I AM actually trying to avoid the national news this week as watching the devastating destruction that the bush fires are causing in Australia is so worrying. My son Martin and his girlfriend Kirsty are in Melbourne. I phoned them at the weekend and they

I AM actually trying to avoid the national news this week as watching the devastating destruction that the bush fires are causing in Australia is so worrying. My son Martin and his girlfriend Kirsty are in Melbourne. I phoned them at the weekend and they told me they were in a place called Yea, which at that time seemed pretty safe, until, that is, the following day when reports said that Yea was under "serious threat". At time of writing they are moving on and heading for a place called Shepparton. I used Google and especially Google Maps to get as much information as I could, but in the end I think only the words "mum I am on a plane and will be home in time for tea" would have offered me any comfort. We all want our offspring to see the world and experience great adventures, but when the dangers seem to outweigh the fun it is difficult to sit at home and wait for the phone to ring. It is impossible to keep things in context when you are dealing with something that is so far beyond your own experiences. I can't give them any advice; I can't tell them what I would do. All I can do is tell them to be careful...and pray for rain.

I spoke to our MP Jim Paice this week about food labelling and the situation regarding this area of food production is scandalous. I don't eat red meat and I hid behind a newspaper for much of the Jamie Saves Your Bacon programme, which was aired a couple of weeks ago, but was incensed by the item on food labelling. As Mr Paice says, the information about the origin of the food needs to be readable without the use of a magnifying glass and we have the right to know where the animal was born, reared and slaughtered. Most people would expect that Lincolnshire sausages would be meat from pigs reared in Lincolnshire, not meat from abroad that has been packaged in Lincolnshire. So why are we being misled?

Talking of food. The farmers market visits Ely on Saturday and there will be some freebies on offer. You can have a taste of some tasty local produce, secure in the knowledge that when they say local, they mean local. Go down to the Market Square between 8.30am and 2.30pm for the taster sessions.