Credit crunch: making a meal of it?

Jane Woodhead

Watching the news on television and reading the daily newspapers all the indications are we are a country in financial crisis.

"The Credit Crunch" is mentioned every day.

But the evidence all around us seems contradictory. Dining out at the weekend it occurred to me not everyone is suffering in this so-called financial melt-down.

I have had the priviledge of eating out twice this last week and each time I took the precaution of booking a table. A bit daft, I thought: surely there aren't many people dining out these days?

I could not have been more wrong: both restaurants were virtually full. Clearly, not everyone is suffering. There were families dining with children, couples, and groups out celebrating birthdays - all clearly not giving a second thought to the credit crunch.

We also see petrol prices plumetting to below £1 - something which we have not witnessed for several months - so everything cannot really be all that bad.

Award-winning architects Austin-Smith:Lord are looking to recruit staff when many companies are being forced to make redundancies, whilst in Wirral a new training company, Intellect Training Enterprise, has launched. The company already has major names as Morgan Est and Best Western Hotels signed up to receive training.

So maybe we should not be all doom and gloom and while we have to accept there are issues which cannot be ignored, let's be positive and focus on all of the good which is happening amid what many consider to be extremely difficult times in the world of finance.

·PS: People are quick to critisise our health service. After having to call NHS Direct, followed by an emergency 999 call at the weekend I felt I had to make mention of this. I could not fault the help I received. Everyone from the woman who answered the phone to the paramedics from Mersey Regional Ambulance and the staff in accident and emergency at Warrington Hospital were first class.

Sometimes it is very easy to forget the likes of NHS Direct and our ambulance service but the jobs these people do should never be under-estimated. They turned what could have potentially been an extremely traumatic few hours for my family into calm with their continual re-assurances and caring actions.

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