The remarkable legacy of Toti
ROBIN ROBERTS SWAPS SAN FRANCISCO’S STREETS FOR BRITAIN’S B-ROADS, BUT FINDS THE LATEST MUSTANG’S MIGHTY GRUNT JUST AS THRILLING AS EVER
Thomas “Toti” Worboys was a “kind-hearted” boy with an “infectious laugh” who died at 11 years old after a shock leukaemia diagnosis.
Within a day of realising Toti had the devastating condition in July 2014, he was gone.
But his legacy has been remarkable – with the family from Dodington having raised around £268,000 for the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group in his honour.
And still each year up to 60 people gather to run the Bath Half Marathon in memory of the boy who “absolutely loved sport”.
Born into a family of four children (now five), his siblings nicknamed Thomas “Toti” and it stuck.
Toti’s dad Nick Worboys has shared some of the reasons his son was “extra special”.
He said: “All children are special, however, right from his birth Toti was extra special. He arrived into the world a lot faster than his elder brother. So quick, that Amelia was caught off guard and didn’t have time to get to the hospital; so we delivered him on our own at home.
“He was an angelic, cute, healthy and happy little boy.
“At the age of two when he broke his leg, we didn’t suspect that there was anything wrong with his bones. However, as he grew up, he started to fracture more bones.
“Eventually he was diagnosed as having a rare genetic disease called Ollier’s, which caused cartilage lumps and weaknesses within his bones.
“It was not a life-threatening condition and leukaemia was never on the radar.
“Ollier’s stopped him from contact sports and games but other than that he led a very normal life.
“Toti was mad keen on sport, desperate for success. He never took no for an answer. He was determined to play tag rugby, cricket, hockey and athletics,” Nick continued.
“Watching rugby was our greatest pleasure. Our most special times have been supporting the mighty Bath Rugby. In April 2014 his brother was away, so Toti and I went to see the match on our own.
“I have one of my fondest memories of him from this match. He decided he wanted to sit on my lap and we talked about the programme, the players, the game and tactics.
“Best of all we cuddled for the whole of the match. At the time I knew it was one of those special moments that will stay with me forever.
“Toti was blessed with a most infectious sense of humour. He could make us all laugh even at the most inappropriate moments.
“Trying to discipline our children required impossible levels of selfcontrol, as soon as I put on my serious voice, he would automatically burst out into uncontrollable laughter. Resistance was futile so we’d all be crying with laughter. He was full of joy; delivered with a beautiful smile.”
But then in July 2014 a minor operation swiftly ended in tragedy.
Nick said: “Ironically we were completely relaxed about the operation, as this was the last one on the list and we could look forward to a period of normal family life.
“Toti came home and was slow to recover. Late afternoon on July 14, he took a turn for the worse. The paramedics took him to hospital with what we thought was a minor infection.
“Events escalated quickly. We had no idea that he had acute leukaemia which triggered a terrible bleed in his brain. It all happened so quickly.
“While he was still with us we told him how much we loved him and that we couldn’t be any more proud of him.
“Amelia and I brought him into this world on our own, and so to complete the circle just the two of us laid with him as he drifted off to sleep in the early hours of July 15.”
Nick is very candid and direct when talking about his son. He said although losing a child “rips a hole in you” he was determined the family would not dwell in the darkness.
He said: “It could just eat away at you and see the life sucked out of you. The whole experience was brutal – there’s no justice or logic to it. It’s truly traumatic and it’s hard to lose so many friends and family as they just couldn’t cope with it.
“It just broke us but these things are sent to test us. And my goodness we have been tested, and we have come out and honoured his memory in the best way we can.
“Right from the moment we lost him and even during the process I was very clear on how we were going to approach all this,” Nick emphasised. “Dreadful things happen in life and it’s how you are going to deal with it that matters.
“Are you going to sink or swim? And right from the first moment I was clear we were going to make the right decision. We weren’t going to feel sorry for ourselves.
“Our approach is to bath everything in positivity and honour his memory in a good way which is why we immediately set onto the fundraising.”
Now in their sixth year, the family has raised an impressive £268,000 for the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group through a number of events including running the Bath Half each year and holding golf days. These are particularly fitting choices to remember Toti.
“He couldn’t do contact sports but he absolutely loved sport and the things that he could do well were running and training hard to get much better at golf,” Nick said.
Fundraising has been a truly rewarding experience for the family.
Nick explained: “Along the way we have met some really wonderful human beings who are touched by our story and do amazing things for us. One of our runners has raised over £8,000 for us.
“We have another friend whose son had run with Toti.
“He didn’t know that he had died and when we told him the story he said, ‘I will organise a charity golf day for you.’ And true to his word he did.”
Toti will never be forgotten, but his family are set on celebrating the “sports mad” boy in positive ways.
For his brother George Worboys, now 18 and playing for Bath Rugby, this means forming a little T every time he scores a point in memory of Thomas.
There was a “late addition to the team” as Nick puts it, with threeyear-old Hugh Thomas forever memorialising his late brother Thomas Hugh.
You can donate through the team’s Bath Half Virgin Giving page. Or you can donate directly to the Toti Worboys Fund.
Right from the first moment I was clear we were going to make the right decision. We weren’t going to feel sorry for ourselves. Our approach is to bath everything in positivity and honour his memory in a good way which is why we immediately set onto the fundraising.
FORD MUSTANG GT FASTBACK 5.0 Price: £46,560
AT first you may not see a similarity between San Francisco and much of the UK but I’ve found a connection: they are both good places to drive the Ford Mustang GT.
With its burbling 5.0 V8 underfoot, any journey takes on a new aural significance in towns with steep slopes horizontally split by connecting roads which really test the suspension and the torque under the hood, sorry bonnet.
The Mustang is available as Fastback coupe or convertible, both with four seats and 290ps, 317ps and 440ps 2.3 4cyl engine and 416ps or 450ps 5.0 V8 petrol engines, with six-speed manual or automatic transmission and a mighty 10-speed automatic on top versions. There are four custom packs to up-spec the model but all are rear-wheeldrive only.
Our car was fitted with the £1,600 optional fluid suspension, so there was no bottoming of the chassis but it still put me in mind of scenes from of the classic 1968 film Bullitt starring Steve Mcqueen when negotiating the steepest hills we could find in a local town. Except there were no baddies chasing us. So, the suspension passed its test, but what about the rest of the car?
A big thumbs up. There is every reason to go for the 5.0 V8 over its 2.3 four cylinder siblings, so powerful, responsive and flexible is this classic American V8.
It can be driven grandma gently or more vigorously as it responds to every input with impressive sharpness. Couple this with comfort levels lacking in most UK or European-made sports cars and you have a winning combination.
That big engine packs grunt of 529Nm at 4,600rpm so it can be eased along or, making use of the six manual gears, it zips to 60mph in under 4.5 seconds and is positively ambling at the UK legal maximum on motorways.
Gear changes are direct and quick with a good progressive clutch action, a short throttle stretch and if you need them very good brakes. The handbrake is a bit of a stretch and that was weak on the test car as well, not ideal on the slopes we were using.
The Mustang GT’S steering was nicely balanced between feedback and action, with a good turning circle, no kickback and, for its size, it felt smaller and more agile than you might expect.
With so much power to the rear, the car felt a bit tail-happy but it was all beautifully balanced and you could exploit and enjoy it in safety with only a slight tendency to run wide on tighter turns quickly taken. And there was that quad-pipe exhaust note.
The secondary controls were the usual stalks and buttons grouped around the wheel spokes and the driver could also select various modes for the responses of engine and suspension from a console display which went from comfort to competition in character, although the latter is best kept for circuits or drag strips. Driven more sensibly, the suspension could be soft or hard with the fluid system option working well.
Instruments were big and clear with well-marked dials and distracting reflections carefully designed out.
A wide range of settings for the heating and ventilation also make the interior a nice place to be.
For the driver and front seat passenger the seats are large and comfortable with a multitude of adjustments to tailor them to your preferences. This really is a car you could use to drive across America, or up and down the UK, for that matter.
In the back, access necessitated a bit of bending but, once there, the seats were also well padded and comfortable, even if the headroom was more restricted.
I liked the boot space but, while the capacity is generous the opening wasn’t huge, which could make large objects hard to stow.
With any coupe, visibility can be an issue as the roofline sweeps to the tail and the Mustang was no exception. You’ll need to make use of the parking aids but to the sides and front there were good sightlines. Wash and wipers were excellent and quickly cleared large areas of glass, while at night the bright headlights were welcome.
The Mustang GT really felt a different sort of sports coupe to the mass of high tech models from the UK and Europe.
This classic American sports car will appeal to those who want a satisfying driver’s car that is good at a lot of things without ever being too clever for its own good.
It can be driven grandma gently or more vigorously as it responds to every input with impressive sharpness. Couple this with comfort levels lacking in most UK or European-made sports cars and you have a winning combination