A few years ago my good friend Mike Martin, invited myself and my wife to a ball he was attending in Edinburgh, the aim of which was to raise money for something called Cystic Fibrosis? I had of course heard about it, but really knew nothing about the disease and why should I, it had never impacted my family and, as they say, "out of sight, is out of mind!"

That charity was called The 65 Roses and now I’m now hooked on helping this magnificent cause and those that suffer from Cystic Fibrosis, so once again I set off to raise some money. Yes I know it’s at a time when the world is in economic crisis and everyone is watching the pennies, but if I didn’t ask – I wouldn’t get.
 
Bright Purple clients and friends of our company are the best, so supportive of our exploits to help others less fortunate than ours. So why do we at Bright Purple support Cystic Fibrosis? Well to start with THERE IS NO CURE for Cystic Fibrosis (CF) - Shocked? Because I was!

CF is the UK’s most common life-threatening inherited disease and basically causes the body to produce thick secretions that particularly affect the lungs and digestive tract. Without constant daily treatment, which in itself can be an awful experience for the sufferer, your lungs can drown with the fluid build-up. 8000 people suffer from CF in the UK, it might not sound a lot, but its 8000 too many in our opinion.

Over 2 million people in the UK carry the faulty gene that causes CF – that’s around 1 in 25 of our population! Each week, 5 babies are born with CF and each week, 3 young lives are lost to CF. Around only half of the Cystic Fibrosis population can expect to live to over 35 years, although improvements in treatments mean a baby born today could expect to live even longer.

Therefore, on September 13th 2009, I abseiled 165 feet off one of Scotland's most famous structures - the Forth Rail Bridge. Did you know it is Scotland’s biggest listed building - I didn’t? They began building it in 1883 and finished it in 1890, an architectural masterpiece that maybe those of us living in and around Edinburgh and Fife take for granted these days.
 
So did I look forward to stepping over the edge in to the abyss – aye right! "Not at all", is the serious answer and if I am being honest, the thought of just a wee rope and a helmet being my only safety mechanism (not even a safety net to catch me) didn’t fill me with glee. But hey it was all for a fantastic cause which you have read all about above, so nothing was going to stop me! I had support from friends and family, but just as importantly from people like June Ross, a regional fund raising manager for Cystic Fibrosis who works tirelessly for the charity - these people are the real hero's, who have to fight every day to raise another pound.