This month…

The Green Green Grass Of Home

Some of us remember this ballad from Tom Jones from 1967, other younger readers of this article may know Tom Jones as a judge on The Voice UK.

This year, summer holidays have for many of us been about ‘Staycation’… another new word brought to us courtesy of Corona. Thanks Corona!

But to my surprise and I bet for many of you, the Staycation proved to be a great break. Without the need to sit on suitcases to get everything from your cupboard into one suitcase weighing less than 20 or 23kg (depending on which air carrier you take), no dash in a taxi to the airport, no queue to check-in, get on the plane, get off the plane, immigration going and returning etc etc. Staycation really had a good head start on providing a relaxing break.

I had two small breaks, one in the Peak District and the other in the Cotswolds. With some good weather, and some mixed weather. Regardless, we loved these beautiful spots of the country. When the weather was bad, soaking us to the skin walking from the car park to Warwick Castle, we still had a laugh wearing our one-time yellow plastic macs. Only in England!

So Tom Jones was right… “It’s good to touch the green green grass of home”. No doubt, having tasted the benefits of Staycation this year, in the future we’ll say “It’s not unusual” to have more Staycations!!

In recent weeks, we’ve seen a good number of our clients who were out of work finding new contracts. Let’s hope that’s a positive indicator of the state of business and the need for businesses to bring in valuable skill sets through hiring freelance contractors. We look forward to more positive indicators in the coming months.

My comments about Staycation come from recognising that situations that initially look difficult can be made to feel good with the right approach. It’s been hard for those without work for months, but for many it’s created an awareness of other parts of their lives such as family, hobbies, exercise and health that should also be in their focus. The media thrives on horror stories, and without a careful filter of what we read and listen to, we could feel that things are worse than they really are.

I enjoyed my UK mini-Staycation breaks with friends and family and going into Autumn, am looking forward to seeing all our clients obtain good profitable work, whilst at the same enjoying a better work-life balance due to learning from their experiences over the last six months.

Best regards,

Victor Korman
Managing Director
Cogent Accountants