I've decided to run my first ever marathon, the 2017 Brighton Marathon on Sunday 9th April, in loving memory of my best friend Bertie Mann.

Bert was a ray of sunshine and a force to be reckoned with. Kind, caring, intelligent, adventurous, and without a doubt the funniest person I've ever known. She was taken from this world far too soon.

Since the nature of Bertie's death was far from simple and completely undefinable, I've struggled to find a charity which truly fits Bertie's illness and which best represents what she went through in the last 4 years of her life. I've decided instead to focus on one of her greatest talents and that which gave her so much joy and inspiration. Her love of performing. And thus BERTIE'S FUND.

'It’s 10 years this year since Bertie graduated from Guildford School of Acting. Her drama school pals, shaken and distressed by the news that we’ve lost one of the gang, have decided that something must be done for her, in her name – something that matters, something fitting, something she’d approve of. With her selflessness and immense ability in mind, we have created BERTIE’S FUND – a pot of cash that will gradually become an annual bursary to be awarded to a student at GSA who shows glimmers of Bertie’s remarkable talent in the arts. It will be a chance for us to keep Bertie’s memory alive and an opportunity for her to give something back to the future of the craft she loved. We hope you share our sentiment, and thanks to Bertie’s loved ones, we would like to invite you to donate to the fund, to ensure that this fitting tribute to an incredibly special person lives on, in her absence.'

Bertie loved helping others and was the giver of the best advice, and she would love the idea that something like this is happening in her name.

All the money I raise here will go straight into BERTIE'S FUND and help the next generation of actors to continue on in her honour.

I thank you in advance for your generous contributions!

Graeme