Next installment...

When I woke at 4am (as you do) I checked my phone (as you do) and found the following text messages from James on his Far East tour:

'Morning..be grateful you are not having a big lunch in some weird five storey restaurant with shark and fish tanks and sad looking chicks and ducks in baskets...dodging suspect foods. And downing beers when the factory owner bangs his glass on the table...xx'

Closely followed by:

'Morning..or night I should say...got through lunch yesterday. Long day in a cold factory. Had many beers last night in the hotel. Played ten pin bowls in the basement.Got to bed late and had a club sandwich in the room. Up at 6am and now on a 5 hour road (anything goes) trip today to another supplier.'

Now mothers are ok as long as they Know Nothing. As soon as they Know Something, especially at four in the morning, the worry gene kicks in.

OMG - will he get food poisoning? What are they making him eat? He will be upset about the sad little chicks and ducks in the baskets... and the driving...a five hour drive? Who is driving? What does the 'anything goes' comment mean? Is the car safe? What are the roads like? Are the Chinese careful drivers? Is he driving 5 hours back or moving to another hotel?

You see that's why mothers are needed. They have to do the worrying for everyone....