There's a lot of angst out there just now … and plenty of reasons for it.

Among the real and present dangers: high-octane worries about unaffordable petrol, desperation as housing rents go through the roof, food price rage nearing boiling point.

Then there’s the looming impact of carbon trading, direct or indirect, on just about everything; the fragility of the stock market; the threat of stagflation; and closer to home, steep council rate increases.

Clearly there’s some serious belt-tightening ahead, but this may not be such a bad thing. Thrift, seen by baby boomers and the X and Y generations as a quaint concept totally irrelevant to their plastic credit lifestyles, may well be on the come-back trail.

As one of the generation named the Frugals by demographer Bernard Salt, I take a fairly intense interest in how to make weekly ends meet.

For me, petrol prices will not be an issue. Due to my dodgy eyesight, I have to sell my much-loved little Forester, so I won’t suffer from bowser rage.

From now on, it’s public transport for me, so I suppose I could give this a positive spin and say I’m part of the green revolution.

As for food prices, I have my ways of cutting costs. My vege patch, microscopic though it is, yields more than enough greens for me, and I like to think backyard plots and community gardens will soon be a normal part of life.

If the prices and/or origin of fruit and vegetables in the shops frighten me off, there are some great buys of in-season fruit and veg at our many markets and stalls.

Fresh-caught mullet, at half the price of bland, frozen imports of dubious origin, is my fish of choice for a quick and easy barbecue, and a cheap cut like neck of lamb (you may prefer the sanitised name “rosette”) is the basis for a satisfying, flavoursome stew cooked v-e-r-y slowly on the back of the stove.

On the issue of council rates, however, I’m doing a not-so-slow boil, and I add my querulous voice to those who are wondering aloud about the savings the state government told us would flow from council regionalisation. Seems to me we’ve been well and truly conned.

On the other side of the coin, congratulations to the growing number of Coast businesses now giving hard-pressed pensioners a hand with worthwhile discounts.

Words on words
On radio this week, I heard a police warning to “those who flaunt the law”.

Such misuse of words is common now, both on the airwaves and in print, but I don’t quite see how one could be in trouble with the law for displaying it conspicuously or boldly. “Flouting” might be a better choice.

And another thing
Went to the movies the other night. Bad idea.

The overwhelming sound volume completely ruined any appreciation I might have had for the film.Why does surround sound have to be so LOUD?
rich.29@bigpond.net.au
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