And so it is February. One month of 2010 is now behind us, and eleven lie ahead. For me, the Latin phrase tempus fugit was never more apt, as it barely seems as if a few minutes has passed since we were welcoming in the New Year. If the adage that "time flies when you are enjoying yourself" is true, then for me January must have been a most enjoyable month. But the beginnings associated with a New Year are now well and truly over, and the current year is well under way.

We associate the New Year with hope and optimism; with turning points, sweeping away old trends and ushering in new fashions. Yet we continue to remain surprised when February comes about that last year's trends continue unabated without much sign of anything new. The official statistics tell us that the UK has now come out of its recession, but only just—less than 1% growth—while the US economy has roared out of its recession with a whopping growth rate of more than 5%. There has been hope for many months that the banks would turn their act around without the need for increased regulation, but this continues to remain a forlorn hope. Banks seem to be like leopards: unwilling or unable to change their spots!

to the tragic plight of the people of HaitiThe only change thus far has been the incredible global response on the part of "ordinary people" following the devastating earthquake. Of course, governments and, in particular, bureaucrats who are supposed to do the work of government ("humble functionaries" in Sir Humphrey Appleby parlance!), have done little to help and much to hinder any efforts to bring shelter, food and comfort to the Haitian people, for whom this earthquake can be seen as the latest in a long line of natural and political disasters going back decades. If ever the phrase "there but for the grace of G-d go I" was appropriate, it is applied to those of us living in the comfort of high-income economies especially when compared to Haiti.

It is hard to think of anything to brighten the remainder of 2010 in the perspective of what is going on in Haiti, but as the worst aspects begin to pass, many Haitians will start to look forward to this Summer's major global sporting event, the World Cup. While there remains the question
of how well the host country, South Africa, will fare the event itself is perhaps the brightest jewel in the crown of sporting events. Everyone must be hoping that South Africa will not find itself subject to the kind of terror which forced Togo to withdraw from the recent African Cup of Nations. The decision to then ban Togo from the next TWO African Cups seems to be nothing more than ignorant bloody-mindedness on the part of the bureaucrats who organise the event; one can only hope that karma will do its part to change their minds.

In the UK we can look forward to a change in government, with the general election likely in May. Even the staunchest Labour supporters must be thinking hard about re-electing a government which continues to erode traditional English freedoms—hard-won over centuries—with the flimsiest and continuously changing excuses. But then, this current UK government are primarily Scots, no great lovers of anything English, which apparently includes freedom. I hope that all British citizens will throw out this government and consign them, and their dictatorial attitudes and ID cards, to the dustbin of history. For all his flaws, Tony Blair was an infinitely better Prime Minister than the present incumbent. Unfortunately, the tone set by the government also sets the tone for how people conduct themselves in business and in schools and other institutions. We can only hope that a new broom will sweep clean all of the compounded forms of bureacracy, alleged "health and safety" regulations, and political correctness which has blighted the lives of ordinary people in the UK for almost two decades. It is time to demand a return to the freedoms which made this country one of the greatest and strongest democracies on Earth.