Just over a year ago, I learnt of a film charity called MediCinema, a charity that builds and manages cinemas in hospitals for children and for wounded soldiers. This service allows patients to escape with their families for a couple of hours and do something normal in an otherwise alien environment. I volunteered to help to bring the children from their wards to the cinema and saw the lift it gave them whilst we watched the film together. I met with the acting CEO afterwards and he explained how difficult it is to get funding and his worry that some of the cinemas would have to be removed. That didn’t sit at all well with me and, in a moment of heightened enthusiasm, I decided I had to do something.

I am no athlete, (running down the stairs is quite enough physical exertion for me), so I thought I would have to do something more relevant to the charity. I am the Global Head of Film and Media at the Evening Standard and The Independent and so my head is constantly in a film space... whilst at work one day it hit me: I watch a lot of films already, so why don't I try and watch a film every day for a year, documenting my journey while spreading the word about MediCinema? Easy I thought, but little did I know how wrong I was!

I decided that going to the cinema every day I physically could would have more impact, so that was the goal. If I’d watched all the films available at the cinema, or there were extenuating circumstances, I would allow myself to watch a film at home doing retro film nights, new DVD releases, Netflix and Sky Cinema releases. I asked for forfeits from the film community in case I gave up - they were extreme, including getting a tattoo from somebody that had never tattooed before and sleeping in a zombie camping environment - that really was all of the motivation I needed to keep it up and so it began.

My challenge is now officially complete and you can see my adventures in a year of film on instagram @afilmaday (which was also copied on to Twitter and Facebook using the same @ address). I will keep these pages going so that if anyone has questions or wants to read more, they can contact me there.

Overall I have eaten 174 buckets of popcorn, I have spent 447.5 hours in the cinema (that’s 26,850 minutes). I have spent 201.5 hours travelling to and from the cinema, so in total 40.5 full 16 hour days going to the cinema and watching films. The challenge in total will have seen me watching around 730 hours (43,800 minutes) of film. There will not be a sequel year!

I didn't think anyone would particularly appreciate me trying to fundraise for a whole year, but we had a final ticketed event at Backyard Cinema on the 7th August to raise funds for Medicinema and since people have expressed their wish to support my efforts... so here it is. If you would like to donate, you can do so here.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.