Hello Lovely Friends & Family! How are you? Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. We want to do something crazy to raise money for children in need so we are counting on you being amused by seeing us go bald - lose the locks - have a buzz cut!

YES! We are going to do a sponsored head shave for Save the Children. We worked out that even if only our Facebook friends donate just €1 each we will be able to raise half our target! This would equate to being able to vaccinate nearly a thousand babies!

And it’s not just about us asking for your money…we have decided that it’s not enough for me to look ridiculous until my hair grows back to an acceptable length…NO! We are going to match the highest single donor up to the sum of €250! So please be generous…

Now some of you may be asking what on earth we are doing all this for…Well our work around the world has often brought us into contact with those less fortunate than us. This is why when we got married 7 years ago we chose Save the Children as the recipient of a big donation from the proceeds of our wedding gifts. We understand that it was hard for some people to agree to give money because they felt it wasn't personal but we feel there is nothing MORE personal than sharing your good fortune and happiness with those in need so that they too can benefit.

So in the spirit of our 7 years of joyful marriage I decided to do a sponsored head shave to raise money for Save the Children. It reflects my belief that, despite the economic crisis and the tightening of belts, we are all exceptionally lucky in our lives. In recognition of this I wanted to do something that would not only raise funds for those who can't consider themselves so lucky but also something that would get people talking ;-) OK so it would perhaps be more conventional to run a race or do some other physical feat but I have a few problems with that. Firstly I am not very conventional and secondly the pain from my fibromyalgia will not allow me to do it. As such I put my thinking cap on and decided that a head shave was the solution. Gabriele, my amazing husband, has supported my decision (despite telling me initially that he would pay me NOT to shave my head!!) and has decided to join me in having his head shaved too!

Admittedly I have met some stiff opposition to this decision (strangely mostly from my family)...and protests have included:

1) What if your hair grows back straight?!

2) What if the shock turns you grey?!

3) What if people think you are sick or have cancer?

Frankly the simple answer to these questions is – SO WHAT!? All these concerns pale in comparison to the suffering that really exists in this world. For example did you know that……?

1) Every year, more than 8 million children die before their 5th birthday around the world

2) Pregnancy is the biggest killer of teenage girls worldwide with 1 million teenage girls dying or suffering serious injury, infection or disease every year due to pregnancy or childbirth

3) By 2013 a whopping 6 million more people could face hunger as a result of the global economic crisis

Besides these 3 excellent reasons above, there are of course many, many more reasons why my hair - OR LACK OF IT - is of no importance….BUT your support is! So please, please dip into your bank account, wallet, piggy bank, credit card and find a few euros, a few pounds, a few dollars…to help out children in need. Sadly Gabriele and I have not been able to have our own children but we would love to help those who cannot help themselves…so please give us some of your hard earned cash for us to make a bit of a fool of ourselves in this hair-raising (or should that be hair-erasing!?) event.

Help us to reach our target of €2,000 (£1,500) and make a difference to the lives of many children. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your support! I appreciate it more than you can ever know.

Please Note: Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity. So please dig deep and donate now. Thanks!