"A Yen a Mark a Buck or a Pound…. that's what makes the world round, that clinking clanking sound"

It's said that money doesn't make you happy. Well a lack of it sure as hell can make you unhappy! It's now 01:40 GMT and I have £2.92 to last me until Mon 20.12.10. I have sufficient food (of sorts) until then, a warm safe place to sleep, broadband internet, a phone and so on. I have enough tea and milk to last me another day, I have to be very careful with my use of toilet tissue… You get the picture.

I'm 43 years old and am worse off now than when I was a student. When I was a student then virtually everyone else was penniless and as poverty is a relative concept up to a point then it didn't matter. I've been lucky enough to spend most of the last 48 hours asleep and am hoping to be able to keep up this trend over much of the next four days.

If I had been extravagant over the last ten days or so then I would expect to be this broke. In actual fact all I have done is to pay my essential bills, buy food and other essentials. I remember something that my father used to say "£10 is a lot of money if you don't have it" Over the last few years I've learned the truth of this.

I console myself by considering the plight of those in the world who don't have food, shelter, clothing and safety and I know that in comparison to them I live in luxury but that doesn't stop me from fantasising about contacting the various charities I've given to during my good times and asking "Can I have 1% of it back?"

Ah well, a couple of chapters of Seneca should send me back to sleep! 🙂