Our Christmas Wish List – Jonty Abbot and Fergus Wootton

Lifestyle christmas, covid FrankieStenning December 2, 2020 0 Comments

The Covid-19 vaccine
Cocktail kit
The story of Brexit book
A good tax accountant
A takeaway voucher
The Big Pub Quiz

Christmas is a time of happiness for many, a time spent with family and a time of giving and receiving gifts. Although, this year it is going to be quite different due to the monumental changes brought about by the global pandemic which ground the world to a halt in March of this year. Christmas 2020 is expected to be scaled down for many of us. This is because of the restrictions regarding how many families can meet over the five-day Christmas period and many of our concerns over meeting elderly relatives. Even so this festive period is one to look forward to, hopefully casting some positivity on rather negative times. Taking account of restrictions and the economic climate we have chosen six must have items we would like to see under our Christmas tree this year.

The Covid-19 vaccine – recently there have been some promising developments in the trailing of vaccines with both Pfizer and Moderna finding their vaccines to be 95% effective. Much of the country is currently fearful of returning to pre-Covid habits like regular shopping trips and evenings spent at the pub – as a result the economy is suffering. Therefore, the news of a possible vaccine development is great for the UK because we believe that without an effective vaccine being rolled out to the majority of society, economic recovery cannot begin. Therefore, we would love to be able to have a Covid-19 vaccine in place by the New Year. Although the question remains, will a Covid-19 vaccine be present under our tree or will it only be available for some ages and/or people with underlying health problem

Cocktail kit – with bars and pubs being shut or only open for limited hours our second must have item is a cocktail kit and we are sure we are not the only ones with this on our list! The second most missed thing among the British population is going to pubs and bars. Therefore, this year many of us may choose to stay at home in our ‘home bar’ rather than go to a pub for a ‘substantial meal’ and a pint. So, a cocktail kit may be a good addition to the lockdown bars many built during months of boredom.

The story of Brexit book – with Covid-19 currently overshadowing the ongoing Brexit negotiations we would like to take the chance this Christmas to get to grips with the story so far in the way of some ‘light reading’. The book will provide the bare minimum of the complicated details that are required to fully understand the complexities of the Brexit deal and it will provide a further foundation of our knowledge regarding the subject. Having left the European Union on January 31^st currently we are in the transition period meaning we are still part of the single market and customs union. As a result, we are still subject to all the rules and regulations of the EU. However, the UK no longer have a vote so do not have a say in changing or making new rules. The transition period comes to an end on the 31^st December following which we will no longer be members of the European Union.

A good tax accountant – with government borrowing being in excess of £390 billion this year, the highest in UK’s peacetime history and debt being 91.9% of this year’s GDP. The treasury will be facing a huge challenge paying for the costs brought about by the global pandemic whilst faced with the possibility of supporting a weakened economy after leaving the EU. We believe that future taxation is to increase rather significantly irrespective of who is in government, in order to cover the costs. Whilst we are not advocating tax evasion having a good tax accountant may come in useful.

A takeaway voucher – with many business’ struggling financially this year we believe this Christmas it would be good spirited of you to help your local community by getting takeaways. Not only will you be helping your local community, but you will also be investing money into the economy which will please Mr. Sunak. The Chancellor said during his spending review address that he expects the economy “to contract by 11.3%” (the largest fall in output for 300 years). So, as little as your contribution may be ‘every little helps’, so go out and spend this Christmas! Takeaways are also incredibly convenient as it means you do not need to cook, whilst also providing a unique change to your meals. However, we do not advise you go overkill with the takeaways as you may require bigger sized shirts in the lent term!

With my traditional game of Christmas monopoly off the cards this year, The Big Pub Quiz set will provide a fun alternative for all the family to get involved. Government advisors have recommended no board games are played this Christmas if there is mixing of households. Therefore, as respectable members of society we shall follow the advice and take part in a quiz, bringing the usual competitive shouting and screaming.