I thought a near-death experience would be a wake-up call. I was a fool | Tiger Webb

I got blood clots in my lungs, a pulmonary embolism, and all the doctors could tell me was to do things in moderation

At 4.58pm on New Year's Eve, a globule of blood lodged itself in my right lung. The heart is a pump and it behaved the way most pumps do when encountering a blockage: it strained, and strained some more, and began to break down.

At the time, though, I found this all fairly academic - lying on a gurney in the emergency room, I had the distinct sensation my heart was applying shear force to itself and I was about to die.

Tiger Webb is a dour bureaucrat