This KFC business is worrying, isn't it? Imagine being short of chicken!

Call me a cynical old hack, well not so much of the old, if you don't mind (I prefer, 'on the cusp of no longer being young') but in my trade there is often a story behind a story and I can't help but wonder what happened, and who has had a sleepness night over it, because someone has, somewhere.

Though, if I know anything about economics, a shortage usually creates more of demand so maybe it's not such a bad thing after all.

I suspect a drive for lower costs is at the root of it all and retention of profit margin.

We'll see.

But it is worry, of course, that makes us have sleepness nights over stuff we usually can't control and things that mostly don't happen.

In my case it had a terrible effect on my hair, leaving me bereft and with yet more to worry about.

I have to say that my sister's suggestion of an occasional toupee - 'like, for best' - didn't help much either.

Anyway, fried chicken, you see, is big business and I can't help wondering how many chickens haven't been eaten, if you see what I mean.

And this chicken shortage actually led to people expressing 'anger, sadness hunger and disappointment' according to one report I read.

Surely those emotions are a bit strong?

Have a sandwich please, or go without.

To my mind, reactions, or over-reactions, like that – and plenty of people expressed their feelings on Twitter – suggest, well, feeble mindedness.

It is as if people have lost sight of the wider picture.

I wonder how we might manage if other foodstuffs might become in short supply.

I remember the salad cream withdrawal threat.

It worked and demand soared. Funnily enough, it is still on the shelves.

I can't imagine life without an occasional cheese scone but in the war they had no eggs much, or cheese, and had to make those ersatz pies and what not, as well as bombs everywhere, so really I can't say I've done without.

I have to admit it did cross my mind what might happen in this country if McDonalds suddenly shut.

Judging by the queues at these drive through places I suspect there'd be riots. People would be 'distraught', no doubt.

I'm almost convinced a national fast food shortage would be one way to civil unrest.

And if people were forced to go to gyms or run around with earphones in or go to Zumba, or whatever it is, well, there'd be an outcry.

Or if social media was shut down and people had to talk to each other instead – can you imagine?

We seem to have become so sensitive, so self-obsessed and so concerned with our own needs and emotions, so keen to express them and, for some inexplicable reason, to share them at every opportunity that we are now apparently unable to cope when things go even slightly and just a little bit wrong.

I don't know about you but I lament the Great British stiff upper lip. Mine might have been the last generation that even knew what it looked like.

These days there is no sanguine remark, no 'never mind', no ability to carry on regardless, no sense of perspective whatsoever… We focus on the wrong things – football, snow, Brexit, Donald Trump, just to mention a few.

And in the meantime we put up with and seem to do little about the elephant in the collective British room – the massive and increasing and obvious problem of homelessness on our streets.

Surely this is something actually worthy of anger, sadness, disappointment and action?

Much more so than whether tonight we might have trouble getting ourselves a chicken takeaway tonight, anyhow.

But it's the chicken that seems to bother us more than the omnipresent social problem in front of our noses.

Yet, we seem to think someone else should worry about that.

Do you agree with James? Has Britain lost its sense of perspective? What really matters to you? Write to james.marston@archant.co.uk