A domewhat macabre Christmas this time around..
People still flock the High Streets, overjoyed with the fire sale prices they're finding on some merchandise.. but aware on some subliminal level, that their will come a reconning..
Yet.. despite the doom and gloom which permeates almost everything.. Britons on the whole appear willing to buckle down, and weather the storm..
The Pound Sterling nearly at parity with the Euro...? Pshaw..
Record numbers of unemployed...? We've had hard times before..
We'll all put on the kettle, and have a nice cup of tea..
And Gordon.. seems to thrive on crisis situations.. It's alomst Churchillian.. the depth of his voice and determination on his face radiate a man who has power.. and experience..
Amazing what a wordlwide financial collapse can bring out in a man.. His visits to the Middle East could not have been timed better.. what with oil (oh..we were wrong on that one!) hitting record lows and the OPEC nations threatening to limit production to a mere 2 million barrels a day.. we're literally stumbling from one shell crater to the next..
But Gordon's shining in this.. Give that man constant crisis, and he'll give you the old British Stiff Upper Lip.. and at least a sense that it's all going to work out..
Lord, what Barak's stepping into..
And with the immenent change in the US Presidency.. even France's Sarkosi's making an economic stand.. that vastly inflated Euro's not going to make European goods that attractive to foreign investment, or consumption..

But.
'Tis the season to be jolly.. and if we're wise, we'll take the chance while we can.
The opportunity might not crop up for the next few tears..