Some years ago I used to work at the South of England Show when the Prince's Trust had a stand there.

The East Sussex branch joined forces with West Sussex and we explained to the public, especially the young people, what the trust was about and how young people could benefit from working with the various initiatives we covered.

It was hard and hungry work but we stayed afloat in large measure due to the wonderful Women's Institute tent which was full of delectable rolls, sandwiches, quiches and all manner of goodies.

I was usually the one deputed to open up the trust tent first thing in the morning but as soon as another member of the team arrived I was off to the WI tent with our lunch order, hoping to get there at the psychological moment when their stalls opened for business and before the general public had discovered their magic presence.

But soon it is possible that this output of first-class food may disappear, not only from Ardingly but from other country markets which the institute runs in a number of towns nationwide.

Not from any fear that their foods are in any way inferior or unprofessionally produced - all the ladies take proper food hygiene courses, which, incidentally, they pay for themselves - but because a new arrangement involving the Financial Services Authority.

What, you may rightly ask, has the Financial Services Authority got to do with the Women's Institute?

For some inexplicable reason, the FSA is now responsible for setting the fees regulating the markets run by the institutes and they are charging the same fees as those charged to large companies.

In the old days the WI markets were regulated by the Registrar of Friendly Societies, which charged a reasonable fee, mostly about a modest £25.

This year that figure for one society, the Surrey WI Country Markets, has become £240; plus an extra slice of £80 to cover the period from December 1 to March 31.

According to the FSA, the fees were so low in the past because they were subsidised by the Government by some 40 per cent and they say they can no longer do that.

The services required by the country markets was a simple form filling exercise showing a year's return but now the WI, along with other friendly societies, will be charged a £240 flat fee for the same service.

But the WI is simply raising small sums of money through their own energetic efforts, whereas some of the big societies are selling financial bonds and endowments.

The FSA argues these large organisations will be charged a lot more than the WI but that does not help the country markets, some of who may well go out of business if they are forced to meet these higher fees.

The members look on their cooking activities as a way of raising some money - they get to keep about 90 per cent of the cash under the current scheme - and for many of them the markets are a social activity.

We benefit by getting excellent goodies. The only ones who are not happy is the money-hungry FSA.

We are not talking high finance here. The tax man, than whom there can be no hungrier mortal, only took a measly £83 in tax from one group and at the end of the financial year one organisation could show the princely sum of 98p as profit - hardly rich pickings.

The WI keeps a lot of older women in touch with their fellows and through their markets provide some wonderful food at knock-down prices.

If the FSA has its way, a lot of visitors to Ardingly and other similar shows up and down the country will be the losers.

Sadly it may have the knock-on effect of putting an excellent organisation out of business, at least as far as their food markets are concerned. And all for a quirk in the law.