Is it just me or has Christmas come around even quicker this year? It barely seems a week ago that I was reviewing 2021 for this column. However, it is great to be able to look back on a year in which there was little to no talk of lockdowns, bubbles or social distancing.

While the various Covid variants are still out there, we do seem to be getting a grip on how to live with it and life has pretty much returned to normal. This has meant a return to live tradeshows, enabling us to meet manufacturers again and see the latest products and innovations on the electrical market, which of course you will be able to read all about on these pages.

September marked the very sad passing of Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II. Coming in the year in which we also celebrated her Platinum Jubilee it really marked the end of an era as, whether or not you’re a staunch Royalist, she was a constant presence in so many of our lives. The warm tributes paid to the Queen and video clips from her life shown across news channels all around the world gave us a trip down memory lane and got me thinking of all the changes through time that she saw in her life. The scientific advancements, space exploration and moon landings, fashions, politicians, Prime Ministers…..

….Ah yes, Prime Ministers. Just seven weeks into his reign, his majesty King Charles III formally appointed Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister – the UK’s third in 2022! There is not enough room here for me to try and make sense of all that has gone on so all I think we can hope for is that we get some sort of political stability in 2023.

Finally, it is the time of year when retailers might see a surge in sales of Christmas lights. When homes, businesses and streets are lit up with decorative lights it does give everybody a little boost. Even the households who go totally over the top with huge garden reindeer and snowmen and enough lighting to rival Times Square bring a smile to my face – even if don’t share their particular taste in decorations. But with the worrying surge in energy bills it will be interesting to see if the number of Christmas displays in town centres and housing estates around the country is adversely affected. There will be some cutting back I’m sure, as heating our homes on the coldest days will obviously take priority over sparkly lights. From what I have seen so far, though, there will be enough Christmas displays to keep our eyes dazzled through to January.

See you next year!

See you next month – Tracey Rushton-Thorpe Editor