The context: my mum has myeloma (blood cancer) and had a bone marrow transplant on Wednesday (22nd January). She'll be in hospital (UCLH) for the next 3-4 weeks. During that time, she'll be very vulnerable to illness/infection as the treatment wipes out her immune system.

As much as I love my beard, they carry all sorts of bacteria, so I've made the decision to shave it off in order to reduce the risk of passing something on. It occurred to me that I could use this as an opportunity to raise some money for a good cause.

All donations of any size are welcome, but with the added incentive that the person with the single largest donation gets to use the clippers.

The shaving will take place after school on Tuesday 28th January, in my Maths classroom.