Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Chris (his mum and dad call him Christopher!) was one of my pupils at Inverkeithing High School. He died from Hodgkin's Lymphoma on June 3 last year at the age of just 19.

I've been a teacher for 27 years in a variety of contexts. Doing this job you come across a lot of characters. The vast majority of young people have always been a pleasure to deal with and what makes the job what it is. Despite what some may say, teachers do have favourites, it's only human. It is unprofessional to act on this favouritism, that's a different matter. Chris was a favourite of mine. No doubt about it.

Chris was in an S2 class at Inverkeithing High. A big challenging class. Chris made that class enjoyable. There was a wide range of abilities and needs in there, probably too wide. I needed eyes in the back of my head.

Chris just wanted to learn. He had no agendas. He didn't care about 'peer group pressure'. It wasn't cool for a 13 year old male to be keen on school but Chris didn't give a stuff. In every class he'd do his work but he'd ask me about other issues. Not always directly relevant to what the particular lesson was about but things he was interested in. And your job as a teacher is to respond to that; to encourage inquisitiveness as learning and teaching is a two way street. Sometimes as a teacher you spark an idea off that you did not intend. Chris wanted answers all the time as he had so much interest in what was going on in the world. It is the brightest people who ask questions, not the daftest.

Chris kept me on my toes in the nicest possible way. He was smart enough to know when to ask questions and when not to. He, like others with developed emotional intelligence, could just tell when I had others in the class to either look after or sort out. So he'd pick his moment. Sometimes it was on his way out the class or in the corridor. It was always with a smile. and that was it. Chris brought brief but special moments of fun into my day's work. And never underestimate the importance of happiness in a place of learning. If a child is happy, everything else normally falls into place.

After leaving Inverkeithing High in 2007 I'd see Chris around Aberdour, usually on his bike. He'd always wave at me, shout 'hello sir' and move on to his business. He was now a big strapping lad but still had that same childhood laugh and smile. I had no idea he was ill. It wasn't until myself and my wife opened our cafe and employed Chris's pal Patrick that we learned the seriousness of Chris's illness. Within weeks Chris was gone and we were shocked and very upset. We remember seeing Aberdour grind to a halt and all these young people battling with their emotions as they went to Chris's funeral.

So, if you are Chris's family, what do you do? There is a pain, an unimaginable pain, a pain none of us ever want to know. What is incredible is that they have taken this pain and collectively turned it around. They set up the Cookie Jar Foundation which in a very short space of time now does real things for real families suffering in the way Chris did, for example in providing Vein Finders for kids who hate having needles stuck into them. David, Debbie, Louise and Steven haven't allowed darkness to swallow them up. They've looked it in the eye and said Chris lives on, in our hearts and how we go about our life. What an inspiration they are!

I'm doing my own wee bit. Chris had no idea the impact he had on my life so I'm just trying to return the compliment. Chris loved cycling and despite the many great sporting and cultural things that go on in Aberdour, cycling, till now, hasn't been one of them. So, the 'Salmon Run' cycle, from Dundee to Pitlochry will take place on Thursday 17 July. Its a tough 54 miles up and down the rolling Perthshire countryside. We're camping overnight in Pitlochry then back down the road to Aberdour the next day. I hope you can sponsor me, perhaps even consider taking part in the cycle yourself? You'll meet fantastic people and experience some of the best countryside Scotland has to offer.

And celebrate Christopher Coutts.