We talk quite a lot about our coffee machine. In our defence, it is a thing of beauty, producing a mighty fine brew - the carpet to the kitchen is wearing thin because of it.

A few weeks ago, Krunal made a very bold suggestion; that some or all of us take on the H2Only Challenge – an RNLI fundraising initiative involving a pledge to forgo all drinks bar water for 10 days. One or two immediately suffered withdrawal symptoms at the mere thought of it but 8 of us decided to give it a go. Whether there is such a thing as a selfless good deed is debatable; our first thoughts focusing on the health benefits and difficulties we may encounter. All about us.

Except it isn’t all about us. The RNLI had a very busy week last week – with bad weather around the coast, they had numerous well-reported emergencies to deal with – sadly with the loss of six lives throughout the UK. This is just the work we hear about. In truth most of their weeks are very busy; it just doesn’t always make the headlines.

If you’re quick, you can still catch two episodes of the BBC’s documentary series on the RNLI: ‘Saving Lives at Sea’ on iPlayer http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07l1z87/episodes/guide

10 days without coffee, tea, wine, beer or fizzy drinks is going to be a challenge, but we're determined to go H2Only and raise as much as we can for the RNLI. Their lifeboat crews and lifeguards know all about staying strong. They do it every day – dropping everything to go out on the water and save lives. Your support will help us stay strong too, so please give as much as you can.

Bear with us if we're grumpy on the telephone for the first few days - you can always make us feel better by sponsoring us! Thank you.

(Remember that, if you’re a UK taxpayer, choosing the Gift Aid option means the RNLI will get even more from your donation).

If you wish to take the challenge yourself, you can sign up here: https://h2only.org.uk/#