Two years ago Laura and I visited Action Against Hunger’s projects in Liberia. The deprivation in Liberia, like so many other parts of Africa, was stark. Yet it was clear that AAH’s work was appropriately aimed at solving some of the basic problems such as education, child support, water supplies and local food production. We saw hope-inspiring projects across a range of their activities.

Aside from this, I enjoy cycling. So when the idea arose of cycling from the office of AAH in London to their office in Paris, I knew that I should take a lead part. On 14 June, a team of nutters in lycra will set off from Greenwich with the goal of pedalling to Paris in under 24 hours. Most charity events seem to take 3 or 4 days to do this; we cannot spare that sort of time, so we’ll complete the task quickly. We hope!