Tonight I received the sad news that Alan, a friend of the family, had passed away. He had been in hospital since early December and after about three months they discovered he had gangrene in his legs and was moved to a hospice since he had little time left.

He was a lovely man who loved watching BBC News, cricket, football, playing poker and having a bit of a moan. My brother lived with him for many years and ended up becoming his carer and I know it will hit him a lot harder as he came to look upon him as a sort of second father.

I told my dad about the news and instead of saying something comforting or appropriate he started talking about himself and his own experiences with the hospital – like we don’t get enough of these stories anyway!

I was going to go and watch Custom House play a informal friendly in Dagenham this evening, but my legs were feeling rather sore from the race I did on Sunday and the training session we did yesterday, so I decided not to risk aggravating things any further.

I stayed in and created a fundraising page for my running challenge instead. I’m going to be doing a 10k every month for the next 12 months to help raise money for a children’s hospice called Richard House. They are a wonderful charity who provide care and support for terminally ill children and their families in London. You’ll find a link to donate at the bottom of the post.

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