Blame my Viking genes – hygge and all that – but I’m obsessed with candles, particularly tea lights, so I always have a good stash stored away. Such is my enthusiasm, I buy them by the kilo so I’m hawk-eyed about digging out the best prices. Homebase has been my go-to store for value for money. No longer – its prices have soared. On a shopping visit earlier this week to stock up for Christmas, Homebase was selling a puny pack of 20 for £2 – about double the price of a few months ago. Instead I headed for the nearby B&M where a pack of 70 was £3 – bingo.
The price of candles is one of many basic household goods which seem to keep on rising, despite the supposed fall in inflation. Candles are not the only items getting pricier. Builders and contractors are also reporting that the costs of even the most prosaic of building products like plywood are on the upward march again despite falling energy prices and other supply chain factors, once blamed for the steep increases.
