St John isn't your average Christmas Saint.

St. John's Ambulance, I'm talking about, of course. December is that time of year when I have to renew my first aid qualification. Although it isn't all that arduous, I still get nervous come the examinations, because I usually don't get to use these skills throughout the year. There isn't much call for first aid in a well run office.

In the UK, every employer above a certain size needs a certain number of first aid trained personnel for every so many employees. More info on that here.

What this means is that if you're interested in becoming qualified yourself, then your employer might consider paying for you to go on one of these courses. You'll also need to make sure you've got the right health and safety reviews at work and that there is adequate first aid equipment and reporting abilities in the work place.

There is no telling when you might need your first aid skills. It is useful knowledge to have. First aid is literally that, it is the first level of aid that a person receives until fully trained medical personnel get to see the injured party.

I was conscious that I like to go out walking and it would only take a trip or slip and I could be seeing sprains, strains or at the worst, broken bones. Even our relatively tame country side has to be treated with respect. Knowing I could cope in an emergency takes some of the worry from the mind.

There is another bonus as being a part of St. Johns. If you're carrying an in date qualification, then you're automatically insured for up to £10 million public liability, world wide.

Apparently, qualified first aiders were walking away from situations in public where someone needed help because they were scared of being sued. St. John's decided to do this in order to help give people the confidence to use their skills to help people.

Of course, this liability doesn't apply if you're doing these duties as part of an organisation, so at work I'd have to be covered by my employers public liability and if I was accompanying a school trip, for example, I'd have to be covered by the schools insurance. This is simply to cover you doing the good samaritan bit.

There is also the chance that this qualification might enable me to be a lone Community First Responder, but more on that later.

You can find out more on St John Ambulance here.