They say that if you cannot explain something to your grandmother then you don’t understand it properly. I reckoned I had a grasp of the Greek crisis until I saw a fascinating blog on the BBCwebsite. Spooky stuff to read the potential outcomes. If I was running Greece I know which option I would go for! However, the main point of this is that the Germans were chief architects of theEurozone club, something I have vehemently decried as doomed to failure ever since it was created, and have made the grave error of admitting one or more members who are unable to behave by the rules. They rules were bent all along by everybody over the years simply to accommodate the continued existence of the club. The Poles warn of a conflict within 10 years. Crudely put, the only good thing about creating the EEC was that it obviated the requirement for war as everybody had a common interest. Frau Merkel – admit it – the game’s up! If I had a grandmother would she understand it now?

I was reading an item today on the BBC website about how calendars and greeting cards have defied the digital age and are thriving, because people prefer something physical. The big question is whether this phenomenon will last forever because it is connected to a basic human need, or whether after we have a generation of people who have been reared on the digital and paperless world, cards and calendars will be consigned to history. It’s a good question and I reckon it could go either way.

I think anybody in business for themselves knows from the most reliable barometer available that we have been here for some time. It’s called “gut feeling” and believe me most people in the SME sector are experiencing it right now, so instead of telling us what we all know how about serious engagement with governments who refuse to take their medicine. The collapse of capitalism isn’t worth contemplating.

The bottom line is that banks are failing to perform their role as long as they do not oil the wheels of commerce by granting loans. Several friends of mine have recently bee stabbed in the back by their banks by invoking loan to value clauses even though they have never missed a payment. Why? Simple – if they can call in a loan that pays them base plus 1.5% and lend it out again at base plus 4% then why not? These are the sort of issues that banking reforms need to tackle. I told my friends that a banker is a man who lends you an umbrella when the sun is shining and asks for it back when it rains. But who is that banker? Relationship managers are a misnomer – it is faceless people in anonymous office blocks that are ruining the lives of the real wealth and job creators of this country. Get back to basics – local branch with managers who have a long enough tenure to build a true relationship and understand their customers’ businesses.

This year my car insurance went up 40% for no clear reason. The question is whether it will go back down once the grubby wee referral scheme is closed or whether the insurers will find some nebulous excuse to trouser the savings.