top of page

Updated: Dec 31, 2024


Energy - Russian hackers target the national grid.  All the electricity is sent to the Isle of Wight, which catches fire and sinks.



Transport - Russian hackers stand back and watch with amazement as the UK transport system implodes on its own, without interference.  Same as last year.  And the year before that.



Housing - All cineplexes are converted to housing, but some units are later found to have been constructed mostly from popcorn. Despite all the optimistic yakking, interest rates stubbornly fail to come down, so your mortgage will continue to slowly choke the life force from you. Unless you rent, in which case your rental payments will continue to slowly choke the life force from you.



Defence - MOD personnel clog up Sainsbury's branches trying to collect drones and munitions ordered from Argos.  Argos admits the existence of a black site offering discounted guns and missiles - and nectar points.



Business - Companies without staff (hedge funds, shell companies and tax dodges) are forecast to do well in 2025.  Companies with staff will do badly owing to the rise in minimum wage and the massive cost of employer's National Insurance.  Freebies for Keir and political donations to Labour are therefore expected to dry up.



Education - all pupils will be automatically deemed to have special educational needs this year, so the limited support available will collapse under the strain.  All exams will move to a pupil self assessment system. Attendance records will show that truancy has fallen to zero after the attendance system is hacked by year 6, although Russian hackers try to take the credit.



Chancellor of the Exchequer, and proud owner of a Casio calculator watch, Rachel Reeves, has announced that to save the NHS money, nurses salaries could be made up with tips from satisfied patients.



"We do it for hairdressers, waiters and taxi drivers, so why not NHS staff?" she is alleged to have said after her third glass of sherry, at 9am on Boxing Day. "It could save us £20 billion a year in salaries, allowing us to spend more money on hospitals, schools, public transport, and biscuits."



"Patients could tip nurses for the services they provide. For example, we recommend a couple of quid for giving out medication, a fiver for helping patients to the toilet, and a tenner for a sponge bath. A nurse's earnings could exceed £50000 a year, if they find themselves on the right ward." 



A spokesman for the government has assured us that this is not official government policy, nurses will not have to buy their own uniforms from Ann Summers, and that Ms Reeves had only had a few hours' sleep and had eaten just three Quality Streets and a Celebration for breakfast that day. 



Are you concerned that people might be holding parties in your house without you knowing? Here are 10 tell tale signs to spot secret party nightmares:


  1. Are there people arriving at your house dressed in sparkly jumpers, holding bottles of booze and asking about the "meeting"?

  2. Do you bump into strangers on the stairs who insist on putting their arm around you and saying "I bloody love you."?

  3. Does your wife say things like "I hope the party doesn't damage the new decorations."?

  4. Are there photocopies of bottoms dotted around the room? Ones that you don't recognise as your own?

  5. When you're upstairs, do you hear the occasional strains of "Hi Ho Silver Lining" coming from downstairs?

  6. Is there a pile of coats in the spare room?

  7. When you walk across the room, are there a lot of dancing people in the way?

  8. Does some of your colleagues work look like it was written as part of a drinking game?

  9. Do some people keep asking you annoying questions about a party?

  10. Are you at a party right now?


First published 11 Dec 2021



If you enjoyed this archive item, why not buy thousands of archive stories found in our eBooks, paperbacks and hardbacks?















bottom of page