carmela Chillery-watson mbe
and her
motoring adventures
Over the past few years I have got to know an amazing young lady called Carmela who is now aged 11 and has a life limiting condition of Muscular Dystrophy. This means she has limited movement and uses a wheelchair for getting around but can walk for short periods of time.
Carmela is an amazing child and wants to live life to the full and a few years ago we took her out in my 'Harry Potter' Blue Anglia for a ride to the real Diagonally which as many will know is Gandy Street in Exeter. We even gave her a Police escort with my Panda Car for this trip which ended up at The Museum Of Country Life.
This time when Carmela came down to visit, she asked if she could have a ride in my 'Anne Hall' Rally Car as she likes speed. I was more than happy to do this and just had to think how we could do this safely for her.
The first thing I needed was a competent driver with rallying experience and someone that had the same attitude as Carmela for life which was Tony Creed. We also needed Tony's wife Lesley to drive the service Barge with anything Carmela might need in it including her Mum and Assistance Dog Tinker. Tony and Lesley were very happy to do this so things were starting to take shape.
Tony then had to work out a route that didn't have too many pot holes in it which was probably the hardest thing to do with the state our roads are in. We needed the roads to be fairly smooth as Carmela's condition means she has very weak muscles and difficulty In supporting her head when cornering.
I then started to think of other things we could do on our rallying adventure so I called into Berrybrook Garage in Exminster and had a chat with Sean Anthony and his son Matt. My idea was if they might have a small steam engine for her to have a look at and maybe a ride on if possible. Sean and Matt were very keen to help and booked in a half scale engine with two seats that would be perfect for her to ride on.
I was on a role now and thought it would be great for Carmela to have lots of experiences of transport that we take for granted. With this in mind I asked Chris Bowden if it would be possible for him to drive Carmela for a short while in his 1947 Standard. As you can imagine, Chris was more than happy to do this.
Just a few more things to do before the big day and John Reed from KMJ Restorations picked up the Rally car and gave it a check over to make sure everything was In working order. The car had recently been MOTd so everything was fine.
The big day for Carmela had arrived and after a rest at our house she was ready for the off. We got her sat in the rally car and with an extra cushion and some adjusting of the rally harness, she was very comfortable. Carmala had brought her own neck brace so she felt really secure.
We drove off out of our village towards Clapham and then up over Haldon which Carmela loved and as we were happy that she was comfortable, we drove a bit faster and Carmela shreaked with excitement as we went over a hump in the road. She was loving it. We drove through the Teign Valley and Carmela was loving the cornering and sound of the engine, plus the occasional use of the air horns. Carmela even managed to video herself at times with her phone.
We arrived at Berrybrook and there in the yard was a beautiful half scale steam engine ready for Carmela to explore. After seeing how it all worked and where the coal went in, we lifted her onto the seat and she was gently driven around their large yard with the whistle blowing and making lots of steam. She was loving it.
Sean Anthony then said they had a few more surprises for her and said would she like a ride in a brand new Morgan Three Wheeler? As you can imagine, she was very keen so I lifted her in and Sean zoomed out of the y ard and along the Exminster bypass. On her return she was buzzing with excitement and thanking everyone in sight. It didn't stop there though as Sean then said would she like a ride on a bigger Morgan with a Mustang engine that was on the front forecourt. Once again I lifted Carmela in the car and some trade plates were fitted and she was off to the roar of the big V6 engine.
After thanking everyone at Berybrook Garage for their kindness we then got into Chris Bowdens Standard for a lovely gentle ride to The Swans Nest Pub for lunch and then another blast in the rally car back to our house.
What an amazing day it was and I would like to thank everyone so much for making this happen for this young lady. Carmela's Mum was quite overwhelmed with it all. We have a lot of very kind people in this club which makes it very special.
Since we did this amazing adventure with Carmela, she has become the youngest person to have been awarded an MBE at age eleven. We in The Devon Vintage Car Club are very proud of her amazing achievement and I am sure we will be doing many more adventures with her very soon and we hope you enjoy seeing some of the photos of the fun Carmela has had with us.
Auboné Braddon.
