Opinion: I hope I be brave and selfless in an emergency like Audrius

You never know how you will react in an emergency until it actually happens.

We all hope we will be brave and act selflessly to help someone in distress or deal with a situation in a calm fashion.

But you can never really know how you will be until it happens.

However, one Fenland dad knows exactly how he would react because he has been there, and now has a bravery award to prove it.

Jumping into a Fenland river is not an appetising thought - let's be honest they always look a bit murky and cold. But Audrius Norkus did not hesitate to do just that when he spotted an elderly man in trouble.

At first he wasn't sure what he had seen as he drove home along the Forty Foot near Benwick and he continued on his way, for a minute or two before he realised it could have been a car in the water.

Without a second thought he turned swiftly round, and went to see exactly what it was. There was no sign of the object, but determined not to give up Audrius spent almost 10 minutes of searching up and down the river bank before he spotted a man's head almost obscured by weeds in the middle of the Forty Foot.

Audrius didn't stop to think he literally plunged in to help the man who was not moving or calling for help. He swam to him, and managed to drag him to the side and out of the water to safety.

There is no doubt if it had not been for Audrius things could have turned out much differently for the man involved. As it is he was saved and was even able to visit Audrius a while after to say thank-you.

Well done Audrius on showing us just what it means to be a hero and congratulations on your Royal Humane Society bravery award - it is most certainly deserved...

Inflation is up again it was announced this week and it seems to have caught the finance experts and government off guard with the news that it came as a "surprise" being widely reported as the pundits were predicting a drop.

Really? The only surprise I can see is the fact that they are surprised. Do they not visit the shops?

Every week when I do my weekly shop I am "surprised" to discover that the price of some item or other has gone up, and we're not talking just a penny here or there, we're talking many pence at a time.

The cost of food shopping in this country is now the highest it has been for nearly 50 years - that's bleak news indeed for families already struggling with rising fuel costs, rising council tax bills and in fact rises in practically everything.

I'm not sure what the solution is, but something needs to be done and soon because it can't go on as it is, that's for sure...

We've all heard the term bats in the belfry - well for one Fenland church the statement could not be more real.

Walpole St Peter church, is not only known as the Cathedral of the Fens, but is also known for its colony of bats.

Now the winged creatures are being celebrated with the arrival of a special art installation aimed at helping churches find ways of co-existing with their resident bats - what a lovely thing.

I know many people are a little afraid of bats, but personally I find them fascinating and watching them whiz about on a warm evening is one of the highlight's of the summer months for me...

Fenland District Council has agreed to step in to help our beleaguered sports centres and swimming pools, which like the rest of us are struggling to cope with the high fuel costs.

Good news indeed - investing in the health of the community has got to be a good thing and can only help the even more beleaguered NHS in the long run by keeping us all fitter for longer and out of doctors' waiting rooms and hospital beds.

Now if I could only find the motivation needed to visit one of our leisure centres, that would be good...

Finally and at long last the clocks go forward this weekend marking the start of British Summer Time - thank goodness for that.

I don't know about anyone else, but this winter seems to have dragged on for far too long. The dark nights have been dismal and I can't help wondering what it would be like if the clocks didn't go back an hour come this October.

Would we all feel a bit better having more daylight at the end of the day? I'm pretty sure I would.

Maybe it's time to have a rethink on daylight saving clock changes - what do you think?...