Reading newspapers and media headlines you’ll be forgiven to feel this is it. This is the end of everything as we know it. They are full of doom and gloom, leave no hope, offer no way-out, in captions after caption we are made to feel this is it, it’s all over!!

Really!! You mean to tell me our current economic crisis is worse than the 20th Century Depression, WWI and WWII – worse than the Black Death and all the other wars man raged on his fellow man throughout history.

If this economic downturn is going to finish us off, what does it say about us, our tenacity and our self-worth?

Times are hard, actually they are very hard, I feel and see it around me daily, and I happen to live in an affluent part of the capital. So I can imagine how hard it must be in less well-off parts of the country. I’m neither blinkered nor naïve and do know there are those who even before the economic downturn, life for them is an ongoing daily struggle. There are those who find making ends meet a continuing challenge and with the current high inflation and shrinking incomes meeting daily expenses is impossible for many.

But we cannot be defeatist and give in, we cannot accept its over and surrender – we must draw from whatever gives us hope, strength and resolve to pull together and carry on to ride this tide and come away victorious, because we can and we are worth it.

I love the Holidays; they are a time of giving and receiving, a time for forgiveness and remembering, and a time for parties and getting together with family, friends and loved ones. They are also a time for stressing if you are not very organised, but thankfully this year I am. My main shopping is done except for a couple of things. The pantry is stocked check, the fridge is packed check, and all duties and chores are sorted and allocated check, check, check! The Idris-Yousif household is ready for the Holidays, Ho! Ho! Ho!

As it is the season to be jolly, the snow finally sticking to the ground was the icing on the cake giving the festivities a feeling of authenticity not to mention it was gorgeous to look at. I had to get ready for a very important party; I will be partying with my glamorous fashion loving non political friends for the last time this year, and I must look the part! Weeks ago I had picked the dress and a back up dress. Dressed and with make up in place hair shielded from frizz my car arrived, a quick look in the mirror and check, check I was good to go. I step outside the door and the beautiful snow has turned into one big puddle. The gorgeous white carpet of snow is all gone; it has all melted and turned into one big mess. It was impossible to walk out the door in my favourite Giuseppe Zanotti four inch party killer heels, after a quick change into a pair of Uggs carrying my Zanotti’s I teetered off to the car.

The evening was a huge success, good food great company, fantastic atmosphere and a first class host who made each one of the 60 guests feel very special. It is without a doubt my best party of the year, so far. Time simply flew by; the celebrations went on to the early hours of this morning with everybody still there and I danced for most of the evening. I hear you say with those four inch heals? Of course, a lady never dances bare foot, one of the perks we women enjoy is the ability to feel no pain or discomfort when we are enjoying our selves, it might all come back later but never during. I know women will understand exactly what I am talking about, straight men will have absolutely no clue what I am on about (sorry guys), and most gay men will probably admire me for proudly climbing on my four inches and dancing all night long. It’s an image thing, part of being and feeling Fab!

Political talk and conversation is always different in this circle, when it came to the anticipated leaders’ debate the focus was on how much money these events can generate and which channel will make the most money? How many people will they pull and could they beat the X Factor in viewer? Which leader is the public most curious and wants to learn more about? Are these debates good for politics and how staggered apart should they be held?

Everybody agreed that the debates are just what politics and politicians need now because they will make the public see them up close, it will make politicians more approachable and ordinary. When I asked which leader they think will benefit most from the debates, Brown came last as the least media friendly, Clegg and Cameron were a tie in media presence but Cameron came first as a possible PM in waiting. As for the issue of the expenses, my fab friends think it has damaged all three parties equally but most the damage was to British politics, most admired Cameron for being firm with his MPs and they think Labour has handled the whole expenses thing badly; resignations, arguing over payments and acting entitled to the money did not do them any favours. They believe most politicians live in a bubble and depend on political advisers and spin doctors who give them bad advice to shield them from public views. Or simply tell them what they want to hear (which is not always what the public thinks). I did disagree a little with what they think about our politicians, some of what they think is a little exaggerated. But they have a point. People can only tell you what they know, how can they tell you any different if what they know is not!