Right now is the time of that gap in the time-space continuum when the General Box labelled “Summer” starts to shut slowly taking with it the smells of the sea, the sweaty brow of the aestival traveller and the dizzy dreams of dolcefarniente. At the same moment the musty smells of the humid “Autumn” box start to drift into the atmosphere – spreading like a cold virus at the break of September. It’s a general feeling of stasis before the momentum returns of “work as usual”.
The Times (UK) economic commentator Anatole Kaletsky had a great article referring to the seasonal changes in Wednesday’s edition (Take cover: A financial hurricane is blowing in – *paid subscription required). Kaletsky highlighted the fact that in moments of great financial depression, the worst period to look out for is the end of August – beginning of September period:
Almost all the great financial crises of history have occurred between late August and mid October: the Wall Street crash in September and October 1929, the collapse of the prewar gold standard in September 1931, the sterling devaluation of September 1949, the collapse of the postwar Bretton Woods currency system in August 1971, the Mexican default in August 1982, which triggered the Third World debt crisis, the stockmarket crash on Black Monday in October 1987, the break-up of the European exchange rate mechanism on Black Wednesday in September 1992, the Russian default in August 1998, the Lehman bankruptcy in September 2008 — the list goes on.
Kaletsky plugs into the general feeling of doom and gloom that your average news follower might be experiencing at this moment in history. You know that feeling don’t you – Death’s scythe all over the place, the misery of war, famine and pestilence coupled with stories of natural hurricanes and financial earthquakes. For heaven’s sake, I was reading the same issue of the Times yesterday and I had in mind to do some more honeymoon travel research after that. Sure enough, two (two I say) articles about honeymoons where disaster struck – sharing the same page. A man eaten by a shark and another couple run over by a car. And this was the Times mind you, not the Daily Mail.
Doom and gloom or not, September has come rushing in closing what has been for the North of Europe the coldest summer in living memory. We might still be in time to witness the collapse of an economic system or at least feel the full brunt of the economic crisis. We might still witness more death and disaster before the month turns into October and drags to All Hallows Eve. September might be the time to appreciate the little moments of calm. Just like the lady I caught lounging on the grass on the bus stop behind the EIB (European Investment Bank).
The flags fluttering in the late summer breeze, the sun bearing down in a warmish afternoon and the relaxed fonctionnaire lapping up (or should I say stealing) the last of the summer rays. Forget the hurricanes for another day. It’s time for the galactic lunchbreak.
Carpe diem.
[learn_more caption=”photography”] Photo shot using Hipstamatic app on an iPhone 5. lens: Libatique 73 film: Cano Cafenol place: Kirchberg, Luxembourg (BEI Bus stop) date: 01.09.11 around lunchtime.[/learn_more]
