We live in interesting times to be sure - the turmoil in the world economy seeps ever more into the fabric of society as time wears on.
People throughout the country feel the effects of the recession, the relentless shedding of jobs seems never-ending and the evaporation of money flow begins to hit home to many households and businesses.
We all know people suddenly out of a job, or filing for bankruptcy - situations that only a year ago would have appeared very remote. Everyday seems to bring new news of redundancy and job evaporation.
Then on the bright side there is the odd talk about green shoots. In the motor trade there seems to be a flicker of life returning, both anecdotally with talk of new motors needing tow bars fitted from the local mechanic, to national news that new car sales in the Republic were up 8%.
At the mushroom conference in Monaghan too, there was talk of bad times around New Year and the first few months of 2009 with nothing happening at all, but all of a sudden there are new orders coming in, and cash beginning to flow.
Who knows, the recession may have bottomed out precipitously, and we may now be heading back up the slope.
We’ll need a bit more time to be sure on that score.
