle and PR guru Tessa Hartmann.
They were joined by Sunday Mail editor Allan Rennie, our doctor Gareth Smith, seven-days columnist Alison Craig and features writer Heather Greenaway.
Lord McCluskey said: "The nominations this year were of outstanding quality and narrowing the finalists down was a difficult task."
Last year, Darren Ferguson, who suffered horrific burns as a baby, was crowned Great Scot. The 17-year-old, of Stenhousemuir, spearheaded a campaign to get temperature control valves fitted in bathroom taps.
JORDAN MAGUIRE, of Uplawmoor, Renfrewshire.
FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD Jordan became the youngest boy to walk to the North Pole when he completed the trek earlier this year.
He completed the gruelling feat in 10 days after travelling from north Russia to the Arctic.
Jordan, in fourth year at Hutchesons' Grammar School in Glasgow, was one of nine adventurers in the expedition led by Norwegian Borge Ousland.
He skied for 10 hours a day, dragging an 80kg sled laden with camping equipment and food supplies 111 miles across broken pack ice.
SAM FERNANDO and ARLENE KIDD, of Fife.
SAM and Arlene are angels to the 250 children in a Sri Lankan village devastated by the 2004 tsunami.
Thanks to their efforts, the pupils have a new school to replace the one swept away by the Boxing Day disaster.
Sam, 34, of Dunfermline, and Arlene, 37, of Glenrothes, who work for outdoor clothing firm Keela, saw Midigama Primary School open its doors for the first time in March... with a sally tire flying proudly outside.
They raised £80,000 to start the building work in just nine months.
RYAN and CIAN MORAN, of Charing Cross, Glasgow.
BROTHERS Ryan and Cian have given their mum Helen a reason to live after she plunged 30ft from her window while sleepwalking.
Helen ended up with two blood clots in her brain, a broken pelvis and ribs, a burst spleen and liver damage after the horror fall last year.
Despite doctors fearing she wouldn't survive the night, Helen pulled through thanks to love and support of seven-year-old Ryan and Cian, six.
The brothers have helped their mum learn to walk and talk again after life-saving brain surgery.
REVEREND NEIL GALBRAITH, of Greenock.
REV Galbraith, 52, has touched the hearts of thousands of people across the world through his work with the charity - Glasgow the Caring City.
He established the charity five years ago and, with the help of the people of Glasgow, has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for worthy causes.
Neil, minister at Cathcart Old Parish Church, set up the charity to provide aid and assistance to needy countries.
Now when there is a natural disaster such as the Asian tsunami or the Iranian earthquake, Neil and his organisation are among the first to respond.
As well as providing schools in South Africa and a hospital in Malawi, the charity does a lot of work with Glasgow's adults with special needs.
And in 2002 Neil brought the families of dozens of 9/11 victims over to Scotland for a holiday.
JIM MONTGOMERIE, of Saltcoats, Ayrshire
FORMER boxer Jim has raised more than £14,000 for charity by running ultra marathons in the most extreme conditions... in his kilt. The super-fit 33-year-old publican is currently recovering from a 75-mile race in the heat of the Sahara Desert, followed by a 30-mile trek across the Arctic.
Now Jim, nicknamed the Running Kilt, has his heart set on becoming a member of the Grand Slam Club, an exclusive group of endurance athletes who have completed marathons on all seven continents and the North Pole.
ANDREW NICHOLLS, of Balornock, Glasgow.
ANDREW, whose brother died fighting in Afghanistan, volunteered for a tour of duty in the Middle East, refusing compassionate leave from Army bosses.
The 21-year-old was about to go to Iraq when he heard Lance Corporal Ross, had been killed in an ambush.
Andrew's superiors told him he could stay behind to get over his loss but the brave gunner, recently promoted to Lance Corporal, was determined to do his duty.
FLOYD LONDON, of Strathaven, Lanarkshire.
ROCKER Floyd feared the worst when he was diagnosed with leukaemia two years ago.
But the musician - bassist with Scots band The Almighty - found the strength to battle his illness thanks to his family, friends and a cancer support group. Floyd, 39, became determined to help other sufferers and started to raise funds for the charity Leukaemia Support UK.
And over the past 18 months he has collected a staggering £25,000.
Floyd, who now lives in London, said he would not have got through the experience without the help and support of Leukaemia Research.
JOCK McCRAW, of Kelso, Roxburghshire.
FOR nearly half a century, Jock has been saving lives on Scotland's hills.
The 62-year-old granddad is team leader of the Border Search and Rescue Unit and a hero to the people of Kelso.
Jock has been a volunteer for 45 years and is one of only two remaining members of the team who worked in the aftermath of the Lockerbie bombing.
The modest ambulance driver is only the seventh person to be given the Mountain Rescue Committee of Scotland's distinguished service award.
OWEN KELLY, of Cowie, Stirlingshire.
OWEN kept London safe from terror attacks for eight years.
The 74-year-old retired Commissioner of the City of London Police devised the Ring of Steel security cordon around the city when the IRA were targeting mainland Britain.
His methods - such as checkpoints and CCTV - are still used to fight terrorism.
Dad-of-five Owen, who retired in 1993, has also fought a personal battle with colon cancer.
TOM KILLIN, of Edinburgh.
SPORTS-MAD Tom was paralysed in a road accident as a teenager but vowed it would not mean the end of his life.
Brave Tom, 56, is the only Brit to win medals at both the summer and winter Paralympic Games. He has two silvers in fencing, one in table tennis and a curling silver from the Winter Games in Turin, Italy, in February.
He was also part of the team which won the World Curling Championships at Glasgow's Braehead Arena last year.
Tom, of Edinburgh, now helps young people who face paralysis.
BRIAN THOMSON, of Renfrew.
BRIAN was only five years old when he plunged 40ft off a verandah and landed head first on the concrete below.
He suffered a severe head injury and had to be brought back to life twice by doctors when his heart stopped.
But Brian, now 15, was a fighter and after a month in a coma he recovered consciousness. He then began the long process of learning how to walk and talk again.
Now, 10 years on, Brian is fighting fit and has won two Special Olympic gold medals in judo.
MARY McCLUSKEY, of Glasgow's Merchant City.
MARY, artistic director of the Scottish Youth Theatre, has nurtured some of Scotland's top actors. For the past 15 years, she has worked tirelessly to ensure Scots youngsters get all the help they need to pursue a career in acting.
Lord of the Rings star Billy Boyd is just one of her former pupils, who has made it on to the world stage.
Mary was also instrumental in helping to raise the £1 million needed for a new purpose-built premises for the SYT.
The new studio in Glasgow's old Sheriff Court building, was opened last month by actor Brian Cox.
The SYT runs weekly drama classes in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen, for young people aged three to 25.
There are 700 members involved in these classes alone and thousands more take part in the SYT's roadshow which visits 100 different towns and villages across Scotland.