You see, one of the main characters is supposed to have gone through over 600 affairs in his life before getting back to his first love. Somehow this piece of information entered my mind when reading about the UK government's latest inflation report. Don't judge me prematurely, I know many of you might not find that a riveting topic but this blog might still turn into a worthwhile read yet.  You see, I don't know whether you are aware how many items make up the inflation basket? Have a guess. I already gave you a clue. Yes, it is nearly 600! Admittedly, it's only 537, but allow me a bit of poetic licence - there's that G G Marquez reference again. Check it out for yourself: 

https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/datasets/consumerpriceinflationbasketofgoodsandservices

Now, why would this matter to you? Well, the list provides a long list of entertainment, particularly if you believe that it is relevant to your life choices. You see, inflation is a widely talked about indicator and used in a variety of calculations but unless you regularly buy all 537 items , it means very little to each and every one of us. I use it, instead, to see just how much better off I am than the statistical version of me. Picking out just some of the everyday items that I am sure everyone always buys, I can happily proclaim that I am not a  regular purchaser of marriage licences or dating agency fees. The last time I looked, I was not in a residential care home or paying home care assistant and domestic cleaner fees, although Mrs B and my son might have other views or secret desires on this from time to time. 

I know that there was a recent election for the leader of the Labour Party, so those paying the Trade Union fees probably feel vindicated and very good about themselves but, full disclosure here, that does not include me. Instead, I think I can congratulate myself on having belief in the good old British weather which, just for the lock-down, has been gloriously nice and sunny, justifying my decision not to stock up on self-tanning products. And as for the manicure, face cream, perfume, mascara, liquid foundation, lip gloss, nail varnish, body moisturising lotion, the less said, the better :-)