Knock knock...

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
The doorbell guy.
The doorbell guy who?
The doorbell guy who lives next door.

Yeah... not one to bring the house down, but a summary of the existential quandary that I faced this week.

I have a wireless doorbell button. The sounder is about 10 metres away. Since I installed it, it has rung about a dozen times. Only once has there been someone at the door. Another marvel of microchip technology with all its associated foibles, thought I. Some stray electrons out on the piss setting the damn thing off.

But then again, most times when I get to the door I hear my neighbours talking to someone at their door.

Then I had a thought. My sounder is 10 metres from my bell but only about 5 metres from my neighbour's front door. Do they have a wireless door bell button. If so, is it on the same frequency as mine?

So, clutching my sounder, I go round to see them trying to decide what to do, what to say. Do I just ring the doorbell and see if my sounder goes off? If it does, my work is done and I have no reason to stay other than to explain why I rang their bell but do not want anything. If it doesn't then I have to explain that I was just testing it or just go away?

Or do I knock on the door and ask if they mind me ringing their doorbell. After all a doorbell is an invitation to make a noise in someone else's house. Ringing a doorbell is one of the few things that even a complete stranger can do on someone else's property without infringing on their privacy, without danger of committing a cultural faux-pas, without there being a question of propriety, or even the slightest rise of an eyebrow in the street.

Without an explanation the whole exercise will look a little foolish. Unless of course they are out. But then I don't know. They have two cars. If there is a car in the drive it may mean that one of them is home but sometimes they both go out in one car. I have never seen them both in her car, only in his car, so if his car is there and hers isn't the chances are that he is in. If her car is there she may be in. The only way I can reasonably assume they are both out is if there are no cars.

All this thinking happens during the short walk from my door to theirs.

As it turns out, I knock on the door, he opens it, I explain I am in an existential quandary, he says 'press it...' and I do. And my sounder goes 'bing, bong'. And we both smile.

Problem identified. Solution undecided...

It's the Economy, Stupid! Simple

We are always told that regardless of our stated morals and principles we always end up voting with out wallets. We may bluster about the planet, the NHS, schools and housing, but it is pain to see that we do not want to pay for any of these and invariably vote to cut taxes. We vote to make ourselves financially better off.

This is why Brexiteers are so fearful of a People's Vote / 2nd Referendum? And you may ask, why are they against a public vote? Surely the people's will will prevail and they will emerge victorious. After all they SAY 17.4 million voted for Brexit. They SAY that a second referendum is undemocratic. They SAY that the majority want to leave the EU.

Trouble is, they KNOW that it is now crystal clear that the majority of the population will be poorer for leaving and will vote with their wallets - as usual.

It's the Economy Stupid!

Simple.