Hello you! All of you! Especially you!

If you know anything about me, you know I love Jack Daniel's. And Jim Beam. And gin. And vodka. And wine. And all the many other types of lovely booze. This January, I’m taking on Dryathlon® and raising money for Cancer Research UK. I haven't had a drink since New Year's Eve, and won't have any for the whole month.

In 2012, we lost our wonderful, silly, brilliant sister Julia to cancer. She introduced me to The B52's, Alien, The Young Ones, John Waters, trashy TV movies, The Blues Brothers, and so much more. All of my memories of her involve us laughing like lunatics, she was so funny. I'd give anything to have even one more minute with her. I know what cancer does to people, to their loved ones, and I want it to stop. Maybe one day we can consign it to the dustbin of history, so nobody else has to go through that.

But until then, there is the ongoing research, which needs money to keep it going. Lots of other people are doing similar things, so hopefully one day it will all add up to enough to beat this awful disease. Life is so terribly short - it shouldn't be any shorter.

So deprive me of JD for the month, for a good cause, - or just to torture me for a laugh...

If you're in a hurry and would rather donate by text message, you can text NOJD97 £1 to 70070 - that will appear on the page here, and you can change the donation amount if you like.

Thank you so much to everyone who donates, you're all lovely and amazing!