People have returned to work and credit card bills are dropping on doormats all over the world.
The reality of living has dawned, after a long party season, where many have struggled to just buy necessities.
Profits announced by corporations defy any understanding of mathematics.
Bill has not actually worked in 14 years.
All this as many workers, already working overtime, are having to apply for welfare and charity to keep their families out of extreme penury.
Here at Bealtaine I have lit the stove, on a grey, wet and windy day in early January.
As the fire roared up under a spitting kettle, my thoughts turned to those who rely solely on fossil fuel or electricity for warmth.
Governments have failed, to put in place any substantial remedial action, that may help alleviate the burden of fuel costs.
There have been small measures, like attic insulation offered to those on minimum income…little indeed as the energy costs spiral.
I say this because I witness the one man in a white van, who services the Wind Turbines on the mountain opposite Bealtaine Cottage.
I imagine the maintenance costs, say, compared to power stations, are very minimal!
So where does the escalating costs of that electricity, generated by those turbines, actually go?
We are surrounded by solutions to the most grievous and pressing poverty.
We are surrounded by wealth, held tightly by the few.