RECESSION HIT BRITS FOLLOWING IN WOMBLES FOOTSTEPS

Most people remember the Wombles of Wimbledon Common. Created by author Elizabeth Beresford, the pointy-nosed furry creatures lived in burrows on Wimbledon Common. They helped the environment by collecting and recycling rubbish in useful and ingenious ways. The Wombles became nationally famous in the mid 70’s as a result of their popular tv show and also popular novelty songs which were released about them. I used to love The Wombles. Who can forget Uncle Bulgaria and friends!

It seems that the Wombles are as popular today as they have always been and according to the results of a recent survey over one in ten of the 2,000 people who took part say they most relate to the pointy nosed furry creatures, making good use of things that other people throw away. The recession has certainly made us Brits more resourceful. Many Brits now admit to baking bread, walking and cycling more, cooking meals from scratch and growing their own fruit and vegetables. Apparently Scrooge is the character that most of us relate to most when it comes to looking after our personal finances. However far from becoming a nation of misers, it seems that the current tough economic times have brought out the best in all of us. The majority of Brits believe that the recession has been life changing and completely changed the way they think about money. The top five money saving measures adopted by today’s Brits include ditching their gym memberships in favour of walking and cycling; collecting money off coupons before dining out; shopping more in charity shops; using leftovers to make soups and casseroles rather than throwing them away and switching from bottled to tap water.

Some Brits who were interviewed admitted going to even more extreme measures to save money including saving money on razors by growing a beard (oh dear!) and training the cat to use the loo to save on cat litter! (Well that is taking things a bit far! Ha ha!) Reminds me of Mr Jinx, the clever cat on Meet the Fockers!