2009 in review from the New Ice Age

Mrs Monk is frequently in conversations with Leigh On Sea's youth, often found in temporary jobs stacking shelves in Waitrose. They will remind Mrs Monk of the days when she taught them English, and then tell her about their real ambitions. Surprising to me, is that even after all that has happened in the financial institutions of London in 2009, they frequently aspire to a career in the city. Perhaps they are impressed by the apparent immunity from hard times in Threadneedle Street.

2009 has been a bad year for architects. More architects were laid off this year than in any other profession. That is measured by the number that have signed-on for Job Seekers Allowance.

That is of course the immediate consequence of the sudden decline in investment by bankers who have withdrawn their labour, if they ever worked. Bad news today for architects. Bad news tomorrow for the construction industry.

I am looking for something positive to say about 2009.

It is almost over.

Happy New Year.

There is an interesting derivation of “Threadneedle” that is too rude for these pages but says a great deal for the morality of Bankers. Check it out on Wikipedia.

Then come back to shoestringonline.co.uk/