The British Heart Foundation fund around £100 million pounds of research each year into all heart and circulatory diseases and the things that cause them. Heart Diseases.Stroke. Vascular Dementia. Diabetes. They are all connected, and they are all under our microscope. Heart attacks that strike without warning, strokes that shatter futures, newborn babies born with broken hearts. These are just some of the cruelties of cardiovascular disease. And the brutal reality is, there is so much more for science to discover before we can beat the world’s biggest killers.

That’s why the British Heart Foundation exists. Funding research is how we change the game. And we all have a role to play. The tools we have at our disposal today – from heart transplants and pacemakers to stents and portable defibrillators – are all down to research. Research made possible by people like you

I took up golf in 2014 and learnt to play by attending group lessons given by golf professional Iain Fulton. My first venture with the Ladies section was to play in their “nine & dine” competition. Although I didn’t know many of the section, I was made very welcome by Wendy Stewart, Lady Captain at the time, who introduced me to the other ladies and I was soon playing a lot of golf. I feel honoured to be asked to be Lady Captain and am looking forward to continuing this role into 2023.

Since taking up golf it has become a great part of my life and has given me great pleasure (and frustration!) and made me many new friends. I continue to have regular lessons and take part in the twice weekly club competitions. I have been keen to encourage more women to take golf up and, together with Iain Fulton, have seen several women try the sport for the first time this summer.

I am delighted to join forces with the Andy Williams our Club Captain in supporting our chosen charity for this year, which is The British Heart Foundation.