Remember, remember the Fifth of November

…. The Gunpowder Treason and Plot, I know of no reason, Why the Gunpowder Treason, Should ever be forgot.

Now I wasn’t around back in 1605 when Guy Fawkes attempted to destroy the Houses of Parliament so I can’t comment on what happened that evening. But ever since that evening festivities have centred on the use of fireworks as we celebrate the downfall of the Gunpowder Plot.

I happen to live in a 7th floor flat so normally I have great views of the almost constant fireworks in the week leading up to and after the 5th November. But this year there were very few fireworks, clearly a sign of the harder times.

So maybe it’s time we forgot all the current economic measures such as inflation, unemployment, GDP, balance of payments etc and used the number of fireworks launched on the 5th November as a true measure of the state of the economy. After all, what better measure than the amount of money people are willing to set fire to!