There are a lot of Union Jacks around at the moment.
In shop windows, cafes, on t-shirts and on bunting. On backpacks, lunchboxes, shopping bags and bumper stickers.
The Olympics and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee have national pride very high. It's like the Royal Wedding all over again. Even the souvenir plates and cutlery are back.
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I've been living in the UK for almost two years now it feels like there's always another excuse for a bank holiday and a street party just around the corner.
The Queen's Diamond Jubilee begins this weekend, commemorating 60 years of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. Cue the bank holidays and street parties.
It actually doesn't seem that long ago since the Golden Jubilee marking the Queen's 50 years in 2002. Time flies.
This time around Her Majesty has gone digital. The official Diamond Jubilee website has hundreds of messages of support for the Queen, a typical example reads:
“You are an inspiration to all of us and you are admired the world over. I hope you reign for many more years to come”.
Still glowing from last year's stylish nuptials, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are greeted like Hollywood A-listers everywhere they go. Street parties are thrown in their honour too.
Adding to all the excitement, the Olympic torch relay now is cutting its path around the country with inch-by-inch, step-by-step coverage of its progress now a regular feature on the nightly BBC news.
All the merriment is quite the distraction from the otherwise steady flow of dreary news about the UK recession, the uncertainty in the EU, and the expectation that things are going to get worse before they get better.
News that the UK economy shrank in the first quarter of 2012 by 0.3% - more than previously thought - was described by analysts as both discouraging and unsurprising.
Across the country the brunt of the unemployment problem is being faced by graduates, women and the recently redundant. Many are trapped in cycles of underemployment, precarious employment or no employment at all.
UK politicians concede costs of living are rising and inflated household bills are outstripping family budgets. With the rise in student tuition fees, going to university in the UK is soon to be more expensive than ever.
What's also intriguing is that I'm writing this from Scotland where a referendum to declare independence from the union has just been formally launched. The vote isn't until 2014 but the local 'Yes' and 'No' campaigns are steadily stacking their political war chests.
Poll data on support for an independent Scotland has been mostly inconclusive thus far, but the issue is never far from the headlines, both in Westminster and north of the border.
But even the prospect of Scotland leaving the UK hasn't stopped Union Jacks from shining brightly in Edinburgh's supermarkets, pubs and on the sides of buses. The Olympic torch is due here in two weeks' time.
It's also not to say that the hype surrounding the Jubilee and the Olympics is being falsely manufactured. Indeed, much of the enthusiasm for the events appears to be genuine, if not a greatly welcomed mood-booster.
But when all the medals have been handed out, the celebratory bunting put away and the summer fades, what will be left of the party?
