Ever the master of understatement, when I had a message from Pricey early this year that he and Mealie had "had a bit of a time of it recently", I knew it would be something serious. Turns out it was just about as serious as it gets - their new-born daughter Isabel spent much of December in intensive care and sadly passed away at the start the year. 

Some weeks later, sat in a boozer with the Big Lad, watching rugby, both the right side of a scotch egg, cheeseburger, cheesecake and some pints, he mentioned the challenge he's taking on to raise money for Barts, who fought so hard for Isabel. I thought that if Pricey - one of the few people I know who is probably less physically capable of cycling from London to Paris than me - was doing this, then there's no excuse for me not to join in. 

So here's the thing. When I'm breaking up fights between my two boys, getting annoyed with them for something or other, I'm guilty of forgetting just how lucky I am to have them both there, wrestling on the floor over a piece of Lego. This is for those who haven't been so lucky and in the hope that fewer people will have to go through what Pricey and Mealie have done.

Please give generously.