Reasons to cheer as the ship goes down.

The ship is going down but we are not on it. Markets are in free fall and war has become the norm.

It is not our ship!

Many of us have been asset stripped by divorce or political correctness. We have little stake in the existing order.

Revolutions generally occur when a period of rising expectations is interrupted. They rarely occur when the people are most desperate. Change occurs in hard times when hope is suddenly stolen.

#cityoflondon the empty or bombed out churches are often the most atmospheric.

A photo posted by Richard Ford (@richard.ford) on Jul 14, 2016 at 2:42am PDT

Ruin and mystery in the City.

We are in a period of accelerated technical progress. Graphine, stem cells and artificial intelligence will multiply upon themselves. There are no experts in this new world. What matters is imagination.

Some of my readers will still be alive in a thousand years (see the previous point for the reasons).

In the mean time please adopt the crash position.

Reduce debt and overheads urgently.

Become used to doing things (DIY, cooking, entertainment) for oneself.

Diversify. Everyone should have a second income or maybe a third. This need not produce much income now but it should be capable of doing so.

Cultivate good friends.

We all survived 2008. We will survive this too.