It was a fine day in springtime at Carberry Tower near Musselburgh, Edinburgh and Ferdie Le Fèvre was preparing for his big day. In approximately 2 hours 72 Porsches, all different models, would arrive on site to provide sick kids and their families a day to remember.

At 8:00 am the 30 volunteer “staff”, all friends or fellow students, whom Ferdie had recruited for the day to help direct activities, arrived on site to be briefed in their tasks and to help complete the all important decoration of the site with balloons and brightly coloured garlands. The special guests and their families who where due to arrive at 11am had all suffered at hands of cancer or leukaemia and were looking for today, to provide them with a small respite from the worry and stress that cancer and leukaemia bring.

By 9:30 am the bouncy castle and various other outdoor games had arrived and the marquee was stocked with food and drink to cater for all during the day. Unexpectedly the first of the 72 Porsches began to arrive early and so the process of checking in and allocating parking spaces started as the sun began to emerge from the clouds.

Ferdie had recruited every single Porsche owner and driver personally, and as such was now a familiar face to most of them. They had come from as far afield as Holland and Northern Ireland to be part of this special day, which turned out to be the largest gathering of Porsches ever seen in Scotland.

It truly was a sight to behold, in the tranquil country setting of Carberry’s fields behind the imposing tower house, the cars began to line up in their allocated spots with a herd of cattle looking on. Colour coded and numbered stickers were issued to all drivers for use on their windows, so that the process of allocating children to cars would be easier.

By 11 am the families themselves had begun to arrive. They were greeted by staff with a welcome pack containing a baseball cap for the children donated by the Porsche club GB, as well as the necessary timetable for the day and vouchers for hamburgers and ice-cream later on.

The excitement began to build as the Police escort arrived - A 6 person motor cycle squad, plus two Police cars to lead the way, recruited by Ferdie to make the tour “that bit more special for the kids”

At 11:40 am Ferdie greeted all his guests in the marquee and explained some of the exiting activities on offer for the day. On top of the all-important Porsche parade through East Lothian, there would be a variety of entertainment and food and drink for all, as well as the chance to vote for the “Best looking Porsche of the day”. Ferdie explained that the Fun Day Out event was solely funded by donations and as such he offered sincere thanks to the companies who donated money: The Royal Bank of Scotland, John Lewis plc Edinburgh, Macmillan Trust and Belgica Furniture. “Without these donations and the donations of goods, services, and people giving up their time to help, this day could not have happened”.

Before the lucky dip for the children to pick their car began, Valerie Simpson, Managing Director of CCLASP the registered Scottish charity (SCO26520) who had provided the link to the families in attendance, explained that unfortunately “many families have had to cancel at the last minute due to their children being too sick to attend.” Although disappointing for the families who had be lined up to join in the fun, this did however mean that there were additional spaces in Porsches for the brothers and sisters of the sick children, and resulted in any child on site who wanted to ride in the Parade being able to do so.

By 12:15 pm the cars were lined up and ready to go, the Police motorcycle outriders were in place and the tour began. It was a truly unique spectacle, passers by on the streets were mesmerised by the fleet of Porsches and the traffic joining the A1 was held up by the Police to allow the Porsche parade right of way on the road. The tour encompassed both the scenic costal roads and the more fast moving A roads to give variety to drivers and passengers alike. Both drivers and passengers seemed to enjoy the ride equally; one driver said “ It was the first time I had gone through a red light with a policeman waving me on” another recounted how many of the drivers had held back in the parade, leaving a gap between them and the car in front so that they could build up a bit of speed so that the kids could experience the thrill of high speed in a Porsche. Debbie Campbell 13, from Edinburgh said, “It was great to get a ride in a Porsche. The driver let me honk his horn and there were people clapping us all the way to Haddington.”

On returning on Carberry Tower estate, the tour was met by cheering waving parents on the tree lined drive of the site and as the cars re-parked and children were re-united with their families, the thrill of the experience was re-told many times. “The smiles on the faces of all the kids made this really worthwhile” said Ferdie “….and if truth be told I think the drivers enjoyed it as much as the kids”.

Alan Seadon, member of the Porsche Club GB and regional organiser for Scotland South, who had been instrumental in supporting Ferdie in recruiting the drivers, said “ The tour was great fun, and I think an added bonus will be that it will do a lot to change the stereo type of a typical Porsche driver …..we’re not so bad after all!”

The day went on until 5pm, during which time, there was entertainment from the Happy Gang for the young children, great live music for all from the Fundamentals, face painting, a crafts table and much more for all to enjoy. The Doctors from Dundee Hospital who had kindly agreed to attend as First Aiders for the day, were rumoured to have asked Ferdie for a five year contract to attend future Fun Day Out events!
Since the day, the feedback from families and drivers has been very positive. One parent’s comment read “ this day has been truly spectacular and very well organised – thank you” on another feedback form, when asked how the event could be improved, one parent wrote: “how can you improve on perfection?”

In summing up of the days events, Ferdie concluded: “I think the combination of Porsches and sick children works and the happiness I see on everyone’s faces today, makes me convinced that this should be an annual event. It has been a big learning curve for me as my first large-scale event, but I plan to make next year’s event even better.”

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