As I predicted a while ago, Boris has rolled over in desperation for a deal. With the ink on the 2,000 page Brexit deal still being damp, it's not possible to comment on the detail. However, in respect of the broad brush, the fact services, which comprise 80% of our economy, are left out doesn't bode well, nor the additional red tape for exporters (weren't we promised a bonfire of red tape), which will add to costs.
Because of that, the economy is predicted to be hit by 4%, which is more than the hit from Covid, and cannot possibly grow as fast as it would have done had we remained in the EU. The UK also remains subject to EU rules on exports to the EU and, as expected, fishing has been thrown under a bus in desperation for a deal. It is, however, much more more welcome than a No Deal.
Boris will, in his usual manner and in the face of all evidence to the contrary, portray this Pyrrhic victory, as something under which the UK 'will prosper mightily'. The phrase 'what lies ahead?' has a double meaning when applied to Boris.
I will repeat the question I have asked continually, but not received an answer to from a single Brexiteer; "What single, quantifiable benefit will Brexit bring to your daily life?" Given it can't be answered, it must be posited that we're about to suffer a 4% hit to the economy for no benefit. Essentially, this has been an exercise in damage limitation and no more.
The civil war in the Conservative Party will continue and I don't see Boris remaining as PM for very much longer.
To today's subject.
Buying those boxes of Quality Street (it should be noted that other products are available) is rather wasteful and poor value, in my experience.
I don't know about you, but I prefer the disc-shaped toffee ones, or the long, chocolate covered toffees (both in gold wrappers), whether its chewy toffee or the softer variety. It's a fact of life that I generally tend to find other people do battle with me for exactly the same sweeties.
Of course, the corollary of this is that you always end up with a couple of handfuls of spurious choccies, invariably comprising dark chocolate and some hideous filling that no bugger wants to touch and kids will treat as if they were cyanide coated sardines. These usually languish in the empty box for a couple of weeks before the decision it taken to throw them in the bin. They're usually wrapped in green or purple.
I tried yesterday to buy a couple of boxes - well, it was Christmas Eve; however, not a box was to be found. In fact, there was hardly any Christmas produce available anywhere. Veggies were available in abundance, but they're required throughout the week, right up till the traditional New Year's Day feast when we happily wave goodbye to that bloody turkey.
You can't blame supermarkets, as they don't want to be stuck with products that won't be sold for another year, but some supermarkets (i.e. Lidl) take it to an extreme and stop stocking Christmas produce weeks before Christmas.
When I was a kid and Christmas trees weren't actually put up till Christmas Eve, or a couple of days before at most, it was possible to do all your Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve. That's no longer possible and Christmas now extends from the end of November to the week before Christmas.
Merry Christmas to all my readers. May your 2021 be less stressful than 2020.
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