Taking the decision to walk to the North Pole feels like a heroic single step or moment of madness (leaving my home, my family, my comforts) the rest of it is down to training, a less than familiar discipline, gathering support and the skill of others. Heroic can be small, so not in the sense of Spiderman or Captain Scott (huge), but in the small step of deciding. Then it is a whole load more steps (about 300,000 roughly) I just have to put one foot in front of another for three weeks!

Like many folk I examine our heroes and role models. The heroes are rarely those thrust upon us through multichannel media but those who press on in the face of a bad deal in life or those who share their energy and time, often on threadbare resources, to help others. These heroes take time for others, shoulder responsibility and strengthen our social fabric. The charities I am raising money for epitomise these heroes. The people who battle cancer and nuture calm within families dealing with the worst, to those delivering respite care and nursing that makes life possible, to those helping others experience, learn and become part of a diverse community. These are the heroes.

I’ve told everyone now, there is only forward, I am trekking to the North Pole in April 2016 and I am delighted to be raising money for Cancer Research UK, Rennie Grove Hospice Care, Earthworks St Albans and the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust.