Worries about the cost of living crisis and Easter wishes feature in the Tameside Radio presenter's latest column.

I’ve moved on, so I won’t mention being ambushed by a cake, or the fact I missed so much time with my parents and friends following the rules during lockdown. Apologies, that slipped out there. Instead, I wanted to write a bit in this week’s column about the rising cost of living, and how genuinely worrying it is.

If you’ve done a food shop recently, you can’t have helped noticing the soaring prices of many items on the supermarket shelves. 

Even Martin Lewis, the “Money Saving Expert”, has said recently he’s almost out of options in terms of advice when it comes to utility bills. 

One power company got into hot water a couple of months ago by making a series of suggestions on how to save some pennies, including cuddling our pets, doing a few star jumps, and keeping the oven open after cooking. I’m sure whoever wrote the tips meant well when they came up with them, but it just came across as condescending claptrap.

Here are some stark numbers.

The price of clothes and shoes rose by 9.7 per cent in the year to March, furniture, household equipment and maintenance jumped 10.4 per cent while food and non-alcoholic beverages were up 5.9 per cent.

March’s inflation does not take into account the average 54 per cent hike in energy bills that was applied to around 22 million households two weeks ago.

It’s said that a lot of us saved money during lockdowns, but the rate of saving has slowed right down as everything goes up. 

Prices at the petrol pumps are pretty eye watering too, and having done a bit of tracking, I’m not convinced the 5p cut in duty was uniformly passed on. In fact, Sky News found half of it at best made its way down to the price paid by customers.

With the turmoil in Ukraine beginning to have an effect on prices too, as well as availability of goods such as sunflower oil, the world feels like a bit of a scary place at the moment. Who could have predicted after two years of lockdown that 2022 would prove potentially more apolcalyptic?

The Government has pledged to give everyone in Bands A to D a £150 rebate on Council Tax, which is welcome, but does feel like the tip of the iceberg.

There’s also the energy loan of £200, which needs to be paid back over five years. It’s not helpful when some commentators suggest families can survive perfectly well on plain bags of pasta. It used to be porridge, but perhaps suggesting pasta is a little less Dickensian. For me, why shouldn’t everyone be entitled to a treat every now and then?

Away from worries about finances, it’s hopefully a time when you can enjoy some quality time with friends and family over Easter. 

We’ve all been through a lot over the last two years, and the string of lockdowns definitely made me appreciate catch ups with loved ones more. 

I have also rediscovered the magic of letter writing, and plan to pen a few more over the coming weeks. 

When was the last time you received something in the post that wasn’t yet another bill or piece of junk mail? It costs less than £1 to send a letter to anywhere in the UK, so if you have a spare half an hour this Bank Holiday weekend, make someone’s day and drop them a line. I guarantee it will put a smile on their face, and it’s also cheaper than buying them an Easter egg.

Talking of chocolate indulgence, I admire anyone who can eat it in moderation. 

Knowing that I’m an all or nothing chocoholic, the most indulgent thing I’ll be having is a hot chocolate from my Tassimo machine whilst presenting shows on Tameside Radio! 

I’m tantalisingly close to losing two stone so far this year, and am so grateful to Gail and Jane from Slimming World Tameside for all their support so far. 

It’s an amazing feeling to get into smaller clothes sizes, and I might even celebrate by getting out on my bicycle this weekend. 

Whatever your plans, wishing you a happy Easter, and let’s be there for each other in these difficult times of rising prices. Everyone deserves a little happiness.

You can listen to Alex every weekday from 7am to 11am and on the 'Super Scoreboard' show on Saturdays from 3pm to 7pm, on Tameside Radio 103.6FM. 

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