So to dispel my dark thoughts I went off to an aqua class at the local swimming pool in the hope of washing the gloom away.

Alas, there was no escape from drama. As I waited at the side of the pool for my session to begin, a teenage lad racing in the previous class got into difficulties. The next thing alarm bells were ringing and lifeguards jumping into the pool from every direction.

The big lad was hurled out of the water and covered with a metallic sheet as lifeguards worked to revive him. He was breathing so at first they were relaxed. But he wasn't breathing properly. He was shaking and kept choking, and his breathing deteriorated sharply. Then we realised he was suffering a prolonged seizure, which the lifeguards could not stop.

Our class was cancelled and an ambulance was called. It arrived as I pulled out of the car park, so I have no idea what happened to Simon, who looked about 15. I hope he is well.

On the drive home my thoughts returned to the budget and the mess we are in, but Simon's shaking body, with the flimsy metallic sheet laid over it, kept coming back to me.

And it occurred to me how watching the economy in its near-death throes was a bit like watching young Simon, and the attempts to revive him. Cutting VAT and giving a little bit here or there, seemed as useful as covering a traumatised body with a flimsy metallic sheet.

On Thursday the Bank of England is expected to cut interest rates again by up to 1%. While we welcome this move, late in the day though it is, it is pointless unless banks and building societies are forced to pass the cut on. The expectation is that few if any will pass on a full 1% reduction, and indeed many borrowers have yet to benefit fully from sliding rates so far.

Unless we fix the banking system, it is only a matter of time before we are forced to dial for emergency rescue and watch from the sidelines as our present severe difficulties turn into a life-threatening crisis, for homeowners and industry everywhere.

Saving grace?

Many of our earliest financial memories are of banking with the Government via a post office savings account or premium bonds. But few of us expect to find ourselves back banking with the Government in later life.

Following the acquisition of Royal Bank of Scotland, that is precisely where we are.

But as the Irish say, you'll never plough a field by turning it over in your mind, so the best we can do is get on with it.

As to what it will mean is almost anyone's guess. At least your money is safe and, for the time being, the bank, under the politicians' jack boot, will be one of the few to aggressively cut rates, maintain credit commitments, and generally treat customers fairly.

If this finally kicks the competition back into the land of the living that must be a good thing. Longer term, all may not be so rosy. Take Northern Rock: the only bank raising its mortgage rates at the moment.

Fatal decisions

Back to young Simon at the pool. When I returned to the ladies' changing room, I was shocked to hear the girls from his class together in the shower chanting over and over again "RIP Simon", to a catchy tune of their devising, giggling all the while.

The rest of us, young and old, raised shocked eyebrows at each other that teenagers could be so ghoulish and heartless. Of course, they simply hadn't grasped the seriousness of what was happening. Again, this put me in mind of our present plight economically. Most under 40 have little if any experience of what happens in a recession and they are in for a rude and painful awakening.

Their elders should know better, though, yet they persist in behaving as if age has addled their brains.

For Scottish ministers to – against all advice – press ahead with plans for Home Reports tomorrow while the property market is on its knees amounts to criminal negligence.

At Westminster, politicians last week finally passed the controversial Pensions Bill, introducing Personal Accounts.

Again, pensions experts have warned, until they are hoarse, that these will cause as many problems as they solve.

Let's all sing together… "Property and Pensions RIP."