When believing isn't seeing...

We've all made that don't-wake-up-the-house, pitch-black, dead-of-night journey to the bathroom at some point in our lives... the one where you're convinced furniture, fixtures and fittings have been purposely moved to impede, confuse or cause pain... and heaven forbid you've kids with Lego, converting that comatose comfort break into a silent cacophony of cuss and curse as you bounce from door frame to duvet.

Well the photo above was taken earlier this week, as I got behind the wheel of a track car at a local circuit in the North-West of England. But what you probably can't see from the picture is that I'm actually blindfolded, as the chap in the passenger seat (Ralph*) is calmly telling me to ‘floor it!’.

As someone who's used to looking for points of reference when out on track, I'm happy to admit that driving blindfolded made the sleep-time toilet traverse feel like child's play.

Yet again I’d been privileged enough to experience something that helped change the way I see the world, that opened my eyes to a different way of thinking, and that connected me with some amazing people who’d both incredible foresight and vision...

...it's just that, this time, it was actually not being able to see that was the premise and catalyst for one of the most compelling and inspirational charities I've encountered to date.

Serendipitously, this isn’t the first time I’d crossed paths with one of the main founders** of the charity, Mike Newman; so when the invite went out, as part of Auto Trader’s pursuit to give back to the community through volunteering, it was a done deal before I’d even finished reading the first paragraph.

On Tuesday morning I went trackside with several other members of the Auto Trader household to meet up with Mike (and John**) and another family of amazing people who, together, make up the Speed of Sight charity.

For reference, Mike had been my business bank manager a couple of decades ago, whilst at the same time setting land speed records in his spare time. Having changed banks, I'd then bumped into Mike again a couple of years later through Michael Finnigan as he was challenging his record once again.

Fast forward to today and Mike now holds a gaggle of Guinness World Records, predominantly speed based, in everything from cars to trucks, to boats, to bikes, with another record for flying the most loop-de-loops... an impressive enough collection were it not made even more so by the fact that Mike's been blind since birth.

[Picture: The Auto Trader crew with Mike Newman... Left to right: Fiona Fitzgerald, Marc Thornborough, Me, Mike Newman, Neil Grady, Nic Harper, Bex Clark... and Stan the guide dog.]

Speed of Sight (https://www.speedofsight.org/) offers people with a wide range of disabilities, not just those with visual impairments, the chance to get behind the wheel of a car on a variety of circuits around the UK, a number of whom (like Three Sisters Circuit where we were on Tuesday) give up their circuits to the charity for free.

So, does it work?

For anyone who knows my alter-ego over on Twitter, I use the term “Smiles Per Hour” a lot… Tuesday took that metric to a whole new dimension as I met people of all ages, disabilities and backgrounds, and watched as their faces literally lit up, making an already sunny day even brighter.

Amongst the many participants that day I met a future embryonic surgeon in the form of a young man called Harry who’s Mum wore a smile nearly as big as his own as he buzzed the control tower again and again (although I think his Mum's was more a nervous smile that Harry may have found a new calling on track that day); I met a chap who’d driven the length of the country to bring his petrol-head brother who, having recently lost his sight and hearing, wanted to help him regain his confidence and reignite his passion, albeit in a new way; and I met a young lady who, having only just passed her driving test before sadly losing her sight, wanted to regain the feeling of freedom that driving had briefly afforded her.

I’m usually rubbish with names… but I remember everyone I met taking part that day, Harry, Kirsty, Andrew, Kieran, Thomas, to name but a few.

I also remember the names of everyone I met that day helping out, all of whom give up their time on a regular basis to help this extraordinary charity deliver life-changing levels of confidence and freedom to people of all ages and backgrounds who, whilst suffering from a disability, like us, still have the ability to dream.

[Picture: The Speed of Sight family]

Along with the rest of the 'Auto Trader Crew' as we'd been lovingly referred to all day, I left Three Sisters wanting to do more, starting with this post in the hope it helps raise awareness of this truly unique charity.

If you're looking for a way to invest your spare time, if you're looking for somewhere to put your brand... or perhaps you have a car going spare ;-)... this wouldn't be a bad place to look.

In today's busy world it's easy to lose sight of what's important... I also learnt that day that it's easy to lose your sight... Speed of Sight is a great way to ensure that people don't lose their vision nor the ability to realise their dreams.

https://www.speedofsight.org/

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* Ralph is lovingly referred to as 'Wreck-it Ralph' which is definitely not the thing you want to hear as you lurch, blindfolded, from the pit lane and onto the circuit.

** Now the second founder of Speed of Sight, John Galloway, is definitely worthy of more than just a footnote, but it's actually quite fitting as, on the day, whilst Mike can't see, you never see John as he's here there and everywhere, geeing participants up, managing press interviews, marshalling Mike, creating social media content and making sure everyone's at their places and at their best. An incredibly humble and infectiously positive gent who again took the 'Smiles per hour' metric to a new level.

[Picture: John Galloway (centre), co-founder of Speed of Sight, with the Auto Trader crew]