The summer party season is in full swing. My favourites are those hosted by the foreign ambassadors (Ferrero Rocher and all). The best are the American Independence day and French Bastille day gigs. Being neither great or good myself I spend most of the time celeb watching and naively wondering what it is that attracts beautiful young women to less than handsome rich men at least twice their age.

In this realm of grandeur, stars of stage, screen, music and literature mingle easily with politicians, statesmen and senior business types. There were relatively more of the latter at the Financial Times (FT) party the other night which is perhaps why the generally convivial mood of Kensington Palace was tinged with an air of menace. At first I thought this was because the waiters and waitresses all wore white tunics and black bowler hats. It seemed a bit Clockwork Orange to me. But the real villain was the economic and business outlook.

The FT’s respected editor Lionel Barber informed the gathering that we are only at "the end of the beginning of the credit crunch" with the full impact on the real economy (for which read jobs and living standards) still to be fully felt. This must have made uncomfortable listening for chancellor of the exchequer Alistair Darling, surrounded as he was by both friend and foe. I noticed him in polite conversation with a senior BBC political journalist who only hours before had predicted Mr Darling would be the biggest casualty of an impending cabinet reshuffle. After the year he’s had, leaving the Treasury might be as much a blessed relief as a personal disappointment. And if possible he can take consolation in the fact than any politician of any party would have struggled to cope with the tide of economic trouble currently washing over us. The party may soon be over for the chancellor – but life’s not going to much fun for any of us in the remainder of this year and next either.