Lets do festive

The time is upon us, Santa is presumably on his way, the tills are ringing.

But not as much as we’d hoped.

People of my advanced age get more frustrated every year with the scale of the hypocrisy visited upon us by the western economies.

Leave aside the increasingly forlorn attempts to inject Christian piety into this circus; leave aside the cynical manipulation of the vulnerable from late November; leave aside portentous messages from the great and the good. Concentrate instead on the total reliance of the West upon vigorous economic activity at the end of the year.

So forget Xmas, forget swaddling clothes, mangers, virgins. Forget frankinsense and myrrh. Think Gold.

We have reached the stage that the point is solely, completely and unequivocally …………getting to the shops.

Because, if you go to the shops, all will be well. All those containers shipped from China will disgorge into the stockings also shipped from China. The money pays for our warehouses and our drivers and our dustcarts eventually to take away the shrink wrap. The Bankers will get their money back; the investors can plan the next venture.

Nothing revolutionary here. Happens every year.

Yes, but.

We have introduced a new variable. All this is taking place on top of a smouldering bonfire. And the faster we shop, the more we apply oxygen to the seat of the flames.

We find ourselves burning up our common inheritance in order to satisfy the growth monster.

So when the Bali agreement wobbles on its way to the launch pad, it’s a bit more serious than enjoying the American’s bloody nose. This is actually the very last chance saloon. And its almost Time.

So, just for a moment. Get this lot into perspective. Ignore: Terrorism, banking, Spice Girls, Capello, Transport, missing CDs, Holiday Repeats...

Nothing matters as much as controlling growth. We have got to become poorer.

Happy Xmas


Nightwatchman