An unusual Update this week, siblings. Not only considerably – some might say mercifully – shorter than usual but all given over to one topic which is nothing to do with regulation or platforms or CIPs or anything other than trying to get you to help raise some money.

On Friday of this week it’ll be a year to the day since Russia invaded Ukraine. It’s easy to get compassion fatigue with something that’s gone on for this long, but the suffering of the Ukrainian people doesn’t diminish and of course grows with time. After a long winter hostilities will intensify in the spring and a battered populace desperately needs the well of generosity to be replenished. And Ukraine’s neighbours to the west – many of whom are desperately poor themselves – have opened their doors and borders to refugees from the worst-hit areas, and they need support so they can continue to help.

All this is by way of saying that as an industry we are coming together on Thursday night of this week in London for an evening of fundraising to benefit Refugee Support Europe; the same charity we supported in our Home Truths event the other week and the same charity that Phil Billingham and David Crozier have been working so hard to support.

We’re doing it as a gig, and Consumer Duty, the band of industry reprobates you may have seen at the PFS Festival last year have reformed specially. I’m playing a bit of guitar and Mr Mark Locke will treat us with a 24-minute free-association word poetry slam to advanced bebop, or maybe just a James song. We’ll shake the rafters, and along the way there will be an amazing charity auction, of which more in a moment.

Here’s what I’m asking.

First, if you’re in London or can get here on Thursday evening, would you come along? We’ve got about 175 folk booked in but we really want it to be up around the 250 mark. It’s £20 to get in and you can buy a ticket on the door (but advance is better). It’s at Stationers Hall near Paternoster Square, kicks off at 7.30pm and will finish about 11pm. There’s pizza, apparently. If you can tear yourself away from Netflix you’ll have a great night. Tickets are at www.rockukraine.co.uk.

Second, there’s that auction. Prizes include a signed England rugby shirt from when England were good at rugby which is not now and a signed Scotland rugby ball from when Scotland were good, which is now. There’s a lunch at Gordon Ramsay’s place (his restaurant not his gaff), lovely whisky, art and more. Everything donated by industry folk and companies. Tom Baigrie will be our auctioneer for the evening. If you’re coming along, please bid on Stuff. If you’re not, have a look at the auction items list on www.rockukraine.co.uk and if you would like to place a remote bid, please contact Mark Locke on marklocke@langcatfinancial.com or DM him on Twitter. He’ll put your bid in the hat.

Third, if you can’t make it, don’t want to bid but can find it in your heart to support, donation details are on the website and every pound makes a huge difference. That website again: www.rockukraine.co.uk.

And your music choice this week? My favourite song that Consumer Duty will be playing…have The Pretender by Foo Fighters in your earholes. You can compare our version to theirs if you come along, and tell us which is better (theirs. We know it’s theirs.)

Thanks for letting me do this. And give us your money. You can do so at www.rockukraine.co.uk.

Mark