At the beginning of the summer I had the fortune to find myself sat on a plane next to a lady called Caroline. We got chatting as you do and what started as a rather boring plane trip took a most unexpected path.

Caroline, in a very humble and understated way, explained to me how she had lost her son in Afghanistan whilst he was on active service with the Household Cavalry. Now for most of us the conflict in Afghanistan is a million miles away from our daily lives, a news item that is lost amongst all the other bad news that day. This was the first time I had faced what the news headlines really meant in human terms and the true sacrifice that our armed forces are making in our name. During the course of the flight Caroline explained to me some of the work the Household Cavalry charity has undertaken for her and others, especially wounded soldiers and their families.

As Caroline talked about James I became very thankful for my boys and our nice safe life. I shared with her, her pride at his life and achievements, and felt some small part of the loss that his entire family must have felt. To say it changed my rather cynical jaded helicopter view of the conflict is an understatement.

This is not a discussion on the rights or wrongs of the conflict. This is a very, very small attempt at showing some solidarity with our troops, at applauding the work of the Household Cavalry Charity, and to acknowledge the sacrifice made in the name of a country I am proud to be part of.

So please sponsor me as I stagger round the Godiva Coventry half marathon. No doubt I'll be moaning about the pain and the stiffness afterwards but now I will also be thinking that in some small way that it will all have been worth it.