One of my charities is the Hampshire Autistic Society and this week I was delighted to officially open a new house in Bitterne, which will be home to five children.

It is the first in Hampshire which provides boarding for a whole term. The society has about 11 properties in the county, from day centres to weekly boarding and now this one.

It is obviously a massive decision for parents and quite traumatic, but those who were in attendance this week seemed quite happy that their children were going into a home-from-home situation.

The occasion also gave me the opportunity to meet up again with Jason Dodd. I always encouraged players to try and provide for the future and Jason has done just that by being a partner with his friend Steve in S & J Maintenance Services, who do everything from civil engineering to full domestic maintenance.

Their company had transformed the old property in record time to a magnificent boarding school for the children, including the lovely garden at the back.

Jason, who will hopefully be fit again for the new season, was as touched as all of us to see these autistic children getting used to their new surroundings, and he can take a lot of satisfaction from the work his company has done to make this possible.