The Edinburgh Reporter September 2021

20 NEWS
Ross Burns with his
son’s Hot Wheels set
Dad’s pic stop
Hot Wheels project crosses the line
AN EDINBURGH DAD embarked on a 365 day photo challenge to
take pictures of his son’s Hot Wheels car collection at some of the city’s
most scenic spots.
Ross Burns, 41, who works at Edinburgh Napier University, featured
more than 250 of the cars in places such as Calton Hill, Edinburgh
Castle and the Forth Bridge. The cars are also partial to a double flip on
the half pipe at Saughton Park. Ross has posted an image every day on
Instagram under the account Scot.Wheels with the most popular being
the photo of a Land Rover Defender 90 reflected on the Water of Leith.
Ross said: ““I have a five-year-old son called Daniel and he loves Hot
Wheels. I used to love Matchbox cars when I was his age and I soon
began to become obsessed with his growing collection. To make sure I
took a walk every day, I started taking a car out and just taking some
pictures on my phone.
“After a few weeks, I set myself the challenge of doing it for a full year
and I’m delighted to have now completed it. It’s been great for my
mental health during the various lockdowns, particularly the one early
this year – getting out and taking a picture of a car gave me a purpose
and a creative outlet each day.”
Now that he has achieved his target of a photograph every day for a
year, and run up more than 20,000 “likes” in the process, Ross intends to
carry on but take his foot off the accelerator.
“I’ll continue taking car pictures but not pressurise myself to do it
every day. I’ll aim for quality over quantity and hopefully as we become
able to travel more, I’ll explore some fantastic new settings with some
wonderful new cars.”
Back in the swim with Duncan
THOUSANDS OF young
swimmers are celebrating the
return of swimming lessons in
pools across Scotland – with help
from Olympic hero Duncan Scott.
Following his return from
Tokyo, where he was Britain’s
most decorated Olympian in a
single games, Duncan joined a
group of youngsters at the Royal
Commonwealth Pool in
Edinburgh, as part of his
commitment to continue to
inspire the next generation
of Scottish swimmers.
It was Duncan’s
first role back as the
Learn to Swim
ambassador after
his success for
Team GB at Tokyo 2020, where he
won one Gold and three Silver
medals in the pool.
The Learn to Swim framework
– a partnership between Scottish
Swimming and Scottish Water – is
delivered by Leisure Trusts and
aquatic providers across the
country which aims to enable
children of all ages to become
safe and confident swimmers.
Edinburgh Leisure is one of 28
Leisure Trusts beginning the full
resumption of the Learn to Swim
programme, meaning that
thousands of kids will be
back in pools following
the disruptions caused
by the pandemic
restrictions.