by Grainne

I’ve been implementing some austerity measures of my own in recent months.  Out of necessity.  With cuts in pay on top of numerous stealth taxes, and more to come, and my outgoings not having diminished to match, something had to give.

In cutting back on my spending I had to ignore the urgings of Finance Minister Michael Noonan to spend to stimulate the economy.  To be fair, over the years, I’ve done more than my bit for the country in this regard.  Friends and family will attest to my penchant for shopping.   Mind you, even if I had been able to splurge in recent months I wouldn’t be the least inclined; not while bankers and bond-holders are getting away with bloody murder, senior civil servants are walking away with exorbitant sums of money in pension pay-offs (many of them to return to the fold as well paid special consultants/advisers with scarcely a weekend in between to draw breath.)  And then there’s those agreed reduced pay rates agreed by the Government for special advisers and other upper-echelon party hacks and then blatantly ignored.

In what was definitely a first for me, I spent an hour and a half inside a shopping centre on a recent Thursday and left with nary a thing.  Didn’t spend a penny.  The place was practically empty; it was just short of tumbleweeds blowing down the centre aisle.  I looked inside the shops and felt sorry for the shop assistants who had no one to serve.  How long can such a situation go on?  It can’t be viable to heat and light stores as well as pay wages when no-one’s buying.

I’ve really embraced this whole frugality ethos, buying special offer lunch ingredients at the start of the week and making them do the whole week.  I’m proud to say I haven’t deviated once, haven’t succumbed to the temptation of dining out.  I’ve gone at my weekly food shop with almost manic zeal, planning meals and making lists.  Gone is my ‘it looks nice, toss it in the trolley’ method of shopping.

I avoided the sales and haven’t bought a single new item of clothing in months except for tights and my saving there comes from now buying only the thick opaque ones which last a hell of a lot longer than the sheer, flimsy ones that seldom made it beyond one wear without looking tatty.  Those are strictly reserved now for special occasions.  And those have been cut back on too – it has to be an awfully big occasion now to warrant a night out never mind a new outfit.

I’m on a mission as regards cutting utility bills – it may be good to talk but it’s expensive too and all appliances are being used far more judiciously.  In fact the dishwasher broke and hasn’t been replaced, I’ve gone back to the old-fashioned way and found it to be less laborious than all that scraping, bending down to stack-and-empty business the dishwasher required.  And it’s done a lot quicker too.  I’m even taking quicker showers – gone are the days of luxuriating under a spray of piping hot water for 10 minutes to 15 minutes.  It’s a quick in and out now.

I doubt that I’m the only one in belt-tightening mode.  Which can’t be good for economic recovery, or jobs.  But what to do with a Government coming at us with a clutch of made-up new charges and taxes on a weekly basis?  Is it too much to expect them to get their heads around the ‘less to spend, less spent’ reality?  Yeah, I guess it is.

by Aine

Last week I had a missed call on my mobile phone from my GP urging me to contact him. Because I had been with him the day before for some routine blood work I was a tad concerned.
But when I spoke to him his first question puzzled me.  He asked me had I lost my wallet in New York? I said that I had indeed lost my wallet almost a year ago in New York city while on a brief holiday there with my daughter. He informed me that he had  a phone call from a gentleman in Montreal who was trying to track down the owner of the wallet and when he went through all the contents of my purse (and there was a lot of stuff in there to be gone through!) he found a doctor’s prescription and that’s how he came to contact my GP.  My doctor passed on this man’s name and telephone number for me to contact him. I was astounded that after all that time there was a chance I might actually get my wallet back!
I duly called Pat in Montreal (not knowing if it was the middle of the night or what the time difference was) and he answered immediately. He told me exactly where he had found my wallet and described all my various cards, (organ donor card, diabetes membership card, Visa, Laser, business cards etc.) He told me there was exactly $654.76 in cash in the wallet. He explained that he had tried many times to track me down. He had rung the hotel where I was staying but they refused to divulge any information.  He rang Visa and they likewise would not give out my details.  He really had gone to a lot of trouble to try to reunite me with my wallet.
Now I did have on my organ donor card my next of kin as my hubby and I had his contact number there too. This very kind good Samaritan did in fact ring my husband…… but, horror of horrors ……… I hadn’t told my husband I had lost my purse………. I knew he would moan forever about me  being so careless and I felt stupid enough anyway for having lost it…….so when Pat from Montreal rang hubby to ask did he know an Aine who lost a wallet my husband said no, he didn’t!  Needless to say I was mortified when my husband came home from work one day and informed me that he had got this weird call from some man in Canada………
The day I lost my wallet was the second last day of our brief stay and luckily for me I always carry an emergency fund when I’m travelling so that got me by. I had to ring Grainne in a blind panic and get her to ring the bank (pretending to be me of course) to immediately cancel all my cards before my account was cleaned out!
Montreal Pat went on to tell me that he had put my wallet away in a drawer in his work desk and forgotten about it until the day recently when he decided to clean out his desk and found it. He decided to have one more shot at finding the owner and again went through all the bits and bobs contained therein. He found the prescription and that’s how he came to ring my doctor.  He has popped my wallet in the post, doesn’t even want the cost of posting and packaging.  All contents intact.  What a gentleman. I’m expecting it to arrive any day now.
Its very reassuring, and just plain nice, to know there are some honest, decent people left out there. Thank you sincerely, Pat from Montreal.

By Aine

Following  Minister of Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar’s glib comment that we all could still afford a holiday as the Budget would not be that bad comes his Fine Gael colleague Finance Minister Michael Noonan remarking that our emigrants are leaving to see the world “as a lifestyle choice”. 

Well Minister Noonan, maybe where you come from in Limerick that is the case but I know hundreds of emigrants who have left these shores and it had nothing to do with “lifestyle choices” and everything to do with trying to keep body and soul together, finding a job and making a life for themselves.

They made the choice to try and get a job rather than stay on the dole in Ireland and face a very bleak future with little or no job opportunities, and the banks and lending institutions either snapping at their heels for payback of negative equity mortgages or with no prospect of getting one in the first place . Oh yeah and then Social Protection Minister Joan Burton adds insult to injury by also remarking that, for some, being on the dole is a “lifestyle choice”.  Not for anyone I know, it isn’t.

As I prepare to go to Australia to visit my youngest daughter who has been there for the past three years, I am incensed by tactless throw-away remarks coming from our present Government.

My daughter would dearly love to come home, misses home greatly, but there is no future for her here and therefore she must remain on the other side of the world where at least she has a job with a steady income and a promise of better things.

I know several young people who are currently in Australia picking fruit, hardly a “lifestyle choice”, these are young, well-educated, bright kids who found they had no future at home after leaving college.

It’s easy for you Michael to make such disparaging remarks from your lofty perch in Leinster House.

       I suggest that you take a trip out to Dublin airport and do a quick survey of the people leaving where I think you will find that many of them feel they have no alternative but to take a plane out of here.

Current emigration is splitting up young families, with many young men working in England, leaving behind partners and young children, to try to gain employment to keep a roof over their families’ heads back home. You should be commending them, not insulting them.

When you mention Australia of course it brings to mind images of sandy beaches, warm sunshine etc. but a recent survey by the Irish Independent revealed that of the 70,000 people who emigrated last year, the destinations they chose to call home were the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the USA and Germany.

Another 40,000 are expected to emigrate this year.

Can I suggest that in future all Government Ministers engage their brains before insulting the very people who are willing to get up of their arses and take charge of their lives, in whatever part of the world they think offers them the best opportunity.

by Grainne

The outcome of the public consultation undertaken last year by the Minister for Public Enterprise Brendan Howlin on how the State can save money makes for interesting reading. 

Its seems that public servants were major contributors to the exercise, suggesting ways money could be saved by having their allegedly more work-shy colleagues accountable by linking pay increments to performance assessments.

It wasn’t surprising that many of the suggestions related to cutting spending in social welfare. While there is undoubtedly a case to be made for investigating welfare fraud and cutting off people who are illegally receiving benefits, such widespread condemnation of the system must be galling for the thousands of newly unemployed people who, if given the choice, would prefer to have their jobs back than be on the greatly reduced rates of income the State pays them to get by. Last year, for a period between April and June I found myself unemployed. I spent 12 hour days submitting my CV to companies across Ireland for a variety of jobs, many requiring a lot less experience and expertise than I had. I would have done anything to return to work. Before receiving any payment, which took several weeks, I had to furnish the Department of Social Protection with a large amount of paperwork and two forms of photographic ID, my passport and driving licence. Four weeks after payment began I received a letter from them, telling me to present myself at my nearest FAS office to see what assistance may be available to me in finding work. Failure to turn up, I was warned, could result in my payment being stopped. I was incensed. 64 job applications, six interviews and three fulltime and one partime job offer later, I took the best of the bunch and thankfully returned to the workforce. Not everyone is as lucky.

Of all of the submissions made, I wonder if anyone suggested a ban on Government Ministers refurbishing their offices as Brendan Howlin himself did shortly after taking over as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform last year. As Aine wrote on this website at the time, the man charged with reducing Government spending had over €47,000 spent on setting up his offices, including €47 for a sign for his toilet door and the same amount for a key for that door. He also spent money having his desk raised. He wasn’t the only Minister who had money spent on refurbishment and/or changes to their offices but it was ironic in his case given that in December’s budget he was announcing €1.4bn cuts in day-to-day expenditure and a €755M reduction in capital spending. “As unpalatable as it might be, we must make some difficult choices in order to contribute to the reduction of the budget deficit” he commented, sanctimoniously.

Here’s a suggestion that I should have probably submitted at the time. That the practice of allowing judges, politicians and others who have the cost of being transported to and from work paid for by the taxpayer be stopped immediately. Likewise with meal allowances for these people. The working public is expected to get to their jobs and home again on a daily basis under their own steam at their own cost. Similarly, they are expected to provide food for themselves from their own funds. It’s a joke to have politicians, judges and high ranking civil servants, who have far more generous pay packets than the average PAYE worker, getting such free perks. Except that no-one’s laughing.

By Aine

Last Friday the Central Bank took over the running of Newbridge Credit Union, appointing its own Manager.

Apparently there was concern over the way the Credit Union was being run and the Financial Regulator wanted to “safeguard” peoples deposits.  The concern was that the Credit Union hadn’t put enough money aside to protect against potential losses on property-related loans.

I am a member of Newbridge Credit Union. So are my two sons and one daughter.

Today I rang Newbridge Credit Union to see could I speak to anybody in charge as I was concerned about the money I have on deposit there.

Guess what? They weren’t answering their phones!  Instead a specially recorded message directed me to their website which was of no assistance at all.

So, this financial institution is in trouble but instead of allaying the public’s fears they decide to ignore them instead and make themselves unavailable.

Ok then if thats the way they want it I shall be at the door in the morning as they open at 9.30am to remove my money pronto.

Newbridge Credit Union…. behaving like a bank. Welcome to Ireland 2012. Ni feider linn.

        TSB bank today, 12.45pm. I needed to talk to the Assistant Bank Manager. I rang my local branch but was directed to a call centre in Dublin where a gentleman informed me that he would email the man himself and ask him to phone me back! (still waiting for a call back and its now 19.28pm.)

What happened to the good old days when you phoned your local branch and could actually speak with the Manager? Seems not anymore. Customer service ain’t what it used to be.

Speaking of the TSB, I know a person who applied for a mortagage recently with this bank and were turned down because they had overlooked a Visa bill of seven euro some time previously.  Seven euro?  No, that’s not a typo, a paltry seven euro. Not 700, not 7,000, not 70,000, not 700,000, but a mere seven euro was the stated reason the person’s mortgage application would not be entertained.

It was an oversight on the persons side, they’d been on holiday when the bill came in and weren’t back in time for the payment date and so this little matter came back to haunt them when all their financial details were being trawled through by the mortagage advisor. Be warned TSB customers.

Another chap I know recently went to the same bank to enquire about a mortagage. The mortagage advisor asked how long he was in his current employment. He answered a ”couple of months” wherby the advisor informed him that he must be with the same employer for four years.When did this new rule come into play?

Seriously folks are the TSB making up the rules as they go along? No, sorry sir you are bald…. no money for you! You live in a house with an uneven number? Definately no money for you! You are forty but not married and you expect US to give you a mortagage?  Watch the door on the way out loser! You have two kids…… you definitely wouldn’t be able to pay back the repayments on a mortagage! Goodbye!

You have been banking with us for only 30 years….. no hope of getting a mortagage until you are with us at least 50 then we will turn you down on grounds of old age!

I know people who bank with different banks and they dont seem to be a whole lot better.

In my humble opinion it would seem that the banks don’t like the Financial Regulator looking over their shoulder now and so are acting like truculant brats and their recalcitrant attitude means that the customer is suffering.

Is it time to go back to the days of old when you got you wages paid in a little brown envelope in cash?

That way we could tell the banks to f**k off and  Joe Public would be in control of his own finances again!

by Grainne

A belated Happy New Year to you all.  Forgive our tardy response to its arrival here at Viva Diva.  It’s due not, alas, to time taken to recover from lengthy or wild New Year’s celebrations.  Rather it was a marked reluctance to drag ourselves into a year that while maybe not being quite the ‘annus horribilis’ last year was, is going to pose plenty of challenges.  We were scrabbling around, trying to muster some joie de vivre with which to greet you before stepping into 2012.  The most we could manage however is some grim determination not to let all the doom and gloom about pervade every facet of the next 359 days. 

            Because, while it may not be all untrammelled joy, along the way there’s bound to be some happy times, pleasant events and   joyous  moments.  That said, the challenges can’t be underestimated with most people experiencing some fall off in income, resulting in changes in their personal circumstances.  Has the combined attrition on this country of mass forced emigration, forced unemployment, the further erosion of an already depleted health service, the practical cessation of major infrastructural projects including our roads network and public transport system, tax increases and income cuts and a general reduction in people’s lifestyle been considered by Government I wonder?  Much more than our economic state has been diminished, much more than our economic recovery is at stake.  The nation’s very psyche is being damaged.

It’s true to say the present Government has a horrendous task in trying to clean up the mess of the previous Fianna Fail-dominated ones.  But hammering people already under pressure with extra charges while letting the banks, speculators and builders get away scot-free is unconscionable.  Yes, the present Government has cut the salaries of their own ranks and senior civil servants but there are still way too many on too-high salaries and others walking away with kings’ ransoms of severance packages. 

Take the household charge for example.  It has to be a contender for the cheekiest stroke of the year in that we are expected to voluntarily sign up for it in a ‘turkeys voting for Christmas’ sort of way!  I’m seriously opposed to this charge and the full-blown property tax that the Government has already said will follow.  Those who’ve always worked were hit with the income and health levies (now combined into the new Universal Social Charge) now we’re to be penalised for striving to provide a roof over our heads rather than looking to local Government to provide one for us. 

Anyway I’m not paying.  Apart from being opposed to it in principle, I’m not the home owner.  With a mortgage on my home still, technically it remains the bank’s property.  So I must remind my bank manager of his obligation to self-declare it and pay the charge. 

We’re told that just over 14,000 people have signed up to pay the charge ahead of the March 31^st deadline.  Who are these people who are so eager to volunteer for another tax that they’ve paid two months early?  Are the figures to be believed?  I, for one am not swallowing it.  Not when I hear Environment Minister Phil Hogan trot out the old chestnut that “it’s not fair if somebody pays and others don’t.”  Their plan to track down payment dodgers?  Ride roughshod over Data Protection rights by using ESB records to pursue non-payers.  The Data Protection Commissioner said that was a “disturbing development” as well as an “extension of the power of the State” to gather information on citizens from private companies.  It was intended for use only in individual cases, he said. 

Remember the Poll Tax in England back in the late ‘80s?  The mass marches, the trenchant campaign of opposition?  Many believe it ultimately led to the downfall of Margaret Thatcher. 

Here, we’re told, people are queuing up for volunteer for it.  When did we become so passive? Remember this is just the precursor of a full Property Tax.  On top of car tax increases, a VAT increase, DIRT tax increases, cuts in social welfare, cuts in child benefit among others, the brunt is once again being placed on a lot of people who weren’t responsible for the property bubble and didn’t benefit from it.

In these early days of 2012 it’s hard to conjure up any optimism but regardless of what happens on the national economic front, personal circumstances will hopefully conspire to provide us with enough of those moments of personal achievement, satisfaction, happiness and pleasure that’ll see us through.  A greater capacity to appreciate such positives will also stand us in good stead.

And, if all that fails we could get busy planning a revolution!

By Aine

Ex Mayor of Naas, Councillor Darren Scully was forced to resign recently after remarks he made about representing “black Africans”. Councillor Scully, a member of the Fine Gael party made the remarks during an interview on his local radio station, Kildare FM.

Apparently the matter has been referred to the disciplinary committee of Fine Gael and they will adjudicate next month.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Mr. Scully has also been suspended from his job as an Engineer with Royal Sun Alliance.  To top it all then a Labour Deputy, Aodhan O’ Riordain rowed into the fray and reported Mr. Scully to the Gardai, citing the” incitement to hatred” card. So his future looks fairly bleak unless both his employers and the Fine Gael party show him some mercy.

Now as I see it this is a total overreaction to what Mr. Scully said. I didn’t hear the interview but reading several reports of it since I believe that he was merely voicing his opinion and frustrations about the negative experiences he had encountered in his work as a councillor. The last time I checked Ireland was a free country – free speech was encouraged. We are not a dictatorship, supposedly, and Mr. Scully was merely being truthful about his own personal experiences as a Fine Gael Councillor. Should we not commend his honesty? No it seems not, he must, as all politicians must, toe the party line and that means being politically correct at all times.

Public representatives must not speak negatively about Travellers or ethnic minorities.  You must keep your thoughts to yourself. Its ok to treat the tax-payers with disdain, let rogue bankers off scot free, allow ex Department of Finance executives promotion in Europe but God forbid don’t say anything aloud about ethnic minorities or the socially disadvantaged.  

The high moral ground is still very much in evidence in Irish politics. How bloody two faced. I take grave exception to Dept. O’ Riordain making a complaint to the gardai. Our country is in crisis, he was elected by the people to help put things to right but preferred instead to try to make a name for himself by adopting the ‘holier than thou’ stance. Shame on him.

Regarding his employer Sun Alliance, well I don’t see why Councillor Scully had to be suspended from his position there. He made his remarks in his capacity as Councillor NOT as a representative of Sun Alliance – so get over yourselves.

This political correctness has gone too far.

I await with interest the outcome of the Fine Gael Disciplinary Committee but if I were Mr. Scully I wouldn’t hold my breath on it being a positive result. The hierarchy will surely wish to avoid the fall-out from the do-gooders should he remain a party member, and the party is pre-occupied with being seen to do the right thing – paying lip service to those idiots that scream the race card at every opportunity.

I commend Mr Scully for having the balls to convey what he was thinking to the public. He was being truthful as to the situation he found himself in dealing with the public as a representative. But then when did politics and truth ever go together?

by Grainne

Over the years I’ve been on the giving and receiving end of hospitality on Christmas day, inviting people to our home and being invited to others for Christmas dinner.

As a young married woman living in Canada and preparing to spend our first Christmas away from family I was so grateful for the kindness of another Irish family living in the same city that we’d become friendly with, who invited us to share their Christmas dinner with them.  A couple of years later when our first child was only weeks old, we decided to stay at home and invited a young man from Newfoundland to dine with us.  He worked in the lumber camp with my husband at the time and wasn’t going home for Christmas.  We became good friends with our neighbours in the northern Ontario city where we lived and were kindly invited to Christmas dinner at their home on a couple of occasions.

When we came home we also returned to the tradition of the family Christmas dinner at my parents’ house.  Another year we were guests of a younger brother and his wife and young children and spent a most enjoyable Christmas day in their company with other family.  As more children came along though, and got older, we opted more often to stay home.

Over the years we’ve had my mother-in-law and my husband’s aunt to dine with us.  After our mother died I decided, with my father’s health failing, that a good idea would be to bring our whole family together for a big family Christmas Day dinner.  In my house.  Over 20 people, including seven small children, were catered for.  With some deft manoeuvring, extra tables and chairs set up and plenty of practical help from my sister and sister-in-law, we managed and had a hearty dinner and plenty of good cheer.   It was fortuitous as it was to be my father’s last Christmas.  He died the following April.  I took comfort in the fact that he’d spent his last Christmas amongst us all.

  After my parents died my youngest brother and my aunt joined us for a couple of Christmases.

We also had a friend of my youngest son’s one year as he didn’t have any other plans but our most unusual, and colourful guest, was a Chilean man who resided with us for a time.  Guillermo (or Willie as he was known to us) was a cook by trade and so added some extra pizzazz to our more traditional fare.  We enjoyed his company as much as we did his culinary skills.

This year it’s just family and that’s nice too.  The workload will be lessened certainly, which makes for a more relaxing day.  The reaching out though, to share home and a meal on this most special of days, will be missing.    Still, when children grow older and the excitement of Santa is no more, there comes a time when the gathering of adult offspring, the return home from abroad or wherever they are more usually residing brings a new and different joy.  With so many families parted from their sons and daughters this year because of the recession, I take great comfort in knowing mine will be with me around the Christmas table this year.

by Grainne

Patricia Quinn seems to have been a busier housewife than most. In addition to her housewifely duties, she had an inordinate amount of paperwork to do.  Specifically signing her name to papers she claims to have had no idea about. 

Mrs. Quinn, wife of bankrupt businessman Sean Quinn, would have us believe, or rather wanted the Commercial Court to believe, that she didn’t realise she was signing her name to loan documents for millions of euro from the former Anglo Irish Bank.  Taking the “ignorance is bliss” stance to a whole new level there. 

Mrs. Quinn’s barrister, Bill Shipsey’s contention, that she was a housewife with no business sophistication was, not just insulting to every housewife in the land, but plainly ridiculous when you consider the sheer amount of companies she was director of (63 Quinn group companies in this country and 28 in the UK) and secretary of 10 or so more. 

For her part, she would have us believe that in while signing so many bank loan applications she was in danger of getting RSI, all she had responsibility for was the weekly grocery shop and looking after the household expenses.  Mind you I suppose that would have put a lot on her plate, considering the €3m loan the bank was trying to recoup was supposedly for improvements carried out to their family home.  That’d give you plenty to think about alright; how much of it to spend on interior decor, soft furnishings and what kind to render the abode ever more palatial?

Mr. Justice Peter Kelly who presided over the case, didn’t need the wisdom of Solomon to know not to swallow the fairy tale he was being fed.  He said in summing up, that even a glance at the documents she signed would have shown “all but an illiterate person that it was some form of borrowing from the bank.”  He also said she was advancing the “startling proposition” she was a “cat’s paw” for her husband with no clue about documents she was signing and clueless too about being a director and company secretary of so many companies.  Cat’s paw?   Tail that wagged the dog more like. 

Mrs. Quinn did admit that her supposed ignorance of her business dealings was “embarrassing”.  She could have added “enraging” too, given that her husband lost more than €3bn on a calamitous gamble on the same bank’s share price.   Maybe, if she’d been more clued in, instead of being “clueless” as she’s been described, she could have saved him that folly.

Now the money must be repaid by the wife of the man who was once the richest man in Ireland.  Deciding the weekly groceries and the household expenses is going to get a whole lot easier for her from now on.

by Grainne

It’s the time of year when people are mithered going around trying to find the perfect presents for their loved ones. I used to be a card-carrying member of this stressed group, always anxious to get that elusive ‘ideal gift’ for those special to me.

When I think now of the countless hours I spent in my search, the dozens of choices I’d mull over before discarding them, always holding out, believing I’d come up with something better. When I consider now the time I wasted, and the effort, it seems really silly. Because the truth is: there is no perfect gift.

To discover this pure truth I had to do only one thing. I asked myself what would someone consider the ‘perfect gift’ for me?

And it struck me, they wouldn’t be able to decide on any one thing and wouldn’t have to because I like getting pressies and appreciate everything I get, no matter how big or small, cheap or expensive.

Some of the best presents I’ve got in my half century on this planet have been small, seemingly inconsequential things. I’ve treasured every single thing my kids have ever bought me, on school trips, for birthdays and Christmas or brought home from holidays.

I love presents from my sister because her often eclectic taste has resulted in some unusual new possessions for me over the years. One was an umbrella she brought back from Los Angeles for me which has famous literary quotes all over it.

Anyway, my reasoning is this: if I’m content with just about anything as a gift then I’m sure others are too. I even like, and here I know I differ greatly from some of my women friends, getting household items as birthday and Christmas presents. I got a hand-held mixer one year and was delighted.

A blender followed and I was equally pleased. I even got an ironing board one time as a present. My friends look aghast when I tell them this. A Christmas or birthday present, they believe, should be a ‘personal’ present, not something for the ‘house’. A mixer IS personal for me when I’ll be the one using it the most.

I love books and CDs too but when I tell my kids to buy these for me for Christmas they pooh-pooh the idea and insist on driving themselves mad going off looking for something else they think I’ll like. I even draw up a list of books I would like to read to be extra helpful. The same with CDs I compile a list of ones I’d like. Do they oblige? Nope, they buy something entirely different and I’m left to buy the books and CDs I want, myself.

Nor have I ever been one of those women who puts a lot of store in the amount spent on a gift. It shouldn’t be about money.

When I give gifts though I like to make a bit of an effort with the wrapping. While on the one hand I think that wrapping paper, bows and bobbles, ribbons and other adornments are all a bit wasteful, I can’t help it, I like to give a present nicely presented. The new trend to use gift bags has salved my conscience somewhat because they are at least reusable.

I sometimes still individually wrap the presents I put inside, otherwise I swathe them in delicate, coloured tissue paper before popping it in the bag so that the contents aren’t immediately apparent. I’ll always pop a ribbon on the bag as well.

I’ve finished my Christmas shopping at this stage, without getting stressed. With no ‘ideal’ gifts out there with my children/siblings/ friends names on them, the range becomes a whole lot wider and the choosing a whole lot easier.