If I could turn back time...

At least we should have done - there's always the one clock or watch which you forget about on the day, then subsequently pick up and give yourself a fright because you're an hour earlier/later (depending on whether it's Spring-forward or Fall-back), or maybe that's just me?!

The last week in October was full of events - half-term for Northamptonshire (hurrah!), Hallowe'en and Diwali (hurrah!), and Rachel Reeves' first budget. Well, obviously I can't speak for you, but I don't think that was quite the fright-fest that some commentators had predicted, was it?

I think we'd already had most of the 'bad' news gently drip-fed to us weeks in advance so as to not spook the markets or something - I don't know, I'm not an economist or an accountant, I just have to read the simplified explanations and hope that I'm not going to be too much out of pocket.

I suppose if you've got several children at private school and your own private jet you're probably feeling a bit put out, as you're going to have to pay more. But as that's not the vast majority of us, I think we'll be OK? I guess time will tell.

But the truth is, if we want decent public services, our kids educated in schools which aren't falling apart, being able to see a Doctor or not wait on a trolley in A&E for 12 hours, have the elderly and vulnerable in society properly cared for, then the money to pay for it all has to come from somewhere. Why shouldn't the wealthy pay their fair share rather than paying somebody to squirrel it away for them? If you live in this country it's only fair that you contribute towards it.

Please though could somebody ensure that before any more new houses are built around here that we have the proper infrastructure to support the additional residents? Like schools; Doctors; Dentists; hospitals/urgent care centres; decent, regular, reliable and affordable public transport; and roads which don't resemble the surface of the moon...