Well they are at it again! This time it's the Conservative leader, David Cameron, suggesting that the old Protestant work ethic is out of date. Try telling that to our Asian competitors, particularly the Chinese, and see what they think of such rubbish!

My sister Jenny and I are con-sidering a career in baking, but have found it a difficult industry to get into and there are very few places where one can train properly. We came across your article 'A Night in the Life of Nathan & Ross Kavanagh' in your 18 August issue and were inspired by them. We contacted them and have since spent two shifts with them, which have been great experiences and an opportunity to learn from real bakers. We hope to continue to bake with them.

Hereford-based Tromp Bakery Systems (TBS) has brought together industrial bakery and food processing equipment from its five specialist European manufacturers to customers in the UK and Irish bakery industries.

Double D Food Engineering (Broxburn, West Lothian) has developed a high temperature travelling oven for pizza and flat bread production, which can bake a 10-inch pizza in 1-2 minutes at 750?F.

Today more than three million baguettes, five million croissants, one million pizza and two million speciality bread products are baked every 24 hours in Gouet tunnel ovens, says the French company, which works with UK partner Epsom-based European Process Plant.

Working with Italian firm MONDIAL FORNI, Norbake has introduced the Mondialmatic Steam Tube tunnel ovens, suitable for baking any size of bread and pastry products within a temperature range of 200?C and 270?C. The Mondialmatic Series ensure a large baking surface (up to 100sq m) within a minimum space due to its composition with three or four parallel baking decks, says the firm.

American-style cake and cookie manufacturer from Europe's Nordic region, Millennium Bakery (Millba), has increased its production capacity after adopting innovative Serpentine continuous baking technology from industrial bakery equipment supplier AUTO-BAKE.

Among all food groups, the bread category has been one of the biggest innovators in recent times. Health and convenience have been the main factors behind this drive, which has led to manufacturers introducing a variety of new lines. For example, we've seen Granary loaves in white formats, prebiotic breads, breads with Omega 3, as well as breads fortified with folic acid. Manufacturers have also incorporated other popular ingredients, such as oats and sunflower seeds.

Some 200 visitors attended the first Scottish Bakers' Fair, held in Edinburgh on 24 September.

The baking industry converged on London on Monday 18 September 2006, as British Baker held its 19th annual Baking Industry Awards.

The RM Curtis Edible Nuts & Dried Fruit Market Report: July-August 2006, revealed that early crop shipments of almonds were predicted to struggle and pricing would be forced even higher in the short term, says Mark Setterfield, trading director at RM Curtis.

Wm Morrisons' shares reached the highest level since its takeover of Safeway two years ago, after it posted better than expected results last week.

Shares in cake and pastry maker Inter Link Foods leapt by 25% on Monday 25 September, after the company revealed it was in talks that may lead to a £70m management buyout.

In the second of the new-look, new-size British Baker we celebrate the industry's premier annual awards night and the worthy winners (pgs 20-27). The night itself was fun and I'd like to say a big "well done" to all the winners and finalists and a huge "thank you" to all the sponsors that support the industry, as well as the independent judges who gave their time voluntarily.

The baking industry is preparing for new legislation, effective 1 October, which will ensure that employers treat staff equally, regardless of their age, with equal opportunities in recruitment, promotion and training.

Dan Lepard and Syd Aston will be among the key bakers gathering at the opening party of the new Town Mill Bakery Too in Lyme Regis, Dorset on 8 October.

Our packaging helps in-store bakeries look as if the products have come from the back of house. We did a lot of research and a strong view was that, if the product is in a bakery, consumers expect to see them in plastic trays. So we package the doughnuts in trays and wrap a plastic sleeve around them. Research suggested that although people might suspect products weren't made fresh in the store, they were happy to believe it anyway. It's a bit of an illusion. With our packa-ging we are helping bakeries to drive consumer perception.

Supplier the French Croissant company says it is rolling out an expanded range with Marks & Spencer (M&S), after taking over a £5 million supply contract from Northern Foods.

Central London chain Patisserie Valerie is set for expansion, after being sold to venture capitalists Risk Capital Partners on 15 September.

Food group IAWS is to build a E180 million Centre of Excellence for in its Cuisine de France business in Clondalkin, County Dublin.

n Lyndale Foods has put its Peter Hunt's bakery up for sale to focus on its bakery retail business - Sayers, Hampsons, and Maison Blanc. Bolton-based Peter Hunt's employs 300 staff and has a turnover of £25m. The company supplies pastry products to retail and foodservice customers and Lyndale's retail bakeries. The sale is being handled by accountancy firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Bakery and food giant RHM has said it expects profit to be skewed towards the second half of the year.

The issue of bread weights labelling was in the spotlight again this week, following a European Council ruling that national restrictions on the size of pre-packaged goods should be abolished.

Supermarket Asda is to relaunchthe whole of its Extra Special premium range, across all categories, over the next few weeks.