Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page, which more than likely means you are about to donate to another deserving charity, so I thought I'd take a few minutes to tell you why this year I've chosen to raise money for the MS Society.

Everyone knows just how debilitating a disease Multiple Sclerosis is, and most of us will have been touched at some stage through someone they know suffering from it, but when you see at first hand the impact it has on the lives of those afflicted, it strengthens the resolve to try and help do something to combat it.

For me, my oldest friend and Godfather to my eldest daughter, someone who had more energy in his youth than anyone I've ever known but who was crippled by the age of 40, was cruelly taken from us a couple of years back, having spent 20 years battling with the devastating effects MS had on his life.

From someone who I went from playing squash and badminton with, to pushing him in a wheelchair, from someone who always had an opinion to offer (on anything..!!), to someone who could barely articulate, the impact MS had on my friend Ian's life, and of those around him, was truly shattering.

So, in an effort to help improve the lives of those unfortunate enough to be blighted by this dreadful disease, but who will doubtless deal with the symptoms in the relentlessly positive manner we always saw with Ian, I am asking you to be as generous as you can in contributing to this important and incredibly worthwhile charity.

Please give what you can to help, and thanks.