At a meeting of Harmonic Lodge No 216, Phil Marshall mentioned that he was going to take part in a sponsored driving event. As Phil is well known for his sense of humour and knowing that Phil is registered visually impaired it was immediately thought that Phil was pulling everyone’s leg. However, he was deadly serious and explained that he was going to take part in a driving day at Three Sisters Motor Circuit, Wigan, arranged by Galloways Charity for the Blind.
Phil explained that at the age of 25, he took lessons and passed the heavy goods vehicle (HGV) Class 3 Driving Test. He was then offered a job as a driving instructor. Subsequently passing the HGV Class 1 and Public Service Vehicle (PSV) coach driving tests. He later took a job delivering furniture all over the mainland of the British Isles, driving articulated lorries or artics as they are better known.
At the young age of 34, Phil was diagnosed with a degenerating sight problem and was informed that eventually he would lose most of his sight due to a rare genetic condition called Stargardt Disease. Unfortunately, due to further degeneration, Phil had to surrender his driving licence and became registered visually impaired/blind. Phil was delighted to receive his first guide dog Varley, in 2013. Varley sadly died quite young, and Phil received another guide dog, Harvey two years later. Harvey is well known within the Gladstone Group and is nearly nine now. Harvey has the perhaps unique distinction of being invested as a ‘fourth principal’ in Sefton Chapter No 680
Phil is an avid fundraiser for Guide Dogs for the Blind, becoming part of the Ormskirk Group run by Lyn Simpson. There he met Wendy Dillworth who runs the Ormskirk Group for Galloways Charity for the Blind. It was at the Ormskirk meeting that Phil discovered they provide lots of activities for the visually impaired around Lancashire. They are based in Penwortham, Preston and cover from Morecambe down to Ormskirk and pretty much most of the West Lancashire Province.
Always keen to avail of a fund-raising opportunity, as soon as Phil heard about the driving experience, he jumped at the chance to get behind the wheel once again. Phil messaged brethren of both Harmonic Lodge and Liverpool Mercantile Lodge No 4319 and obtained sponsors for the event itself.
Meeting up with Phil, Harvey and his friend Mike, on a wet drizzly damp morning, and wondered if we were going to have to put rain tyres on the cars to go onto the track. Galloways charity had worked very hard and obtained a number of different experiences for the drivers. First up was a rally experience, whereby an experienced rally driver took each participant onto the track. Phil was marshalled (no pun intended) into the passenger seat and secured by a six-point harness. The Ford Fiesta rally car with 400bhp soon made short work of the track, and after the experience, Phil commented that it had made short work of his senses and stomach too!
It was then turn for each visually impaired driver to meet up with their ‘driving instructor’ and in the dual control cars, all the drivers set off, beckoned by a marshall who enthusiastically waved each driver off with his chequered flag. Phil was very confident and went around the course followed by the other drivers, although he didn’t show it, Phil commented later: “It was scary to say the least, but I now know, I won’t be driving on the public highway ever again so you other road users can relax.”
The Porsche Boxster’s Owners Club were assembled and being very generous with both their cars and time, they lined up and took each driver out on the track in their Porsches. Not quite as enthusiastically as the rally cars, but not far off either. Phil chose a fine convertible example in British Racing Green, although, it was commented afterwards perhaps it was German Racing Green on the cars from Stuttgart (Porsche’s spiritual home), some online research later revealed the colour is officially known as Ocean Jade.
The total amount received in sponsorship amounted to £495 which was topped up to £500 with a fiver from Harvey’s piggy bank. Phil has split the sponsorship money and passed on two cheques of £250 to the two chosen charities, Guide Dogs for the Blind and Galloways Charity for the Blind, who organised the event. Phil said: ‘It was brilliant to see so many visually impaired boys and girls, young and old, with white canes or guide dogs, getting behind the wheel of a dual control car, including an 11-year-old boy who had never driven before”. It was a fantastic event and with a final woof from Harvey, Phil’s grand deft auto experience was complete.
Article by Mike Fox.