Credit Crunch Britain

Fiddle-dee-dee, a pointless indulgence.

Who would've thought we'd see the day when a Karen Millen frock was a mere £31?

Or how about a pair of shoes from the same store, whittled down to an amazing £54 from £150?

I'd like to say that these were a gift from a handsome rich man who was so taken with me he rushed out to the shops. But I'd be fibbing.

Oh go on then, I'll take this Reiss number at £31, though the original price tag said five times as much.

...and it will be perfect for those hanami parties!

All items that will be in my suitcase. And if funds were available, they would be joined by five other frocks. But don't worry - I haven't been spending all my money on frocks. At Christmas I paid two months worth of rent plus settled my council tax bill till the end of the year (local tax), and any spare money will be put towards those costs. Bills are up to date. After all, you only have to pay up in the end.

I seem to be of of a huge number of British people with few, if any, savings, and it used to depress me. Every day there are Credit Crunch articles in the paper. Some tell desperate tales of how bankers are jumping out of windows, unable to fund the trophy wives and private schools. On the tube last week I heard a man bemoan the cost of his golfing club. More upbeat themes speak of middle-class parents having more clout with the comprehensive school system and cheap holidays in Iceland.

Talking of which, my friends injected a little much-needed cash into the Icelandic economy by going to Reykavic this Christmas, and I'm off out in a second to hear all about it. You may remember that our prime minister Gordon Brown froze Icelandic assets held in British banks as the country went bankrupt late last year, taking millions of pounds of British savings with it. As a result a rather cross Gordon said huh, we're stopping you getting your money too, invoking a clause that allows us to freeze foreign governments' assets that are held in UK banks should we see fit. The thing that really pissed the Icelanders off was the clause is usually used to stop terrorist regimes' money.

Well, I'd be pretty narked too.

Decent liberal types like myself would like to make it up to our northern neighbours, with whom we were last at loggerheads in the 1970s over fishing rights (the Cod War). Right now holidays to this fascinating country are half-price, meaning many Brits are heading up there to see the Northern Lights. I hope it's helping to mend a few bridges - mind you, my friends met a friendly group is a bar who introduced themselves with a "Hi, let us introduce you to some more of our terrorist friends!", so perhaps it will take time.

As for me, I'll have to wait a bit longer to visit. In the meantime I hope that my purchases from Karen Millen, owned by Icelandic firm the Bagyur Group, will mean a few more pennies in the coffer for our Arctic Circle pals.