So in the same week we had the governor of the Bank of England telling us were ‘facing the most difficult situation for two decades’, we also had the news that retail spending on the High Street is 8% up. The building industry is having a hard time with property values plunging and the banks unwilling to stump up funds to spark the market again.

Then there are the sideshows, such as the venture capital deals that are financed by debt. Bavaria and Crest Nicholson are two that spring to mind where servicing the debt may be hard work for the VC companies. Will we shed a tear if they take a bath?

So there are ups and downs all the time. The strength of the euro against the pound seems to be bringing the Continentals over in droves to buy boats in the UK. So the brokerage market is quite happy right now, thank you very much.

But on the whole, times are hard out there. Those with work are probably still progressing orders placed months ago.

And everyone’s under pressure to pay up. So while customers may well be in the mind not to buy that new boat, but to spend on aftermarket accessories and tart the boat up, retailers are perhaps not carrying as much stock as they might have done.

On top of all this, we have the weather. Or, rather, we don’t have the weather – the kind of weather we want and need, that is.

It would be very nice to have one of those September summers that bring the crowds out to Mayflower Park for PSP’s first Southampton boat Show.

But what if it doesn’t?

One thing is for certain – we have been here before. So it’s time we learned the lessons.

As Clive Bartlett says in his column this month, the last time we were here in the early 90’s one thing came to the fore: those offering good value and great customer service came out smelling of roses when things inevitable calmed down.

Take a look at our Business Matters column and Tim Reynolds’ Legal column. Both say don’t allow other people’s financial problems to become your financial problems – take action now and you’ll still be here when others may not.

As an industry that relies on discretionary spending, we are perhaps vulnerable. But all businesses face the three Horsemen of the Apocalypse right now: interest rates, unemployment and inflation.