Here we go again. As if it's not hard enough, trying to stay in business when all around you is news of yet more redundancies, administrations and high street woes, firms will now have to be extra, extra careful when it comes to health and safety practice.

So that nice Lord Mandelson has reached into his (our, actually) pockets and brought out a little something to help the poor beleaguered car industry out.

I have just received yet another 'So long, and thanks for all the fish' email - where someone who's been made redundant has written to say goodbye and thanks for all your support, etc etc. It makes me sad.

The papers and TV screens may be full of happy, cheerful children, making the most of the school closures by speeding down snow covered hills on make-shift toboggans but they also showed something slightly darker and a little more worrying.

What!

So our Darling Chancellor thinks that he can wave his magic wand and get the banks lending money to the general public again and all will be well.

Wandering round the EcoBuild show a couple of weeks ago, several things struck me. One, obviously, was 'where on earth am I and how can I find that stand I want?', but one other was how mainstream the show seems to have grown.

It being April 1st today, it crossed my mind to add in a spoof, April Fools news story to today's e-newsletter.

One of the problems with this whole downturn thingy is that there seems to be so much information flying about, information and statistics and figures, all of whom contradict each other.

I don't think I've ever known a run-up to the Budget like it. We've always had leaks and speculation about what will or won't be contained in the Chancellor's battered red briefcase, but this year, it seems there's more hanging on it than before.