Alastair Stewart: Nothing quite like a day of double annoyance - but there was light at the end of the tunnel

None of these genres is my cup of tea, but it attracts over 60,000 people; however, this puts a huge strain on local roads, main ones and country lanes get crowded with camper vans and other vehicles. Late-night revellers roam around, and closing day is a nightmare.

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We suffer from the congestion and can hear the music late into the night.

I am not a kill-joy, I just remember - despite my dementia - it was always like this. Guess we just have to grin and bear it and hope neither we nor our children have to get about too much.

The other cause for annoyance was Thursday’s cut in interest rates, not so much the cut as the Chancellor coming on TV and Radio seeking to take credit for it.

Rachel Reeves said it was a tribute to the ‘stability she and the Government had brought to the economy' - a stability that sees rising inflation, declining growth, borrowing ballooning and the growing threat of a recession made almost certain if she raises taxes in the autumn budget.

Another independent forecast suggested this was now inevitable, given a real black hole in the public finances twice as big as the discreet one she claimed Labour inherited.

She should have read the minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee report, which expressed grave concerns over a possible recession and continuing inflation.

Many argue, not least my friend Liam Halligan, that the inflationary pressures should have ruled out a cut.

Finally, I remember very clearly the then-Chancellor Gordon Brown - on the advice of Ed Balls - making the Bank of England independent and giving it and the Monetary Policy Committee the power to vary interest rates subject to a Government target for inflation.

The intention was to take the power to vary the price of money and the cost of credit out of the hands of politicians who should not be free to play fast and loose with such a vital economic tool.

I thought this was wise back in 1997 and still do.

Lower interest rates help businesses borrow to expand, which is great — unless you’re a fixed saver.

For savers - a declining species - lower rates erode both income and spending power.

The area of inflation the Bank was most worried about was food, as that hits everyone.

My earlier suggestion weeks ago that the Chancellor needs to read up on economics is strengthened. I now add economic history and Ed Balls' excellent autobiography to the list of recommendations.

Friday lifted my spirits enormously. The excellent Rick Stein does much for charity and encourages his restaurants to do the same.

The branch in Winchester hosts tea and coffee mornings for local charities - our beloved Homestart is a regular and grateful recipient.

They provided the drinks and cakes; we hand out leaflets and chat to folk who make a voluntary donation on entering.

There is also a tombola/raffle with prizes donated by other friendly businesses and other friends of the charity.

We are also one of the Mayor of Winchester’s chosen charities this year, so it was good of him to attend, and I was happy to thank him personally as a national ambassador.

Sally is one of the local patrons. It was a great success, attracting a good crowd and raising awareness of what we do, plus bringing in vital funds.

We support families with very young children facing severe challenges with a trained volunteer to help them stick together and get through the rough patch. I am proud to be a long-term supporter, as is Sally.

Also, there were two of my favourites, John’s wife, Lady Wakeham and Lady Chidgey - David’s widow.

The Homelessness Minister resigned when it was revealed she had sought to improve her income from a flat she owned by bringing in new tenants at a higher rent. The job is to reduce homelessness, not increase it.

It is a shame because she is an able woman, but Starmer seems to have had a run of bad luck with junior ministers having to go, or perhaps he doesn’t make great appointments.

There was a blast from the past when Lord Kinnock suggested that the government should put VAT on private health premiums, as it does on private school fees.

I think that those who make provision for their own health and children’s education rather than depend on the hard-pressed taxpayer should be rewarded, not penalised, but this is a Government that thinks the state knows and does best.

I differ.