With the country braced for another fresh blanket of snow, wouldn't it be nice if Chancellor George Osborne could throw off his Ebenezer Scrooge-like manner for a festive month?
Whatever the CBI might have claimed yesterday, retailers are facing one of their toughest Christmases for years.
It is not that people are unwilling to spend. Indeed, there is every sign that they are prepared for a bit of a pre-austerity blow-out, with the added bonus of some shoppers making large purchases of white goods and the like ahead of January's rise in VAT.
But shoppers who cannot get to the shops cannot spend. As we saw in the last snow dump in November, many parts of the country from Kent to Kirkcaldy saw people housebound for up to five days. Retailers such as HMV and Laura Ashley have recently highlighted how damaging it can be when shoppers are unable to get to their doors, never mind going through them, for even a few days.
As HMV's Simon Fox somewhat understated it: "There's everything to play for in the next four weeks."
But this week's snow and freezing conditions are now forecast to last well into January.
London is doubly damned if the tube strike on Boxing Day takes place. High Street retailers can do nothing about the weather. But the weather can potentially destroy their business.
Osborne should check the long-range weather forecast and delay the rise in VAT by at least a month. The Treasury will earn a paltry £1 billion from the extra VAT in January.
Go on, George, wish us all a happy Christmas and a prosperous new year.
