Just at the moment I am going through a phase of attempting to buy a vast range of ’stuff’ – most of it is for other people, but whatever I’m buying – from tractors to pop corn – seems to be out of stock. This afternoon it was a Dyson which I tried to pick up ‘in store’ having first checked availability on line first. The assistant I spoke to said that demand was such that even the most expensive models are flying out the door as soon as they arrive. My daughter is working in retail at Wimbledon – their shop is almost completely ‘out of stock’ – just in time for the finals weekend.

With inflation charging ahead and food banks busier than ever how is it that across the board stocks are so low? Garages are reporting the price of ‘nearly new’ cars now exceed the new ones – because they are the ones available today.

I have no explanation – nor a solution, beyond saying that this is not a blip but a a new trend – to be embraced!