Re Stanstead and the main post - No it should not be expanded.

Doctorbob

So maybe the answer to the question is, if you are rash enough to commiting to a holiday next year given the developing situation, "maybe", but don't bet your shirt (or job) on going on the actual dates you book for!

If we all stop going on holiday and stop buying goods won't that just add to the downward spiral?
Why not splash-out and have the 'holiday of a lifetime'?
Spread the word, "Go for it", fill the planes up, then maybe you will be able to go on the days you booked.
[If the doomers are right it may be your last chance.]

Would it really be rash of you to consider going on holiday next year? How do you see your circumstances changing between now and then?

What is now underway has been forecast for at least a year on financial blog sites like The Automatic Earth (run by former Canada TODers). If you want the (?last big) holiday of a lifetime and have ready cash (not borrowed money) to hand, do it next year as that may well be the last chance, but doing it in the year just gone would have been better!

As far as buying goods is concerned, in way it's a good time to do it while everything is still available - indeed there are plenty of sales on! But what you should be buying is not "consumer junk", electronics, etc., but durable goods to last you many years if not decades. Again there are plenty of lists available of what you need for the future we are going into - see Sharon Astyk's site which is a mine of information on how to deal with where we are going.

Circumstances changing? Well, just for starters I'd expect UK unemployment to be going up at 100,000 per month in a year's time.

"If you want the (?last big) holiday of a lifetime and have ready cash (not borrowed money) to hand, do it next year as that may well be the last chance, but doing it in the year just gone would have been better!"

Mmmm - this brings to mind an excellent article I read at Medialens:http://www.medialens.org/alerts/07/070206_in_the_spirit.php

P.S. I realised after posting that as the article was about Stanstead the assumed holiday was by plane - but perhaps your "holiday of a lifetime" may be by some other means.