SUNDAY afternoons are spent with my dear old Mum. With Dylan the lovable border collie for company for the meals on wheels service, I drive across to Middlesbrough to deliver her Sunday lunch.

Then we watch a bit of telly together – usually a football match – but this Sunday was slightly different. We watched a football match but it wasn't a Premier League encounter. It was a DVD showing this summer's recreation at Saltburn of the First World War football match between British and German soldiers on Christmas Day 100 years ago.

The memorial match was played on the sand, in the shadow of the pier, on Sunday, June 1, and it was an honour to not only be asked to play but to score one of England's goals in an epic 5-1 victory. Indeed, I'll look back on the Saltburn fixture as one of the most memorable occasions of an eventful year.

The day raised £7,200 for the Royal British Legion and it was all made possible through the vision and hard work of a team of volunteers marshalled by Allan Whiley with the kind of steely leadership Captain Mainwaring would have been proud of.

What they created that day in Saltburn, with its flag-wearing, brass bands, choirs and row after row of memorial crosses on the beach, was something very special and I'm thrilled to have the memory on film.

By sheer coincidence, not long after we'd watched the DVD, the Sainsbury's Christmas advertisement came on the television. You know the one – it's based on that famous First World War football match.

In the Sainsbury’s advert, British and German soldiers both sing the carol Silent Night in their respective languages before crossing No Man’s Land to play football, with one British soldier giving his German counterpart a chocolate bar.

It is a beautifully-made commercial but I couldn't help feeling there was something uncomfortable about a supermarket using the the centenary of the First World War as a promotional tool. But then I read that the advert is a joint venture with the Royal British Legion. The chocolate bar featured in the advert is on sale for £1, with all profits going to the charity, so I think that makes it justifiable.

Well, my Mum says it does – and that's good enough for me. MInd you, I still prefer the Saltburn DVD – and it's on sale for a fiver at the town's library.

THE stage is set for another memorable occasion in the year which marks the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War.

On Saturday night, I'll be master of ceremonies at the glittering Help For Heroes dinner at Tennants in Leyburn, where Mackenzie Thorpe's stunning "Remembrance" work of art will be among items auctioned for the charity.

"Remembrance" was the poppy against a dramatic skyline which graced The Northern Echo's recent Remembrance Sunday special edition, which proved to be so popular.

I hope the artwork will fetch a price worthy of Mackenzie's kindness in producing it without hesitation when asked to help such a worthy cause.

FINALLY, a warning. My Uncle Donald, who is 84 and lives alone, was robbed last week.

Two young thugs conned their way into his home, roughed him up, stole his wallet and ransacked his bedroom.

All he's ever done is make people happy through his wonderful sense of humour and his gift for playing the piano, and now he's been hurt and made to feel vulnerable.

So, if you live alone, please take care when there's a knock on the door.