As my friend Justine says: "Life can give you lemons, and sometimes you get the whole fruit bowl thrown at your head. Unfortunately, this is one of those times for our family. We understand the ripple effect of anyone going through a life threatening illness and adding the words brain tumour and ten year old only makes it worse."

Justine's daughter Abbey has a brain tumour. She is currently undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy. This amazing wee girl, who I have incredibly fond memories of (as a cheeky wee monkey), is in a real ongoing battle. You can follow Abbey's story at https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/abbeybarrett.

I want to do everything I can to support this amazing family that took me under their wing while I was in Tasmania, and treated me as one of their own. They are taking a multitude of approaches to beat this tumour - from diet to chemo, acupuncture to oxygen therapy. In addition, they have had to travel to Melbourne for treatment (it is not possible in Tasmania). Australia doesn't have an NHS like the UK and so the costs of treatment and city accommodation are fast adding up.

Due to the treatments, Abbey has been losing her hair and so shaved her head (after Justine did hers first!). I want to show solidarity with them, and raise money to help them out if I can. For those of you who know me, you will know that I love my curls! But, if I can raise some money to help these guys, then I'm going to shave my head - I'm going to remove my wonderful curls. I'm also going to do it in a Scottish winter. I must be mad. Please sponsor me to shave my head and in doing so, help this wonderful family to keep the fight going.

Money raised from sponsoring my shaved head will be sent straight to the family through their own fundraising site to support the costs of treatment and their living costs whilst in Melbourne. I've set up my own site to raise these funds because I don't want to detract from their own fundraising efforts - it's not about me. If you want to contribute directly to the family, let me know and I can send you the relevant details.