The following charities are important to me and very close to my heart:

British Thyroid Foundation

The British Thyroid Foundation for whom I am a patron. I have hypothyroidism which is essentially an under active thyroid gland. My symptoms include tiredness, memory loss and weight gain and I take 125mg of thyroxine per day for life. People write to me with similar conditions and ask me for any tips I may share on how I live with it. Here you go: As much as possible, I eliminate wheat and dairy from my diet and it helps to stabilise my weight (although my sugar intake has increased, I’m a sweet fiend). I choose to monitor my weight but am lucky that as quickly as it can go on, it drops off fast too. I eat Soya and rye based products and my main carbohydrates come from vegetables. I avoid noodles, rice, pasta, potatoes and bread made from wheat. Makes me feel better.

Exercise is a wonderful tonic for me although I’m not a huge fan of the gym. It invigorates me and gets my blood pumping and if I’ve been feeling sluggish, is an instant fix. Three times a week I do 20 mins on a jogging machine and then chatting and weights and a little more wasting time! I saw a personal trainer who made a huge difference to the way I felt, expensive but worth it. I preferred to train with him three times a week vs. my couple of nights out a week. Similar costs.

I’m a huge fan of NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) and hold the belief that I’m extremely lucky. Compared to others my illness is small fry and my positive attitude helps me.

My memory loss sometimes bugs me but those nearest and dearest to me understand and when it gets people cross, I laugh and I love to laugh at them!

Shelter

Shelter's vision is that everyone should have a home - somewhere decent, safe, affordable and permanent. Yet one in seven children in Britain are growing up in bad housing, and thousands of homeless households are stuck in temporary accommodation. Shelter helps more than 170,000 people a year fight for their rights, get back on their feet, and find and keep a home.

Make a Wish

Since 1980, the Make-A-Wish Foundation® has enriched the lives of children with life-threatening medical conditions through its wish-granting work. The Foundation's mission reflects the life changing impact that a Make-A-Wish® experience has on children, families, referral sources, donors, sponsors and entire communities. The Make-A-Wish Foundation was founded in 1980 after a little boy named Chris Greicius realized his heartfelt wish to become a police officer. Since its humble beginnings, the organization has blossomed into a worldwide phenomenon, reaching more than 144,000 children around the world.

Cross Cultural Solutions (CCS)

In February 2006 I worked for a month in an orphanage in Ayacucho, Peru. It was a life changing experience for me. The children were beautiful and taught me so much and in turn I was able to give my time and love to them. CCS is an international volunteer program that involves working side by side with local people and sharing in the goals of the community.