THIS time last year we'd never had it so good. Even if we didn't know it at the time. The next day the world changed when the credit markets froze after being spooked by the subprime crisis in America.
Fast forward 12 months and the credit crunch has still got the Government stumped.
They talk of being pro-active but their inability to take decisive action has left us at the mercy of freefalling world money markets.
The credit crunch is not
just about facts and figures on computer spreadsheets.
It's about mum Catherine Brockley, who can't afford to take her family abroad for a summer holiday.
Or Claire Briggs, who's having to dip into her savings to pay her mortgage and other household bills.
Or pensioner Ivy Needham, who has health problems and says money worries are the last thing she needs.
The fat cats who run our energy companies would do well to remember these human faces of the credit crunch the next time they put up their prices.
So too would Chancellor Alistair Darling.
His dithering over whether to suspend stamp duty is paralysing the housing market while he has singularly failed to address the problem of spiralling energy bills.
People are prepared to sit tight and wait out this financial storm.
But it would do wonders for our confidence to see those at the top taking positive steps to ease the burden.
Aiming highTHE Olympics start today and a host of stars from West Yorkshire will be going for gold.
Proud dad Keith Brownlee is getting ready to jet out to Beijing to cheer on his son Alistair.
The 20-year-old triathlete is joined by five other Leeds competitors in the Great Britain squad.
Divers Tandi Gerrard and Rebecca Gallantree, hockey player Joanne Ellis and Paralympic table tennis player Cathy Mitton and Paralympic cyclist David Stone are all out in China.
We wish our West Yorkshire hopefuls all the best in the weeks ahead.
And look forward to seeing at least one or two of them on that winners' podium.
Be warned...THE football season may not have kicked off yet but we already like the way Gary McAllister's talking.
The Leeds boss is urging his players to come out fighting and not be afraid of anyone.
Not too long ago the Whites were a side feared and respected around the world.
It's time we reminded the likes of Carlisle, Southend and Yeovil exactly why.
The full article contains 417 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
