| If "bread and butter" issues are core to political success then news of a quantum leap in the price of margarine should also come up tonight. Shop prices rose this month at the highest rate since at least 2005, according to the British Retail Consortium. This level of food-price inflation could apparently continue for six months. Our reporter Alice Kantor has a fascinating read on how people are planning on getting through the winter: "Some plan to spend more time in the office to avoid heating their homes during the day; others say they'll cook fewer meals. A few intend to stop paying their bills entirely." Alice also highlight how people plan to pay for their ballooning energy bills: 22% of respondents will dip into their savings; 15% will borrow from payday lenders; and 16% will turn to family and friends. Too much despair? Actually there's more relief in the news today than usual. The UK's North Sea gas storage facility at Rough looks on track to partially reopen this winter, initially to the tune of 10 liquefied natural gas cargoes, according to our reporter Elena Mazneva. As well as that, gas prices "tumbled" as markets responded to signals from European countries that they are preparing big interventions in energy markets. (Just don't get too excited — the respite isn't expected to last long.) And if that doesn't pep you up, then why not think about Christmas — after all, it's September tomorrow. The consumer sector is always looking ahead, so Andrea Felsted of Bloomberg Opinion talks us through why this year's Christmas is likely to be different, but not cancelled. These are her reasons: This will be the first truly post-Covid autumn/winter, and potentially a "revenge Christmas"; the labour market remains strong (despite some cooling); and people still have savings. The World Cup in November and December could also encourage some festive football spending. "Consumers also try to protect Christmas," writes Andrea. When life is a struggle, people try to make the holidays a brief respite from their woes." (Her verdict on early 2023 is less rosy). As if to back her up, retailer John Lewis announced today that it will hire an extra 10,000 temporary workers — 3,000 more than last year. Not only that, John Lewis says sales of Christmas trees and baubles have tripled compared to last summer "perhaps because shoppers are trying to lock in purchases before prices rise further." It reminds me of something I heard former England bowler Steven Finn say on Test Match special last week. He revealed that in his playing days he would try to engage umpires on the pitch (translation: charm them) by sparking up occasionally controversial conversations. One was whether or not Christmas should only happen every other year. It might not have got him any wickets, but it made me laugh. In any case, we will all need the break so maybe not this year Steven. Even if the fairy lights are on eco mode. | 
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