Back in the spring in the first of these pieces for Tax Journal I was able to report some generally good news on the economy and the public finances.
Growth had bounced back from its snow-affected fall at the end of 2010 and the Office for National Statistics had released figures showing a several billion pound undershoot in public borrowing for 2010/11.
The economy it seemed was following the normal pattern in which economists tend to underestimate the speed of recovery and the pace of deficit reduction.
Now it looks rather different. The economy has hit a soft patch.
The recovery which appeared to be bounding ahead is now more like wading through treacle.
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