At the end of last year I remember saying I was glad to be getting 2021 out of the way and looked forward to 2022. We were coming out of Covid although Omicron was just doing the rounds and no one really knew how hard that would hit and whether we would need further lockdowns. I was thinking we would be hit be another Covid wave after the holidays and need some sort of restrictions, as it was this wasn’t necessary and Covid is, for the time being at least, under some sort of control.
It may be my imagination but other strains of illnesses seems to be getting more serious, perhaps as a result of our immune systems being less-prepared after spending time away from other people. Flu, and now Strep A, seem to be claiming more victims. I don’t know if this is because, since Covid, we are more in tune with illnesses, knowing names and symptoms of whatever is doing the rounds. We are certainly more thoughtful I believe and aware of how something fairly minor for one could be far more serious for another.
Which creates a bit of an issue for me, as in three days time I will have twenty people here including some grandparents, and at the moment I am feeling pretty awful. Forget the fact I can’t currently face the idea of people coming round at all and only really want to slump back in bed, I am thinking I should be protecting the older and more vulnerable. Lets see what the next couple of days brings before I make a decision.
Sadly 2022 saw the Russian invasion of Ukraine. There had been some hope that the massing of Russian troops along the Ukrainian border was just a show of force, but no, in February Putin sent his forces into Ukraine. It is pretty clear it did not go according to plan for Russia, I must confess I had thought it would be over fairly quickly, but Ukraine, backed by Western weaponry, have proved to be a far tougher opponent than anyone imagined. It is difficult to imagine just how bad things are there, ongoing missile strikes threaten civilian infrastructure and the feeling is Russia are preparing for another attempt at invasion, this time using the civilians they called up earlier in the year.
Political unrest was at the fore. I had said Johnson was unlikely to last the year as PM and indeed he resigned in July after coming under pressure from his party. The UK got to a particularly embarrassing situation with Truss in and out as PM within weeks, only after a frankly ridiculous mini-budget by her Chancellor Kwarteng which sent GBP running for cover and the financial markets in a state of turmoil. We were the laughing stock of the world. Financial markets and GBP may have recovered but the effects are still very much with us.
So what will 2023 have in store? Will there be peace in Ukraine? Will energy prices fall? Will inflation fall? How high will interest rates go? Will China move on Taiwan? Will more viruses come our way?
The truth is we have no idea what will happen in the coming months. We can guess, we can estimate, but we have learnt that there is generally something lurking around the corner that will take us by surprise and impact our lives in one way or another.
What we need is some stability. In the markets, in the country, in the world. I’m not sure we’re going to get that stability any time soon. But I like to think that here at Island FX we do our bit through the services we offer, how we offer them, and to whom we offer them. We have worked together for a very long time and plan to continue to do so. Our core strengths and beliefs have remained unchanged over many years. Our focus on customer service and commitment to understanding our clients requirements in order to be better placed to help them is something we will never change. When you call up it will most likely be either Mark or myself you speak to. Pretty much zero staff turnover and the stability this brings is one of the key reasons our clients enjoy working with us.
To all of our clients, we thank you for your ongoing support. We are well aware that we are very little without you. We hope we repay the trust and faith you put in us.
To those who are not yet clients, I will have to ask ‘Why not?’. Have a think about that and hopefully we’ll be able to discuss it and maybe even put it right in early 2023.
Finally, to all our clients, readers and acquaintances, we wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas and a prosperous, but above all safe and healthy 2023.
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