We woke yesterday morning to a temperature of 5° but one which was promised to rise to 16° so a fine day is on prospect. We are still analysing the fallout from yesterday's Spring Statement (mini Budget) and one or two things have emerged. The first is that Rachel Reeves is determined to stick to her financial rules, the principal one being that current expenditure is to come out of taxation and should not be financed by borrowing which, in turn, should be used only for investment. The second is that the already disadvantaged will bear the brunt of the nearly £5bn of savings. Cuts to welfare will mean 250,000 more people - including 50,000 children - will be pushed into poverty by 2030, the government's assessment predicts. Separately, 800,000 people will not receive the daily living component personal independence payment (Pip) - due to tightening eligibility rules. It is almost inconceivable that a Labour government is pushing so many of the population into poverty but the actions of the Chancellor has all of the hallmarks of an 'Austerity Mark II' looking like the actions that a Tory government would make and there may be massive rebellions on the Labour back benches when any votes on the statement come to be taken.
I have just been saved from a huge iPhone 'scam' which I avoided. I got a text, apparently from my son, who started off by saying 'Hi Dad' and then continued to explain that he had just acquired a new SIM card for his phone, having changed suppliers and could I note the new number. Later on the day, I was to do my 'son' a favour by transferring quite a large sum of money (£1640) later on that day which I thought seemed a bit fishy and which I declined to do until I had spoken with my son. There was no reply but I knew he was travelling to London that day so there may have been communication difficulties whilst on a train. To cut a long story short, I smelt a rat and did not comply with the request to send the money although I admit I was on the point of doing so. When checking with my son in person, I now know that this was an evident scam, and I am glad that did not fall for it but it just shows how clever the scammers are and how easy it is to fall for such a hoax.
Today has been rather a strange day because we knew that some decorators were due to call round to repair our leak-damaged ceiling in our dining room. The first crew to arrive were plasterers and they busied themselves putting down some protective film in the hallway so that our carpets could be kept clean. Then they are going to proceed by cutting out the damaged section of plasterboard and then to feather in its replacement. There was a team of two principal workers assisted by two lads and they seemed to trail in and out quite a lot, at one stage having to go off to get some supplies. It is always a little unnerving when strangers are popping in and out of your house whilst you are trying to keep out of their way. At one stage, they needed to know what was the shade of the paint on the existing walls so that they could effect a repair with the same shade. We always keep half-used tins of paint and I am pretty certain that I manage to locate the correct tin (of a shade called 'Buttermilk') so that they can obtain the correct matching supplies. Having arrived at about 8.00am this morning, the crew logged off at about 3.00pm explaining that they could no further work until the repairs they had effected to date could be dried out, at which stage they would hand over to the decorators. This particular form, appointed by the building society, seem to be used to be working on large jobs (e.g. after a major fire in a house) so this seemed quite a small job to them but I did get the impression as the insurance company were paying that they were spinning out the job for all it was worth. But the firm as a while seems pretty professional and having paid over quite hefty excess premium, the rest of the bill rests with the insurance company.
Now I have to report some rather sad news. Our adopted cat, Miggles, who we are in the habit if feeding at least once a day if not twice a day and who runs to sit outside out front door whenever she spots the red uniforms of the care workers, seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth. The last time I saw the cat was last Friday when he/she assisted me in flattening down the molehills on our front grassy area. Now that it is six days since the cat has been seen, I absolutely fear the worst and wonder if the animal has had a tragic accident or had to put to sleep by the owners. It is true to say that it not our cat but over the past six or seven years, quite a strong bond has grown between us and I am trying not to be desperately upset by the loss. I texted our domestic help who will understand these feelings as she fairly recently had to bid adieu to her aged and sick Jack Russell and I know she was devastated by the loss. Full of optimism, she thought the cat would return but despite the occasional absence of a day or so, the cat has never been absent for so long so I am having to reconcile myself to the thought that Miggles is no more.
Donald Trump is declaring that April 2nd (not April 1st which is 'All Fools Day') is to be declared 'Liberation Day' when 25% tariffs are to be applied to all cars imported in to the USA . The tariff could have a huge impact on the UK's car industry, including manufacturers such as Jaguar Land Rover, Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce. Official data shows that the US is the UK car sector's largest single market by country, accounting for £6.4bn worth of car exports in 2023 - 18.4% of the total. The UK government has signalled it would not retaliate with a reciprocal tariff - despite pleas from British manufacturers to avoid the tariffs probably hoping that as there is an approximate equality in the trading relationships of the UK and the USA, that the UK might be spared some of these tariffs - but I am not holding my breath.
© Mike Hart [2025]