25th September 2022

 For some, this weekend is a time of quiet reflection on the past year. Hilary Mantel, a remarkable author, has died. Monday saw the greatest televised pageantry ever as HM Queen Elizabeth was finally laid to rest next to her beloved Philip, and a mourning nation now looks forward to the coronation of King Charles III next summer. The king must learn to modernise the monarchy, and our new PM faces a mammoth task on all fronts. Already, the chancellor has evoked controversy this week with his mini-budget. If ever there was a budget to infuriate left-wingers, it was this one, seemingly giving to the rich more than to the poor. For right-wingers, though, it was clear:  bolster companies to create national growth, which would then trickle down to the rest of us. Trouble is, if we pander too much to socialism, you end up like the eastern bloc, where everyone’s poor except for the top tier of society. The answer, of course, is to keep to the middle ground. Like Mantel’s Cromwell, life is forever fraught, trying to keep the wolf from the door. For me, I’m sticking to our late queen’s wise words:  keep calm and carry on.