TERRY FERBRACHE has been lucky enough to make a living from his two great loves – music and sport. While his younger days were spent entertaining, he has been involved in sports retail for more than 20 years.

‘My job is my hobby. It makes it quite easy when you get up in the morning and you want to go into work. It’s a bonus,’ he said.

As a youngster, Mr Ferbrache threw himself into learning the drums, partly to avoid school.

He took lessons in a studio, which coincidentally was next to the shop in the Commercial Arcade that he now owns.

‘I went to St Sampson’s and was really unhappy there. I didn’t like it at all,’ he said.

‘I was quite musical but there was no Schools’ Music Service so it was quite difficult to progress.’

Such was his love of music that he joined the Marines Band Service and finished his education there. While he was a keen drummer, when he auditioned he discovered it had something else in mind for him.

‘They didn’t want me as a drummer so I ended up playing clarinet, violin and saxophone.’

His multiple talents landed him a place in the Royal Yacht Band aboard Britannia for five years.

‘I’m not a particularly brilliant musician, but I was in the right place at the right time. I think I was picked because I played a combination of instruments. I visited Guernsey twice while I was on board the Britannia.’

One memorable occasion on board saw Mr Ferbrache called to play a violin solo in rough weather for Lord Louis Mountbatten.

‘The musician who was meant to play the violin solo was suffering from seasickness due to the rough conditions. We thought the concert would be cancelled but Mountbatten decided he wanted it to go ahead. What they hadn’t told me was that I was going to play the solo, which caused a bit of panic.’

Mr Ferbrache was confident he would manage despite having to play at the top of a staircase in the royal dining room while the orchestra was at the bottom.

‘They didn’t tell me the bulkhead was quite low so when I lifted my bow to play, it struck the ceiling. All the lads were having a great laugh, the director of music was watching me and I could hear laughter from the orchestra.’

The rough weather wasn’t helping either and Mr Ferbrache spent the concert playing violin in a comical half-squatting position to avoid poking his bow through the ceiling and being buffeted from one side to the other by the motion of the boat.

When the performance eventually ended, Mr Ferbrache was invited, as the soloist, to have a glass of port with the Queen’s cousin.

‘Lord Mountbatten commented that the music wasn’t too crisp but the entertainment was great value.’

When he left the Marines Band Service, Mr Ferbrache managed to keep earning a living through music – albeit in a completely different arena.

‘I played sax with Marty Wilde for a while – he was in Portsmouth doing panto while I was there and his resident sax player was taken ill.

‘Because I was a registered musician, I was asked if I would be able to take his place.’

Going from a military band to playing for a rock ‘n’ roll star was quite a contrast.

‘There was military discipline on the Britannia and you had to watch what you did and said. The music was very varied: you had to be able to play marching band, jazz dance, orchestral – it made it very exciting.

‘It was bizarre to go from one extreme to the other, a total change. Marty was a really nice guy.’

When his stint playing with Wilde ended, Mr Ferbrache returned to Guernsey and turned to his other hobby, sport.

‘While I was in the Marines I played a lot of sport and the next best thing to being a professional sportsman was working in sport.’

He secured a job with Sarnian Sports in the States Arcade but before long the chance came up to work at Fletcher Sports, which was at that time run by the Fletcher family and owned by Dave Fletcher.

‘Dave always said he would retire when he was 60 and it was a progression to running my own shop. It’s like that quote: ﾓI liked the business so much I bought it.ﾔ

‘I had put a lot of time and effort into the business and Trudy and I were delighted to have the chance to purchase it. Dave was very good and helped with the purchase of the business and was happy with the outcome.’

The shop is still very much a local family concern and Mr Ferbrache’s Swiss-born wife, Trudy, is very involved.

‘I just really enjoy it. I’m really, really lucky. You are dealing in the main with good sports and sportspeople.

‘We are pretty well where we want to be.’

While he has little time for playing sport, he is still a keen spectator, especially of the FletcherSports FA cup.

‘It’s a really successful tournament and it’s been great to be able to put something back into local sport. I’ve also got a soft spot for athletics.’