I was listening to the radio news on my way up to Crawley this morning, and they were talking about the fact that gourmet sea salt is apparently no better for you than bog standard table salt. The only difference you get with the expensive brands is that you'll end up with less money to spend on your blood pressure pills.

So I was pondering this news as I drove up the A23, only to exit at the Crawley turn-off and find myself driving up the slip road directly behind a car with this registration plate:

S99 SLT

Is it just me, or is that slightly spooky? It was as though fate wanted me to see salt as well as hear about it.

Anyhoo, I don't want to give the impression that I spend all my time tirelessly raising money for charity, but in addition to the hours I've spent cultivating an impressive moustache (hair doesn't just grow itself, you know), I also raised a substantial sum for Children in Need today. The receptionists at Crawley Hospital were holding a home-made cake sale, which involved the clever use of a yellow sharps bin as a charity collecting bucket. I presume they wanted to prick people's conscience and make a worthwhile point. So I spent the day diligently raising money... out of my left trouser pocket, and handing it over in return for numerous baked goodies.

Obviously I'm on a strict diet, but they'd placed the cake table directly between my room and the waiting room, meaning that I had to spend the day trekking past sugar loaf mountain with a stream of diabetics. Under the circumstances, I felt the most selfless thing I could do was to help my patients avoid temptation by eating the evidence myself.

It was a rocky road. After which I had a chocolate brownie and some carrot cake. By the time I was eating the clotted cream sponge, I felt like I'd done my bit for a good cause. I'll be booking myself in for a diabetes test next week.