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Transcript on the infamous phone messages here!
Mark Thompson Director General Of the BBC

In the latest development in the ongoing saga of Manuel-gate, the BBC and the former governing body reached a decision on the matter of the airing of the offensive messages which took place on Radio 2 on October the 18th.

The Director General of the BBC and the BBC Trust, the former governing body, who look after the licence holder, met yesterday in talks which lasted six and a half hours. The outcome of the meeting was rather unexpected and it ended up in much respected, Leslie Douglas, ‘Controller of Programmes’ for the BBC handing in her resignation. It was ultimately her job at the top to listen to and clear the tapes in question. Which she hadn’t done.

In an interview on Sky News today, Max Clifford put in his two penny worth by saying “Leslie Douglas was just a sacrificial offering” and he said it was a great shame that a well respected lady as herself who had made Radio 2 what it was today should be made the scapegooat in this way, when he felt the blame lay ultimately with the two presenters and their production team.

Jonathon Ross escaped a full dismissal and instead was suspended for three months unpaid leave at a cost to Ross of 1.4 million pound. He will not surface again for the BBC until mid January although he is presenting ITV’s Comedy Awards next week which will earn him a cool £100,000. Ross, the BBC’s highest ever paid presenter, at £18 million for his three year deal is on a final warning. The blame does seem to have been proportioned correctly and for the part which Ross played in the incident I think the punishment does fit the crime.

The board’s findings were “A lax regime of control” by the BBC and Sir Michael Lyons, the chairman of the BBC Trust, said that he was very concerned by the “serious and deliberate breaches” of broadcasting regulations by Brand and Ross. He continued, by saying that the calls were a “deplorable intrusion” and that the corporation’s decision to broadcast them “fell so far short of audiences’ legitimate expectations” that they represented “an abuse of the privileges given to the BBC”.

Ex Chairman of the Board of Governors for the BBC, Sir Christopher Bland said: They should have acted sooner. They were seen to be dragging their heels for far too long. He went on to say that the incident could have been kept contained had they stepped in straight away. But instead they let it snowball until just about everyone had jumped on the bandwagon.

What caused all this fuss was that Russell Brand and Jonathon Ross got a little carried away with a prank that they decided to play on actor Andrew Sachs during Russell Brand’s Radio Show on BBC 2. The boisterous pair of presenters left four messages on his answering machine. In the first message, Jonathon Ross blurted down the phone that Brand had slept with his granddaughter. Things got a bit out of hand and the messages increased in their adult content.

It was agreed by Sachs that the pre-recorded show could go ahead but only with the offensive messages withdrawn. On October the 18th the as live show aired and much to Sachs horror the messages were still very much intact.

This caused much embarrassment and distress to Sachs granddaughter, Georgina Bailiie, 23, and also to Sachs, 78, (manuel) of Fawlty Towers. As the press got wind of the incident things started to escalate and many thousands of calls of complaint started to pour into the BBC. This situation ran on gaining momentum until the snails pace of the BBC decided to step in. What Followed was a temporary ban to both Radio Presenters until things could be sorted out.

Russell Brand resigned from his post as presenter for Radio 2 on Wednesday saying he wished to cause no further embarrassment to the Corporation and that he accepted full responsibility as it was his show and he should have had full control of what went on in it.

Well, it’s sorted out now for the meantime, but we still await the findings of Ofcom which should take a few weeks more. The BBC will have to answer to a breach of the BBC guidelines I would have thought. Lessons to be learned? Bad management of situation by the BBC; they acted slowly and poorly. “Lax regime of Control” said the board. One thing the BBC has over ITV is its exempt reputation both here and abroad; until now. The old metaphoric adage ‘Auntie BBC’ has been well and truly tarnished and they really do need to clean up their act fast.

It’s a shame really. Apart from the harassment to Sachs, there was only one swear word in the transcript and to think the situation has reached these heights. Contemporary, edgy humour is to be encouraged; otherwise all we will be left with is the working man’s club humour with all its racism, patriarchal perception, belly laughs and toilet humour. Both Brand and Ross do stretch the boundaries of their craft, they just need to be kept in line occasionally and this is what unfortunately failed to happen on this occasion.

With the right handling, apologies all round before it reached these proportions then face could have been saved, and Russell Brand would not have felt the need to resign… One saving grace to come out of all this mess, I suppose, is that Jonathon Ross hasn’t lost his job as well. Sadly it’s too late the for ex controller of programmes at the BBC, Leslie Douglas. Their schoolboy prank put paid to that.-

Christianna Garrett-Martin

Transcript on the infamous phone messages here!

Transcript on the infamous phone messages here!

Jonathon Ross Future Hangs In The Brink

The BBC is considering ditching ‘Edgy Comedy’ from their catalogue. This comes in the light of the huge storm that has been created over the Russell Brand, Jonathon Ross escapade which took place on October the 18th when controversial characters, Brand and Ross were hosting an as live Radio 2 show. After a series of prank phone calls to respected actor, Andrew Sachs, 78, (Manuel) of Fawlty Towers at two in the morning, their outcome looked decidedly bleak.

An emergency meeting is being held today to decide the future of Jonathon Ross, BBC’s highest ever paid presenter. Both presenters were suspended from their jobs with the BBC yesterday pending an Ofcom and BBC internal enquiry. There has been huge uproar concerning this affair and it has given disgruntled TV license holders the chance to air their feelings and have their say. Over 30, 000 calls of complaint have been flooding into the BBC since the Radio Show aired on October the 18th.

At a press call, in a surprise announcement last night, Russell Brand resigned from his post as radio presenter for the BBC. He stated he did not want to bring any more embarrassment to the corporation. He thanked them for his opportunities that they had given him and he said that he would take full responsibility for the incident. He went on to say that Jonathon Ross is a family man and didn’t mean any harm by his actions.

The tone of the messages left during the Radio show went from bad to worse as Brand and Ross got carried away in the comedy moment. It started as a prank but very soon got out of hand. The two presenters cast a shadow over Mr Sachs granddaughter’s reputation. Georgina Baillie, 23, who was so distressed by the inappropriate messages, that she offered to ‘tell all’ in the Sun newspaper yesterday. Ms Baillie and Mr Brand were actually an item back in 20006 and Jonathon Ross had said on the answerphone message left for Sachs, that Brand had slept with his granddaughter.

The Radio Show had been pre-recorded and Mr Sachs had been assured that on airing that all offensive messages would be edited out. Well they weren’t. So someone amongst the BBC staff had not done their job properly. Director General of the BBC, Mark Thompson, meets the BBC Trust, former governing body, today and it is they who represent the licence fee payers. The internal enquiry should shed some light on the subject and then the blame will then be apportioned accordingly, one would have thought.

Before a show airs on the radio it has to pass a checklist called the audio and music compliance form, which would be tick boxed, authorised, and then signed off by the producers. The problem here was, that the show was actually a production by Russell Brands own Company, ‘Vanity Projects’, and not the BBC. Could it be that somewhere in the system, confusion was caused because of this, and that there was no checklist authorised, or signed off at all? Or was it a matter of sheer incompetence on the part of whoever passed this show through as suitable.

At the National TV awards last night there was strong support from the celebrities for the shamed presenters and Davina McCall had this to say about the scandal, “They were two boys just being quite silly”. They are comedians. They shouldn’t be nationally vilified over this incident”. Well, we will find out very soon just where Jonathon Ross stands with the BBC. Ross is on a three year contract with them, which has cost the BBC a phenomenal £18 million pound.-

This whole thing has turned into a fiasco and the public are demanding immediate resolve. Jonathon Ross is in a very sticky situation indeed and he may just be made, by the magnitude of his profile, the scapegoat of this sorry tale. -

Christianna Garrett-Martin

Transcript on the infamous phone messages here!

Transcript on the infamous phone messages here!

Georgina Baillie, 23, former lover of Russell Brand, 33, spoke out today in the Sun newspaper after a practical joke by Russell Brand and Jonathon Ross went horribly wrong.

During Russell Brand’s Radio 2 show Jonathon Ross had phoned Andrew Sachs, 78 (Manuel) off Fawlty Towers at two in the morning and told the veteran actor that Brand had slept with his granddaughter. The pair then followed this up with a string of lewd and offensive phone messages which went on to Mr Sach’s answering machine.

Calls have been flooding in from all over the world. Such is the huge response to this situation. I think strong feeling is also a retaliation against the high price of the Television Licence fee, and when something like this goes wrong with the system the BBC are putting themselves well and truly in the firing line. Someone will be made an example of and that will probably happen tomorrow when the findings of the enquiry are disclosed to the public.

Dressed in a provocative red dress for the photo shoot, Georgina had this to say: “I am utterly horrified and disgusted”. She continued, that the millionaire presenters were “cruel sickos” and that they should be given the sack. She also feels that the producers of the show should go too for allowing the show to be aired with the unedited, offensive messages included.

Brand and Ross sent these messages to her grandfather as a practical joke which got out of hand. The Radio 2 show was pre-recorded and it was promised to Mr Sachs that the highly inappropriate messages concerning his granddaughter would be removed…

Georgina said “What happened between us, (referring to Brand) was supposed to be private but he is clearly no gentleman”. “Worst of all, my poor grandfather had to confront the fact I’d slept with such a rat. I have now been put in a position where I’ve felt obliged to explain myself to him”.

Russell Brand resigned today saying he was sorry he had let the BBC down.
Read The Full Story Here!

Christianna Garrett-Martin

The Sun Interview Here!

Transcript on the infamous phone messages here!

Transcript on the infamous phone messages here!

Breaking News. Transcript on the infamous phone messages here!

In the latest development in the Russell Brand, Jonathon Ross drama, Russell Brand has dramatically decided to resign from the BBC, quitting his Radio 2 show. Following the suspending of both of the BBC’s highest paid stars earlier today, Brand has decided to take full responsibility for the undesirable antics of both him, and Jonathon Ross on Brands late night BBC 2 Radio Show which was broadcast on October the 18th.

Jonathon Ross was due to record his show ‘Friday Night With Jonathon Ross’ today and it would have been shown this Friday. But due to him being suspended, that is now off the menu. Tomorrow we will learn of the findings from Ofcom when one of the options is that they could fine the BBC £250, 000. The question is, have the BBC breached the broadcasting code? This airing could call for radical change to the rules governing the procedures now in place regarding the running of the BBC shows.

During the show, Brand and Ross made a string of phone calls to veteran actor, Andrew Sachs,78 (manuel) off Fawlty Towers. During the answerphone messages, both Brand and Ross overstepped the line of decency when they both made reference to Andrew Sachs granddaughter, Georgina Baillie, 23. Jonathon Ross blurted down the phone that Brand had slept with her and things went from bad to worse from here on in.

Andrew Sachs was rightfully hurt and angry at the messages. Calls have been pouring in from the BBC and they have now received 20, 000 complaints. Ofcom has been brought in to investigate the matter and the future now looks bleak for both Brand and Ross with the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Russell Brand apologised profusely at the press call today. He seemed full of contrition as he thanked the BBC for the huge opportunities that they had given him. He said he was very sorry to have tarnished their name, both here and abroad and he felt the best thing all round, was for him to resign. He wanted to let everyone know that Jonathon Ross was a family man who meant no harm and just got carried away in the heat of the moment. Their juvenile prank simply got out of hand. It started off innocently enough but soon became complete harassment to Mr Sachs.

Brand said, “All I ever wanted to do was to make people laugh and now that they are not”, this is the best decision all round. This incident is a huge embarrassment to the BBC and they now have the decision on what to do about Ross, their highest paid presenter who pulls in £6 million per year from them. The high public profile of this incident demands heads to roll, and we will find out tomorrow, just who’s head that will be. -

In a statement by actor, Andrew Sachs, he had this to say about Russell Brands decision to resign: “I respect his decision. I hope he moves forward, I really hope he does”. “Gross lapse of taste” is what the BBC had to say about it all, and Ofcom will be saying the rest tomorrow.

Christianna Garrett-Martin

Transcript on the infamous phone messages here!

LATEST! - Transcript on the infamous phone messages here!

No Laughing Matter.

The Russell Brand Jonathon Ross saga has escalated and it’s not going to go away. Now Ofcom, the authority for the UK communications industries have been called in to investigate the matter. This morning it is all over the front pages and the pressure is on the BBC to sack the pair of them. Andrew Sachs granddaughter is also considering legal and possibly police action against Russell Brand and Jonathon Ross…The Prime Minister has told the BBC to deal with matter quickly. But they appear to be dragging their heels. With talk of investigation which could take weeks.

Calls have been flooding in to complain about the pair. There is also strong feeling that this matter will reach Prime Minister’s question time this lunchtime. It all started on Russell Brands pre-recorded Radio 2 Show on October 18th. It was 2 in the morning and Brand and Ross gave Andrew Sachs a call for a short telephone interview. What they got was a telephone answering machine.

Mr Ross was on the phone and decided to play a prank on Mr Sachs, 78. He blurted down the phone that Russell had slept with Mr Sach’s granddaughter, Georgina. Russell was heard to say “You can’t do that it’s on his answerphone”. But things went from bad to worse as the two comics tried to outdo each other in the comedy stake banter. In all there were four phone calls made and four rambling, lewd and inappropriate messages left.

“Brand and Ross, two of the corporation’s highest-paid stars, described in graphic detail an alleged encounter between Brand, 33, and Mr Sachs granddaughter Georgina Baillie, 23. They then sang bawdy songs about the event and joked that Sachs may kill himself”.

This was a pre-recorded show and Andrew Sachs (Manuel) off Fawlty Towers, contacted the BBC to ask that they remove the explicit nuisance phone calls and all messages to him on final edit, so that when this show was aired there would be no trace of the harassment he had received. Sachs was furious and demanded an apology from the annoying duo. Mr Ross stepped in with a formal apology whilst cavalier, lethario comedian Russell Brand sang a slightly sarcastic rendering of apology on his Radio show. You got the impression that he wasn’t taking things too seriously. Since then he has now apologised formally and sent a bunch of red roses to Andrew Sachs.

The trouble is that when you stick two slightly off the wall comics in the same room, at two in the morning, things can appear slightly surreal and alienated. I think the phone calls went from bad to worse because of the situation they were in. I am not excusing the pair for their inappropriate antics, I just think they reverted to playground behaviour out of boredom, both trying to outdo each other for supreme comedy crown. It was a bit like a double act as the two huge egos tried to out-do each other.

Andrew Sachs, 78 played the brilliant character Manuel in the highly popular TV show, Fawlty Towers, written by, and starring John Cleese. Mr Sachs was outraged to find the four messages on his answering machine and his granddaughter was also highly offended and shocked. This show should not have aired with the phone calls included and Russell Brand and Jonathon Ross should not have left the messages in the first place.

What is acceptable to Brand and Ross in the way of humour may not be acceptable to the next person. Andrew Sachs is of a different generation, and the pair’s behaviour went above and beyond what is deemed as acceptable behaviour to him, and to a lot of other people as well. The outspoken and controversial comics in their own right let things get a bit out of hand.

After the aired show there were two complaints only. But since this has been brought into the public eye the matter has now received a massive 10, 000 complaints and this incident now demands a public enquiry. Watchdog television regulator, Ofcom has stepped in and is now making a full investigation of the matter. Not only did Mr Brand’s and Mr Ross’s antics breech what is acceptable behaviour, but it also broke the law on a few counts.

Basically this was a prank which went horribly wrong. Stuck in a room on their own in the middle of the night, with no producers to oversee their behaviour, the two giggling men reverted to childish behaviour and in their minds; they were just amusing themselves and having a laugh. The situation quickly escalated from practical joke to harassment and putting these two sardonic comics in the same room was basically asking for trouble. Apart from this isolated incident there were several moments during the show when use of profanity was rife and this also slipped through to inclusion in the aired show on October the 18th.

The British public are baying for blood over this matter, and at the moment I feel that the actual event in question is gaining massive proportions as this incident gathers a snowball effect. Hari Krishna won’t wash here and Brand has got some serious apologising to do, but somehow it all seems a little late in the day for that. Something has to give and someone will be made an example of. Now whether it will be the producer or editor, for letting the phone call and messages stand, along with the use of various swear words, only time will tell.

Worst case scenario would be that Russell Brand and Jonathon Ross are banned from the BBC. If this were to happen it would be very damaging to their respective careers. I’ve seen this happen before with comedian Freddie Starr. The Liverpool-born comedian was the highest paid entertainer in the UK during his peak. He was an extremely unpredictable adlib, comedic performer and too many times he breeched what was acceptable behaviour. His career never recovered after his ban and we basically lost a really unique talent which was killed off by his own self destruction.

The Prime Minister has now been brought into the matter and it has now become political; the outcome looks very grim for someone involved. We should come to know the outcome to all this in due course. Mr Ross is on a reportedly huge £18 million three year deal and Russell Brand has fought his way out of heroin addiction to be where he is today, after gaining huge success on Big Mouth, a Big Brother spin off show which he made very much his own; two very individual and unique British talents. Someone will have to take the consequences for this matter and I wouldn’t like to be in their shoes at this moment in time. A large majority of TV license holders are demanding it and therefore, it must be seen to be done.

With fame comes big responsibility and when you are in the public eye this is something that you to have to bear very much in mind. The public are fickle and what is hot talent today can soon be surpassed by fresh newcomers knocking on opportunities door tomorrow.-

‘An Ofcom investigation has been ordered into a possible breach of the broadcasting code covering individual privacy and material that may cause harm and offence. Brand and Ross could also face a criminal prosecution for making abusive phone calls’.

Christianna Garrett-Martin

Transcript on the infamous phone messages here!

The tragic shooting of Jennifer Hudson’s mother and brother had left her reeling and she has been appealing for the last two days for the public’s help in finding her nephew, Julian. Ms Hudson’s family has been offering a $100,000 reward for information given to the Chicago police resulting in the boy’s location.

“In her efforts to help find her nephew, Hudson appealed for help via a MySpace blog entry where ‘The Secret Life of Bees’ star posted a picture of her sister’s son. “Thank you all for your prayers and your calls. Please keep praying for our family and that we get Julian King back home safely,” the blog entry read. “If anyone has any information about his whereabouts please contact the authorities immediately.”

Sadly, the body of Jennifer Hudson’s seven year old nephew was found today in an abandoned SUV. This comes three days after the stars brother and mother were found dead in their home on Friday. The Chicago police confirmed the news of the boy’s death earlier today at the police conference. The child, Julian King was found in the boot of a white Chevrolet Suburban. The body was covered in plastic sheeting in the car which had been missing since Friday.

The 1994 white Chevrolet Suburban which belonged to Ms Hudson’s brother had been taken from his home and the F.B.I and local police have been looking for it since the discovery of the bodies.The Chicago police were alerted to the SUV by neighbours who reported a suspicious vehicle. ‘Commander Wayne Gulliford of the Chicago police told reporters at a news conference Monday morning that the SUV matched the one they sought in an Amber Alert issued after the slayings’.

Young Julian lived in the same house in Chicago as Ms Hudson’s mother Darnell Donerson, 57, and her brother, Jason Hudson, 29, who were both found dead by multiple gunshot wounds on Friday. ‘Prayers have been held outside the house today for her departed family members who were shot to death last week outside of the family’s home in Chicago’.

William Balfour, 27, former husband of Jennifer’s sister, Julia Hudson, is being held by the Illinois Department of Corrections for a parole violation and is in the process of being questioned by the police department about the slayings. Mr. Balfour already has on record, convictions for attempted murder, possession of a stolen motor vehicle and vehicular hijacking. He has spent six years in detention and was released from prison in May 2006 and has remained on probation since then.

Jennifer Hudson had been on a promotional tour of Florida to promote her latest movie, “The Secret Lives of Bees,” at the time of the murders. She had to return home on receiving the dreadful news of the killings to identify the bodies of her mother and brother. Jennifer Hudson was awarded an Oscar for best supporting actress for her performance in “Dreamgirls”; Looks like it’s going to be a very tough time for her right now. -

Christianna Garrett-Martin

As pressure mounts, the stock market takes a right hammering once again, along with the Far East and New York. Drastic emergency measures are called for and the Federal Reserve’s hand is being forced to cut the interest rate to just 1 percent. This action is crucial and could happen as soon as tomorrow. Following the recent cut in the interest rate on October the 8th, Gordon Brown is now mulling over what to do next.

There is to be a meeting of the MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) next week, but feelings are that an emergency session will be held as soon as. “They need to act very quickly to get ahead of the curve. The time has arrived to deliver positive surprises; it is psychological warfare “, Sushil Wadhwani a former member of the MPC is quoted as saying.

The emergency meeting would tie in with the European Central Bank and New York. Desperate times need desperate measures and it would also lift the mood of the country. The global downturn has taken its toll and we are now ‘in’ a recession according to the new GDP (Gross Domestic Product) figures. ‘Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is an integral part of the UK national accounts and provides a measure of the total economic activity in a region. GDP is often referred to as one of the main ’summary indicators’ of economic activity and references to ‘growth in the economy’ are quoting the growth in GDP during the latest quarter’.

The only saving grace to come out of this crisis is that house prices will plummet by 25 per cent by the year 2010 it is forecast. House prices fell 1.3 per cent in the turbulent month we have just been through, making an overall seven per cent decrease in the last year. Debit cards will be seen to take over from the credit card market analysts predict, as people watch their pennies very closely as the recession takes hold…

The credit crunch is already showing signs that people are eating healthier food. There are far less takeaways being bought, and people are making packed lunches to take to work with them. Many people are cycling or walking to work also. I think restaurants and takeaways will really feel the pinch, as people cut down drastically on their weekly food bill, and expensive nights out will just have to take a back seat. We as a nation are eating less; drinking less and smoking less, recent figures have shown. When the chips are down we do what we have to do.

Gordon Brown is quoted as saying yesterday on BBC’s Scotland Politics Show, ‘We could have dealt with some of these problems if we’d known what was happening in the sub-prime market in the States but we didn’t have the global early warning system’. - Not good enough I’m afraid! I think the fact that last year what was happening in Boston should have been early warning sign enough. The housing market collapse affected Boston dramatically in all sectors. I wrote the following article last year and sensed something very ominous was brewing then.-

- Despite all the doom and gloom of recent weeks, Gordon Brown is expected to announce today that welfare reform will be increased. The PM said, ‘This is not the time to be slowing down welfare reform’. So hold onto your hats and your purses because we are in for a very bumpy ride. -

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- A LOOK AT RISING GROCERY PRICES IN THE BOSTON AREA-

- An Urgent Issue -

This is a very important and emotive issue in Boston today. With the massive incline in energy costs, compounded with wages at a standstill, the housing market collapse has a lot to answer for. The staple diet of the native Boston citizen has been put under huge pressure with the soaring prices of daily foods. Items such as bread, milk, flour and eggs which are basic dietary requirements have catapulted sky high this year, according to the latest data from the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Egg prices increased by a staggering 40%, while the cost of milk lagged not too far behind at an increase of 26%. Eggs rose by a massive 60%. Pasta products increased by 30%, and fruit and vegetables seemed low in comparison with a 20% increase. With these major increases in food prices, the strain is beginning to take its toll. As one Boston retailer Laura Sens of BJ’s Wholesale Club is reported to have said “No retailer can absorb increases indefinitely. Given what we are seeing, all retailers have to raise prices, and are doing so.”

So what we have here in Boston is a Catch 22′ situation. One precipitates the other, and as gas prices soar, so will grocery prices, leaving the Boston resident reeling with the already massive increase to their grocery bill. One Portsmouth resident Amy Bringer said that her weekly grocery bill has increased from $125 to $200 over the last year, and the frightening prospect is the fact that analysts expect these prices to keep on rising.

There is a huge upward trend to the price of groceries in the Boston area, and they continue to rise. The whole food industry is being put in a position where it has to charge more for daily produce. With the average household spending three times on food to what they spend on gas, and with the present economic food crisis Boston looks set for a drought. Never have they seen such an increase in the price of food since 2003, and supermarket checkouts are feeling the buyer’s wrath.

Commodities analysis firm DTN, reports that in the past two years, prices for corn have doubled, soybean prices have tripled, and wheat prices have more than tripled due to the poor harvesting conditions. This present situation in Boston and beyond, isn’t a case of greedy retailers heaping on their profit, but more a case of the present economic situation, and the price of the dollar combined with the increased price of oil, and because of this production and transportation costs have risen in proportion to the oil increase.

Grocery stores in Boston, such as Meridian Food Markets, Shaws Supermarkets, and Wholesale Foods Markets, are being hit hard by their suppliers, and in return they are feeling the wrath from their customers, and so cause and effect comes into play within the food chain.

Therefore all of this has had a knock on effect, and the consumer is left feeling the final effect. Knowing what has caused the increase in food prices doesn’t help the shopper in the aisles wondering how they are going to make ends meet, but it does help to know what has caused this situation. Understanding goes part way to accepting, and while we can do nothing about the increased prices to the groceries in Boston today, we can take stock, and try and budget accordingly until the over inflated food prices settle to a more acceptable level.-

Well, here it is! - They said it was going to happen; and now it’s just around the corner. Since the credit crunch hit hard and almost brought down the banking system just a few short weeks ago, the threat of recession has lay in wait. We are now on the verge of possibly the largest financial crisis in the history of the world. UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown admitted on Wednesday that we are now facing a global recession.

What was so frightening and so hard to take in, was that the impending banking collapse had implications worldwide. It first started in the USA housing market when banks lent money for mortgages to people who could quite simply not afford them. These sub-prime customers had difficulty meeting their repayments, and the crunch began. In a very short time, this had quickly escalated and extended its branches out to reach most corners of the world. The sheer scale of the financial collapse was hard to take in and quite unbelievable for something of this enormity to occur within the financial institution in this day and age. That it should have been allowed to get to this ominous stage in the first place at all, defies all sensibility.

So all we can do for now is to tighten the purse strings and keep our fingers crossed. This recession promises to be a very nasty one and small businesses have a real job on their hands to stay afloat, given today’s financials climate. By the end of this year unemployment will reach the two million mark, with a forecast of three million by the year 2010. There is a real fear that all the millions of pounds of taxpayers money used to bail us out of the credit crunch, will just be soaked up to no avail, whilst the financial situation continues to worsen all round.

Families all over Great Britain are suffering, with higher mortgage repayments than they expected to pay, electricity and gas prices soaring, and food prices increasing also. With the markets plummeting, the currency losing it’s value and the loss of faith in the government, all we can do to help ourselves is to watch our expenditure and hope that we are not one of the unlucky ones to be made redundant. Negative equity is on the horizon and many houses will be repossessed because the owners will no longer be able to afford to pay their inflated mortgages.

This downturn is expected to last until the end of next year, and the impending recession is forecast to be far worse than the recession of the early 90’s. I remember that well, I had a shop at the time which I had worked very hard to turn it into a successful business, and overnight suddenly nobody was spending any more. It was immediate and it was very baffling and within three months I was forced to close.

Recessions are nasty things. People stop spending, which in turn loses people their jobs, which in turn causes people to lose their faith. Only time will tell just how serious this global recession will actually be, and only then can we learn how to deal with it.-

Christianna Garrett-Martin