It’s Remembrance Sunday today and the eleventh hour of the eleventh month on Tuesday, so I hope you’ll take a moment to remember the servicemen and women who have died and suffered in war. Like most hippy-types I don’t technically agree with war and would hide my son in the attic or cellar rather than let him get conscripted into one, but I can still appreciate the massive sacrifices that have made on all our behalf, particularly in WW2. So please, at eleven o’ clock, remember the fallen and those who’ve been affected by the kind of sights and experiences most of us will never encounter.

With Christmas literally around the corner, you may also want to remember others who aren’t as fortunate. Personally, I absolutely hate the idea of a child waking up on Christmas Day with no presents to open, so think Operation Christmas Child is a fabulous idea. Basically, all you need do is find a shoe box, wrap it in Christmas paper and fill it with small gifts for a child – then hand it in to your nearest collection point.

Last year my son and I filled a box for a boy, so this year we’ve done one for a girl. Not got much money? It doesn’t have to be fancy: we went to a bargain basement-style store and managed to get her all sorts of lovely things, including a lovely plush teddy bear for a £1. It cost about £7.50 in total. Visit the website for Operation Christmas child here and find your nearest collection point for your box here for more details on where the boxes go and gift ideas and guidelines on what to put in your box – but hurry, they stop collecting on Nov 17th because they need time to get the boxes to the children.

Lastly, it’s easy to forget the obvious stuff at this time of year, so remember to pay your bills – with money and not with drawings of spiders.