Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Outlook

The seven o'clock news brings more tales of doom and gloom, the stock markets in the Far East have plunged again on rumours that Wall Street will open down in a few hours. When Wall Street opens it will fall in reaction to the falls in the Far East. We are moving towards a recession says an expert in economic forecasting, it will be deeper than we expect and longer. As he leaves the studio I am sure I can hear the plop of the entrails sliding off the desk. Unemployment, closures, the worst outlook since Harold took off his visor for a breather at the battle of Hastings. A man from one of the banks feels that the banks and other financial institutions are not yet confident to start lending to each other and like a gambler wanting one last bet or a heroin addict one last fix suggest that a few more billions of government money may be needed to restore their confidence. Our money. The taxpayers, the ones losing their jobs, the ones that get official sounding letters from banks for having the temerity to go £10 over their overdraft limit. Local Authorities are queuing up to be bailed out after investing the poor tax payers money in Icelandic banks that themselves were caught up in the dash for wealth and riches.And the Government lurches from announcement to announcement, drunk on the drama of it all, worn out by the late nights, bloated by the take away curries, eyes bleary and stinging from harsh lights and staring at plasma screens.

Outside the leaves, orangey and tinged and wrinkled yellowy at the edges, fall from the trees in our garden and pile up on the lawn. The birds, sensing the on set of winter, noticing the fading light, the cooler air, hurry to store berries against the cold. The Goyt is still there, wreathed in a morning mist, silent now and turning brown and golden as autumn drifts to winter. A season ends and so the cycle begins again.

7 comments:

iLL Man said...

Ah well, no plasma screen HD TV for me! I'm off to by a clockwork wireless...........

The Birdwatcher said...

illman - I have one and its excellent. i leave it in the Bathroom. The only downside is that the kids listen to it and then don't wind it up. Grrrr.

Malcolm Cinnamond said...

There's a worrying hysteria abroad. Politicians seem to think it's macho to talk up how bad the recession is going to be instead of actually doing something about it - like changing the system instead of trying to prop it up.

fiwa said...

It's getting hard to watch the news. I would rather be outside, shuffling through the leaves.

The Birdwatcher said...

Malc - best not to listen to politicans or economists at the moment.

Fiwa - Yep. Its becoming a self fullfilling prophesy

Brother Tobias said...

Scary and depressing. I prefer your focus on the Goyt. I was unfortunate enough to have some of my meagre savings in RBS shares, so not only am I a greedy guilty party in government eyes, whose equity has been sequestered and who will get no income from what remains for the forseeable future, but will also be paying tax to fund the publicly acquired share for ditto. Oh hum; outside the window the beeches on the Downs are turning lovely colours here too.

Kim Ayres said...

We have no money anyway and by and large I've avoided watching the news for the past 3 years.

The weather, though. Ach, don't get me started on the weather...