Keep the change!

So everyone’s preparing for hard times. Markets down, property down, jobs down, prices up, uncertainty everywhere. As your parents might have said, a proper recession, like they used to have in the old days.

At times like this, some people are tempted to feel sorry for themselves, on the basis it will somehow make them feel better. Just in case you know anyone who needs to be disabused of that particular misconception, here’s a pictorial whistle-stop tour of what’s going on in Zimbabwe: What the real crisis is like. And here’s a taster or three:

When a handful of eggs cost you a hundred billion anythings, you’re in trouble. As sure as eggs is eggs.

My thanks to Joshua March for the tipoff via twitter.

6 thoughts on “Keep the change!”

  1. No problem:)

    Good point about people feeling sorry for themselves; even with a full blown recession, we’ll still be far better off than the majority of people in this world (and at least our currency isn’t collapsing!).

  2. Spot on. Much as I might complain about my computer crashing, at least I have electricity 24 hours a day, drinkable water out of the tap and affordable food around the corner.

    There are a places where a few of our pounds can make a very big difference.

  3. I’ve seen a genuine 5000 million Mark note from early 1930s Germany, but this is another level altogether. I assume these photos were taken before the recent “revaluation” where .gov.zw took the decision to knock the rightmost 10 zeroes off the currency. Thanks for posting, and thereby adding to perspective.

    If it wasn’t for the recent economic downturn, I would have suggested that .uk offer to bail .zw out financially, on the condition that they rescind the independent sovereignty they (unlike almost every other member of the Commonwealth) clearly can’t handle…

  4. Dave, if you’re interested, look through the photo ensemble in the link, it takes you through the “remove 10 zeroes” phase on to Zimbabwe Inflation 2.0. Then it starts all over again

  5. Notice: The Zimbabwe government redenominated the ZWD on August 1, 2008 at a rate of 10,000,000,000 old ZWD to 1 new ZWD. No new currency code has been issued, but the old ZWD currency remains legal tender until December 31, 2008.

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