We are so thrilled to have heard from Felicity Kendal that she is going to be our star reader at Royal Brompton’s Carol Concert – I know it is strange to talk about Christmas at the height of summer but to have Felicity is such an excitement that I cannot resist including it in my August blog. And not just that, we also have Huw Collins, who stars in Pretty Little Liars, as a reader. Huw’s father is one of the top consultants at Royal Brompton so we had a very special way in to contact him. You will hear and read plenty more about these very special guests in the coming months.

It is still summer, though as I write there’s the most enormous London thunderstorm! But the rain will go away and sunshine will return, especially for our 37^th Harefield Fun Run. Started by an eager team nearly four decades ago and with Comedian Eric Morecambe and the amazing Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub, it is fantastic that this very special event continues every year, raising a huge amount of money for Harefield Hospital. This year, if it is like previous years, which I am sure it will be, the funds raised will almost certainly save two lives by funding two Organ Care Systems – state-of-the-art equipment used to transplant donated hearts to give patients the very best chance of living. And the proof is there to be seen, several of our hundreds of runners and walkers who take part in the Fun Run have had transplants, thanks to donations from people like you and even more thanks to the world class transplant team at Harefield. 

I am afraid I am a complete coward – I cannot do a skydive, though I am sponsoring other people to do this…. But for those of you who are brave and who want to support our hospitals, please sign up. I gather (with my feet firmly on the ground) that it is an extraordinary experience and I don’t doubt it – even one of our most redoubtable fundraisers and my great friend Rhonda Davis did a skydive recently and she is well into her 70s, having also had several operations at our hospitals. I am in awe of you Rhonda and all of you who do this wonderful thing for our hospitals. Well done. Have you signed up yet? To find out more go to rbhcharity.org/event/skydive-2018