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We all tell lies. That’s an absolute – no matter how saintly you think you are, you don’t tell the truth all the time.

We might tell someone, ‘I’m fine,’ when actually we’re feeling a bit shit. We may not be entirely truthful when our partner asks how something looks when they’re trying it on in a shop.

The things is, though, most of us actually want to tell the truth more than we do, but our own ethics get in the way of things.

Often, we don’t want to alienate a work colleague, upset a friend or cause a family argument, so we bite our tongue or phrase things in such a way that we don’t cause offence.

Clearly, I’m not as blunt as Larry ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ David, but as I get older, I’ve become less and less ‘face-saving’ and am happy to say what I think more and more often. I’ve given up, most of the time, trying to steer clear of arguments and am happy to tell people what I think.

However, there are still some things I don’t pipe up about and, for the life of me, I don’t know why.

Maybe it’s because I can’t be bothered to fight with the person once I’ve told the truth, maybe I’m genuinely concerned about the consequences of my not lying.

Whatever, I guess I’ll never be able to be totally truthful with people…

– You suddenly see all the rich kids out in their convertibles
– Men drive vans topless
– Women wear strappy vests that are too far short for them
– The Daily Mail proudly proclaims that Bournemouth was hotter than the Bahamas
– The Sun run pictures of bikini-clad models on one of Britain’s beaches
– Someone comes into the office looking like a beetroot, saying “I didn’t realise it was that hot!”
– All the unions start striking!

I gave blood yesterday.

I’m not looking for any applause or anything. Clearly, I do it as an altruistic gesture, but I also know that the red stuff is in short supply.

There are two things that have always baffled me about the process of giving blood:

1) If you tell people who aren’t donors, they always look at you in a ‘You freak’ kind of way, as if it’s the most awful thing anyone could ever do.

2) It takes around 40 minutes to complete a donation, but only 5 minutes (in my case) is the actual process of the collecting the amount they need (much less than a pint, you may be interested to know).

I know they have to go through lots of protocols and safety measures, but I’m amazed that such a simple procedure – sticking a needle in someone’s arm and collecting the blood – can take so long.

Anyway, I feel very virtuous and was told today that I’ve probably saved around 10 people in my life, as a result of giving blood (something to do with ratios of people who receive it in a casualty environment, rather than for cancer or an operation).

If you’ve never done it and have always thought you’ll get around to it, don’t delay. Log onto their website now and book a session!