On 9th of November, I will be getting into the cage at Radisson Square Garden for a MMA White Collar fight with Rumble on the Rock. This will be my first MMA fight. Scrap that, this will be my first fight. EVER. (Except if you count fights on Tekken, Mortal Kombat or Streetfighter I’ve had hundreds of those.)

My dad, brother and sister all trained into karate and competed many times but I was too busy reading books or writing short stories to bother getting onto the tatami.

But lo and behold, here I am on week three of the training camp slowly getting used at using my hands and feet more than usual - spoiler alert: it ain’t easy! I have always known I had bad hand/foot coordination but this takes it to another level.

So you might be asking why I decided to sign up for a MMA White Collar fight? Well, there are two reasons. I’ve heard many times that you should get out of your “comfort zone” every now and then and I can’t think of a better (crazier?) way of doing just that.

Secondly, I will be raising funds for Jersey Alzheimer’s Association. My maternal grandmother, who will be celebrating her 95th birthday in December, has been living with dementia for many years.

In the past year, her condition has gotten a lot worse and it has come to the point where she was no longer able to live on her own and had to move in with my parents.

She is not able to recognise us anymore and she very rarely talks. My parents struggled to find things she could do as she can’t read or watch TV anymore and to keep her calm as she was very fidgety and always needed something in her hands.

I mentioned that to Sean Pontin, CEO of the Jersey Alzheimer’s Association, who kindly offered a “twiddle muff,” a knitted sleeve with ribbons, pearls and other items sewed to it to keep the hands occupied.

My gran absolutely loves it. It’s the first thing she puts on when she wakes up and she is often found pulling on the different bits and bobs.

Beyond this kind gesture, the work the associations does is amazing. They not only support people with dementia but also their families, friends and carers. They provide an art and music therapy program to people with dementia as well as other, helping people keep active and continue to do the things they love.

There are more and more people diagnosed with dementia every day, and people of all ages are affected.

I hope you will be able to spare a few pounds to help the Jersey Alzheimer’s Association continue the work they do.