Trousers

So after all the prohecies of doom, the UK figures on retail spending last month showed a very small drop. All that noise and frenzy, and maybe things aren't really that bad. Except we've had our attention distracted by the noise and frenzy.

Walking the dog yesterday afternoon, I passed a mother and child. The child was probably three years old, dressed warmly against the chill of the early twilight. The mother was on her mobile phone, and had been since they came into my view. As our paths crossed, I could hear the child saying "Mummy my trousers are falling down", as she continued to chat. He was right, they were.

Beware the distant voices, they might be distracting us from the real business at hand.