Coronavirus diary, Saturday 27 February 2021

After the country’s massive spending spree comes the reckoning - the Chancellor’s budget.

Mr Sunak is going to tell us next week how we are going to make up the £400 billion of our money he has spent and how long that might take.

The figures are astronomical, beyond my comprehension.

Money matters to everyone, to the billionaire and the busker, and we have to deal with it from an early age.

My first income was my weekly halfpenny pocket money 

It did not burn a hole in my pocket. It was gone in a flash, on sweets - a sherbet fountain. liquorice or long lasting gob stopper.

I was certainly not a deprived youngster. Mum and Dad had little money to spare but there were treats, including the weekly ‘sit down’ ice creams in Lyons cafe in Clapham Junction.

My ‘pay’ gradually increased to sixpence which presented a problem. What should I splash out on. Should I save some of it?

Unlike many youngsters I did not do a paper round or sell cigarette cards to school mates. Perhaps if I had I might have become an entrepreneur or tycoon.

In my long working career one highlight was reaching £1,000 a year, and the most exciting times were seeng cheques arrive when I was  a freelance reporter. One murder story I sold to news agencies and several national papers paid for a holiday with Rosemary and our baby daughter, Beverley.

Over the years, especially after I retired, much of our spare money went on holidays, usually three or four a year, in Britain and exploring the world.

Fortunately, we put some money aside, money that I now need to be able to live in comfort, and be cared for.

Many people are not so fortunate, struggling to make ends meet. Millions have lost their jobs through the pandemic.

The Chancellor is no magician. Like former PM Theresa May, he knows there is no money tree. but those billions have to come from somewhere. Suggestions pour in.

Increase taxes, some cry; encourage people to spend to raise more in tax, others advise.

One hoard of cash that might help - the billions saved by people locked at home for months, unable to spend on entertainment holidays and eating out.

One idea, suggested by Sir Keir Starmer and others, is government bonds. I remember those from war time. My parents had a few as did my grandmother. I found two more than 60 years ago. Forgotten treasure, and not redeemable by then.

I hope Mr Sunak finds the answer, but that he does not expect me to find more money for him.