The Year Ahead, a Bargain Hunter and Lost in France

Hi Everyone

Thought that I would start our journey through 2026 with a quiz question. What do the years 1975, 1982, 1991 and 2008 have in common? If you have not already worked it out, in each of those years we had a financial crash. Now, no doubt, the doom mongers are out there predicting all sorts of bad things in this coming year, including another possible financial crash. In 1973, with my two partners, we started our business with petrol at 33pence a gallon. In 1975, the big change was a huge increase in fuel costs and a severe shortage of building materials. In 1982, bank interest rates almost tripled overnight, with a real fear that we would not be able to carry on, before the interest rates fell back to something more manageable. 1991 was the year that I decided to have my own self employed business and finally 2008 was the year that we converted the stables into our present home, suffering a 10% loss in the value of the house that we sold. In every case, we somehow survived, even looking back to conclude that despite the circumstances, we had done OK. So here’s a tip for 2028; put your phone in a cupboard, or better still, a bucket of water, go for a walk in the woods, and don’t forget to keep taking your tablets. Everything will be fine. It always is. Happy New Year.

Back in the days of the Senior Partner, she eagerly looked forward to the January sales. In that day, most towns and cities had family owned large department stores selling everything from glass and china ware to clothes and shoes. Now, as you know, she was tight with money, so the January sale was an unmissable opportunity to grab a bargain. She would not however, be seen in the first day queue, scrambling for a bargain. Her strategy was to wait for at least a week before making a grand entrance when the unsold items had been further reduced. Most of the shop assistants would have worked in these stores for years and would be well aware of her and her methods, while the Junior Partner and I would try to become invisible if we were unfortunate enough to be with her on this annual safari. Having tested the patience of the shop assistants to the limit, the next two weeks would be spent altering every item of clothing that she had bought. A coat by a top fashion designer had to have pockets and a belt with the material stolen from another part of the garment, which would have probably made the top designer cry if he or she had seen it, whilst the back would have been brought in and the top part front enlarged to accommodate what was there. Apart from the joy of getting what she thought was a bargain, we had two weeks' peace with the only sound being the drum of the sewing machine foot treadle. Compare that to today with the 52 week sales in most shops and a choice of TK Max, Matalan and Primark in nearly every city in the country. The other thing that you could be certain about is that there was never even a one day sale in the Fruit, Vegetable, Flower, Game and Lolly shop. Happy New Year.

Now, if you are like me, approaching middle age, you have to take special precautions, especially with your driving on our ever more crowded road with even more potholes to negotiate. Now I drive a little slower and find that I have to concentrate more, especially if I am driving at night. One thing seems obvious, however, just make sure that your partner, in my case, the Main Contractor, is with you at the start of your journey, assuming that she is part of that particular journey. I am telling you all this Rubbish as this week a Frenchman who had not even reached retirement age never mind middle age, drove 200 miles through France before realising that he had left his wife at a filling station where they had stopped. Even more amazing was that their adult daughter had slept in the back of the car throughout the whole saga. I am sure that some of you are saying that it could only happen to the French, as we have an impression of them riding a bicycle with a string of onions around their necks while smoking a Galiose cigarette. In this case, this Frenchman phoned the police as he could not remember where the filling station he had let his wife was located. Happy New Year, Mon Cherie.   

Just a Thought:

Did you hear about the Frenchman who jumped into the river in Paris? He was declared to be in Seine.

My Primark outfit was so cheap, the care label just says ‘good luck’.

The Main contractor went to Matalan for a new outfit. She came home with yet another cushion.

Brian