Hot Stuff!

May 4 2010 By Jeff Holmes

A GROUP of courageous Buddies walked across hot coals to raise cash for charity.

Temperatures reached 1,200 degrees centigrade but the victims braved the heat to collect almost £3,000 for the Yorkhill Children's Foundation.

Organiser Brian Costello, from Linwood, said the fundraiser - which was staged at Erskine's Reid Macewen Training Centre - was a huge success.

But Brian was in the doghouse after his wife Sheena picked up a blister just a couple of weeks before running the Bellahouston 10k for Paisley Cats Protection.

Brian insisted the little blister wasn't all bad news though.

He said: "Sheena is going to be fine.

"She had a tiny little blister on her foot but that is meant to represent a "kiss from the fire" - and is supposed to incorporate a message.

"I'm sure that message may well be that Sheena will be fine to run the 10k."

Sixteen people braved the tough conditions to walk across the coals and collected £2,810 for Yorkhill.

"It's a fantastic sum of money and we have really got to be pleased," said Brian.

"I'm sure the firewalk also helped many of the participants face their fears"

From nine to five, Brian works in the Neuro Linguistic field and specialises in personal development courses.

The 37-year-old said: "I was an interested spectator as the firewalk instructor, Liesha Ross, put everyone through their paces beforehand."

As part of their preparations, firewalkers were asked to break an arrow in their mouth.

Brian explained: "You put the pointed side in, although it's not sharp, and the other end goes into a block of wood.

"It's all about mind over matter and overcoming fears.

"I've done it before and I can tell you the adrenaline rush when it snaps is second to none.

"People really can do anything they want and this is Liesha's way of illustrating this."

The participants then prepared to walk across the burning embers in their bare feet.

And that's when mum-of-two Sheena came unstuck.

Brian said: "There is more chance of someone being burned if they're not completely focused.

"Sheena ended up with a blister on her foot.

"But I don't think it will keep her out of the race.

"I'm sure she will be out there pounding the streets on Sunday, May 9, and raising lots of money for Cats Protection."