Next Friday 15th January I am honoured to be offering a mini family portrait shoot as a raffle prize for a folk night organised by The Goose is Out to raise money to support the work of Help for Refugees in Calais and Lesbos. This benefit concert starts at 7pm at The Ivy House in Nunhead and there will be five live acts as well as DJs and the raffle. It promises to be a great night for a very important cause, please come and support it if you can.

This is an issue very close to my heart, as my great grandparents came to Greece on a boat as refugees from Turkey in 1922 while Smyrna burned behind them. Had they not survived the crossing, I would not be in the position I am now – living happily and safely in London with my family, following my dream to work as a photographer and able to offer this prize. The current refugee crisis has made me more aware of the debt I owe to my father’s grandparents Calliope and Yiannis, and the journey they were forced to make for the safety of their family. The only way I can start to pay this back is to help those having to make the same journey now, and I’m really grateful that this event is giving me the opportunity to do that.