The last picture of summer

It’s officially the end of summer, and the way that the nights are starting to draw in, coupled with chilly mornings and evenings, does lend a certain credence to this change to a new season, even if it does happen every year! We are currently awaiting some much-needed rain, although we don’t want too much, as we are heading off in the morning for a short break. 

It’s a way of saying farewell to a summer that has been one of the strangest I can remember, and I’m including here the summers of 2020 and 2021, when we were in the grip of various lock-downs, or other Covid-related restrictions. The summer began optimistically enough, in the middle of June with a long-awaited cruise, which represented the longest holiday that Mrs PBT’s and I have enjoyed in nearly 40 years of marriage.

Those two glorious weeks of blissful rest and relaxation, sailing up and down the Norwegian coast, supplemented by visits to Hamburg on both outward and return journeys, were just the pick-up that we both needed. Coming after two largely wasted years, thanks to Covid, the cruise was the perfect way to re-charge our batteries. We enjoyed the experience so much that we will shorty be booking another ocean voyage, for next year.

July was altogether different, as I underwent a surgical procedure which, whilst conducted without a hitch, did mean I was unable to undertake even moderate lifting, and had to take things easy for a few weeks. The recovery necessitated some time off from work, but after a couple of weeks I felt comfortable driving, so was then back at my desk and raring to go. The consultant gave me the all-clear, at the middle of August, and although I have still been taking things easy, I completed a short ramble a couple of weekends ago, in order to cross off a small section of the North Down’s Way, that I had missed a couple of years previously.

Work hasn’t been without one or two problems, largely of a recruitment nature. This follows the resignation of two key members of the management team, and whilst we have seamlessly replaced one individual, the other person will be much harder act to follow. We struggled to recruit this Regulatory Affairs Manager in the first place, so it came as quite a shock to discover, upon returning from holiday, that this individual had been poached after less than a year. This was a shame as this person was good at what he did, and by good, I mean really good!

On the domestic front, the drought that has endured since early spring, played havoc with my carefully laid plans to grow a few vegetables. We had plenty of tomatoes, plus several attractive floral displays, but that was the sum total of it. Despite the setbacks, I enjoyed being out in garden until the point at which it was starting to get dark – around 10pm in June. This was nothing compared to the twilight we experienced on the cruise where, after departing from Alesund - the most northerly point of our voyage, it didn’t get properly dark at all.

August has seemed to vanish before my very eyes, and before you knew it, the summer was over, we were entering into September, and heading full steam ahead into autumn. It will soon start getting colder, and thanks to the continuing war in Ukraine, astronomically high energy bills seem to be the order of the day. They are also the main topic of conversation in many places, which is hardly surprising but having taken out a new contract with our supplier at the end of June, our gas and electricity prices are now fixed until August 2023.

We should therefore be alright for another year, so my main concern with this unwelcome development, is the total lack of any price cap for businesses. These unprecedented increases will undoubtedly impact on the profitability of my employer, meaning money earmarked for expansion and employee benefits, will now go towards the already sky-high profits being clocked up by the energy companies.

What I find even more disturbing about these stratospheric price rises, is the impact they will have on small businesses, such as local pubs and restaurants, and the knock-on effect this will have on independent breweries, and other essential suppliers. As if right on cue, we learned, earlier this morning that a well-known, and cask-focused, free house in the centre of Tonbridge has ceased trading. The owners claim the business had never really recovered properly from the pandemic, and this might well be true, but I can’t help thinking that a different outcome may have been possible, were it not for the massive price rises in the cost of energy.

Also closing, is a well-known and much-loved Thai restaurant, in nearby Southborough, with the owners again blaming the rising costs of living, which has affected their business far more than the pandemic. Warnings have also been sounded by Alex Greig, who is the owner of Fuggles, the well-known beer cafés, with outlets in both Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge. Speaking out on the front page of the local paper, Alex, who has written to the local MP’s that cover the two towns, quoted the example of his current £25k energy bill, which is due to increase by 400% to an astronomical £100k per annum.

Alex is not alone in facing such an extortionate rise in his energy bill and is calling for prices to be capped for businesses, in the same way they are for domestic users. He ended by saying, “Ultimately if the government don’t announce something very soon, many businesses will simply become unviable - particularly the smaller, independent businesses across all sectors, be it hospitality, retail or anything else."

I don’t think that any of us saw this coming, especially as most of us were just relieved to be coming out if the pandemic. I remember reading predictions that the post pandemic years could herald a repeat of the “Roaring Twenties,” the great upswing in economic performance and overall optimism that occurred as the so-called “Spanish flu” epidemic which coincided with the closing years of the Great War, came to an end.

The pundits got that one wrong, but no doubt they hadn’t bargained on the actions of a Russian lunatic who imagines himself as Peter the Great, when Ivan the Terrible would be more appropriate. I’ve nothing more to add on this at the moment, and I’m certainly not going to say anything about the latest, Daily Mail-endorsed, Prime Minister, who takes office, officially tomorrow.

Instead, we’re off to the seaside in the morning, for an end of summer break, and whilst the weather forecast is not looking good, it will be nice to enjoy a change of scenery, along with a brief escape from the madness which seems to be gripping the country.