This week an awful road accident happened locally that has really distressed me – I can’t stop thinking about it. It was about 10 miles from my house, on a stretch on motorway that my friends and I drive daily. It happened as I drove in the other direction, to Bristol.

Rebecca Evans who was only 27, died instantly in the three-vehicle pile-up on the motorway just three weeks before she was due to give birth. Her husband Alex and son Cian, who is only 2, survived the accident. A man was arrested for dangerous driving. All of their families’ lives are irrevocably changed – just 4 weeks before Christmas. Just so sad.

I don’t know why this specific incident has affected me so much, maybe because this was out of Rebecca’s control and her fate was in the hands of this other man. However, it’s made me really focus this week on being thankful for every second of my life, because in a split second everything can change forever.

Tell your loved ones right now that you love them, miss them and value them. Pick up the phone, go and visit.

See you friends as much as you can. Enjoy the time together.

Don’t keep friends who are toxic and drag you down. Don’t stay in relationships you can’t be happy in. Busy people often just keep on doing things with people who are not very nice to them! These relationships make you feel deeply unhappy.

Eat the cake. Walk when you can. Take pictures. Print the pictures – don’t store them all on a camera or phone where no one else sees them.

Put your tree up – don’t worry about the rules about when is the ‘right time’ for your Christmas decorations!

Make sure you don’t leave a mess behind.

Write a will. Leave provision for your family, so you know they will be ok, no matter what.

Accept you can only do so much in life but try and make every day count.