Posted on: November 20th, 2008 by Simon Frank

Governments and financial institutions the world over are reeling at a discovery made, quite by accident in Boundary Row SE1.  Forget interest rate cuts.  Forget the inter-bank lending rate.  In fact, forget about just about everything.  You can end the recession by taking direct action.  Simply turn off the T.V. and cancel the newspapers.

There.  Done.  No news.  No recession.

For most of us it’s that simple.  Turn off the noise.  Look around you.  What’s changed?  We are still the lucky ones.  Despite being in the “worst recession since 1929” few of us have any real experience of poverty.  A point being made by an increasing amount of charities.

While billions pounds are being dished out to worried bankers, some people are wondering whether they can survive by eating the bushes by the side of the road.

Our food prices have risen by around 5%, in other parts of the globe prices have shot up by around 83% in the last three years.  Imagine waking up tomorrow to find a loaf of bread costs about £80.

Is our recession real?  Yes, (probably).   But recessions are relative.  It’s easy to wake up on a grey winter morning, switch on the TV and let the pundits pour unrelenting panic and misery into your life.

Then again, it’s equally easy not to.