On July the 11th I have a big birthday and what better way to mark it than to do a charity ride up the Alp d'Huez in memory of Stuart Lorne.

Stuart was my boss for about 10 years both at Polypipe and Style Products and then my good friend after we went our separate ways.

This will be my 19th time of climbing this iconic mountain and Stuart always used to joke that I will get legs like Fatima Whitbread!

We had so much fun working together and he was cruelly taken from this world way too early in February of this year and I do miss him.

I have chosen The Christie Hospital as Stuart Jnr tells me he was well looked after by the nurses and doctors there and I would like to say thank you in a small way.

So instead of lavishing wonderous Birthday gifts upon me, please take the time to visit my JustGiving page and donate instead!

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.