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May 10 saw the full launch of Bake the Difference, at the Fostering Network's conference for Foster Care Associations.

Delegates were treated to a scrumptious high tea of miniature scones and shortbreads, sticky date cake and victoria sponge, washed down with pink lemonade and assam tea. The delicate vintage tea sets and jolly bunting all added to the elegance of the spread, and the tea room was abuzz with discussions of the day's seminars, punctuated by the clink of teaspoons on china.

"Foster Care Fortnight is a time to reflect. For me it’s a time to think about the first went in to care when I was 8 years old.

"It was so scary leaving home, but luckily the social workers had managed to find me a family who were in the same town as where I grew up. I also kind of already knew one of the girls in the family who had also been adopted.

We are planning a big issue in the autumn magazine about the changes to and cuts to welfare spending. It's a hugely controversial subject and there is so much politics swirling around that it's hard to work what is really happening.

I was recently asked in an interview why I began fostering and why I continue to do so despite all the frustrations and upsets that fostering can bring. The interviewer was a rather glamorous and highly motivated journalist who clearly had her sights set high. She admitted she couldn’t foster although she quite liked kids. I replied to her question without hesitation that I had begun fostering, as many foster carers do, in response to an advertisement I’d seen in my local newspaper that said foster families were desperately needed, with a phone number to call for more information.