Today, Radio 5 tells me, is Black Friday. No, nothing for a rabid UKIP member to get irate about.
Instead it's about our 'favourite national pastime' - shopping.
It's a day invented by marketing men and women. Shops give large discounts on goods, often electrical 'high ticket' items. Consumers fight - yes, literally fight - over wide screen TVs, kitchen gadgets and vacuum cleaners.
Welcome to Christmas, folks. Peace, goodwill and festive cheer, except when it comes to elbowing others out of the way in order to get 20% off an Nespresso machine.
Tomorrow is Buy Nothing Day (details at http://www.buynothingday.co.uk), but I doubt anyone who's taking part in today's hysteria will bother too much about that. Or about the fact that 20% of the world's population are consuming over 80% of the world's natural resources.
This American import of Black Friday seems, sadly, to have taken hold in the UK. A nasty addition to what's already a feeding frenzy of consumerism.
Yup, I've got the grumps today, but I think with good reason. Anyone else rolling their eyes and looking shaking their head in weary disbelief?
Instead it's about our 'favourite national pastime' - shopping.
It's a day invented by marketing men and women. Shops give large discounts on goods, often electrical 'high ticket' items. Consumers fight - yes, literally fight - over wide screen TVs, kitchen gadgets and vacuum cleaners.
Welcome to Christmas, folks. Peace, goodwill and festive cheer, except when it comes to elbowing others out of the way in order to get 20% off an Nespresso machine.
Tomorrow is Buy Nothing Day (details at http://www.buynothingday.co.uk), but I doubt anyone who's taking part in today's hysteria will bother too much about that. Or about the fact that 20% of the world's population are consuming over 80% of the world's natural resources.
This American import of Black Friday seems, sadly, to have taken hold in the UK. A nasty addition to what's already a feeding frenzy of consumerism.
Yup, I've got the grumps today, but I think with good reason. Anyone else rolling their eyes and looking shaking their head in weary disbelief?