But if there was one good thing that may come out of it all, it could be that it puts the brakes on this dreadful celebrity-fuelled obsession we have with material possessions.

Life seems to have become too much about what we have, when it should be more about what we are or what we do.

Perhaps the media is to blame because we are the ones shining a spotlight on these high-earning, high-spending spoilt pop stars, footballers and wannabees and their garish gilded houses, huge car collections and ridiculous wardrobes.

We have put them on pedestals and now ordinary working-class folks want to be just like them – why shouldn't they?

It's only natural after seeing a magazine full of the excesses of Paris Hilton's massive four room-sized walk-in wardrobes at her LA pad, that some folks will want to rush out and get the same even if it means running up credit cards bills the size of a small mortgage – being able to afford it doesn't seem to enter their heads.

On television this week, there was some misguided woman whose massive shoe collection of more than 500 pairs no longer fitted in her wardrobe so she had bought a garden shed to keep them in!

It seems there is no such thing as having too many shoes.

To quote a much-derided political slogan – we need to get "Back to Basics".

But realistically that just isn't going to happen – the genie, unfortunately, is out of the bottle.