Writing just after the US Midterm elections but before the UK autumn budget makes one think the world has gone bonkers!

A famous cartoon from the first world war comes to mind:- two soldiers are sheltering in a shell hole, one says "this is a dreadful hole to be stuck in" and gets the reply "if you know of a better hole, you go to it!" In the UK we have big troubles, but where else would you go? Half of Albania is voting with their feet to get here, by-passing France and Germany. The US government is strangled by wrangles; President Biden will have difficulties with Congress. President Macron in France has the same problem with a divided Assembly. Germany is struggling like many British families not to have their gas cut off! Italy has a government to the right of Ghengis Khan; floods devastated their dried out land.

Wealth and incomes drive our economies. How can our politicians understand the needs of needy people as seen in the Food Bank? I recall a politician being shown around in the early days and being surprised that tea bags and instant coffee were handed out, thinking water would be drink enough!! Has our present MP visited the Exmouth Food Bank?

Rishi the PM is now overseeing a budget in the wake of Rishi the Chancellor! Huge amounts spent during the COVID lockdown and furlough scheme increased debt, derailing Trussonomics and future budgets. The Russian invasion of Ukraine was not predictable, so the energy crisis and food shortages are as unexpected as they are unwelcome, but our financial reserves were used up around COVID. The autumn statement due on 17th will be more wintry than autumnal!

Food worldwide is in short supply, regardless of cost. Global Warming created extreme heat and drought in southern Europe reducing production; grain and oil from Ukraine are in short supply; wheat harvest in Egypt was severely reduced; rice fields and much else in Pakistan have been washed away; there is drought and famine in East Africa, floods in West Africa. Countries that cannot pay for imports are left to starve.

Some games come to mind as we hunker down for winter with TV and internet; set your own rules! Presenters find businesses in trouble while politicians are challenged by aggressive reporters. One game is to count how many of the troubled businesses even existed a decade ago, nail bars, hairdressers and tattoo parlours included. The second game uses the internet to check the net worth of politicians versus incomes of interviewers! If the agreed rules set the interest rate at 5%, £1m in wealth generates £50,000 a year! Games can be played remotely, players watching the same programmes can compare results by phone!

The UK has changed. Few pubs and restaurants will be as busy; luxuries are just luxuries; politicians will be measured by actions not popularity, we hope. News reporters do not merit entertainment salaries. The election in two years time will be the benchmark. Winning an election is only the first step, the real test is performance. This requires realistic policies in difficult situations, not just criticising everyone else on a personal basis like now!!

The world has changed, but East Devon is still "an outstanding place". Benefits no longer reach as far as costs: we hope the Autumn Statement cares properly for the NHS and the care industry!

Let's hope Christmas brings physical and psychological warmth for everyone.