In this industry it seems there are as many differing opinions as there are people; twice as many solutions as there are questions and at least one counter-argument for every proposition.

I've been going through the entries for the BMJ/BMF Young Merchant Achiever Award this week, looking at the submissions, at the achievements and at the testimonials.

Ever get that sense of déjà vu?

For once, the headline isn't actually referring to my good self as such as headline would do normally.

How typically British we all are. At the first hint of a lack of supply of something - bricks, blocks, bread or bacon, we head for the tills to stock up.

Hurrah for the Government. It's not often this blog features those words and they are, naturally, slightly tongue in cheek. However, Help to Buy part 2 launches today and that is cause for some, if not celebration, then at least optimism.

It doesn't matter who you talk to, the answer seems to be the same: construction is out of recession.

Ironically enough, as I was driving away from the NMBS Supplier conference the other week, I drove past a lorry from the Happy Hen Company which proclaimed: "Happy hens lay better eggs" - that its eggs were better than others because they are happier.

Ed Miliband and David Cameron can witter on all they like about putting a cap on energy bills or rolling back the eco-levy. It won't solve the basic, undeniable truth of the problem which is that we, as a nation, use far too much energy (and water, which is related) to go about our daily…

It's been said that no-one does pageantry and pomp and circumstance quite like us Brits and I think that's spot-on.