Don't panic: Here are 20 reasons to be cheerful

1 Greed is no longer good

Having seen off the red-braced yuppies of the 1980s, Gordon Gekko's mantra seemed to be making a comeback in recent years. The spectacular failures in the City and Wall Street look likely to herald a gentler face of capitalism.

2 We are living longer

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Children today can look forward to longer and healthier lives than ever. According to the Office for National Statistics, 75 per cent of boys, and 80 per cent of girls, will live beyond 80. Among 65 to 74-year-olds, mortality has fallen by two thirds.

3 Exam results are best ever

This summer the number of young people scoring top grades in their GCSEs recorded the biggest rise for nearly 20 years. A-levels recorded their 26th improvement in a row.

4 Relief for first time buyers

House prices are falling and have been for nine months in a row, with some lenders reporting an overall decline of 11 per cent.

5 Petrol is getting cheaper

The price of a barrel of oil is now 30 per cent lower than it was at the height of the oil shock three months ago. The Petrol Retailers Association predicts price cuts could start filtering through to forecourts within the next 10 days.

6 Red kites are back

Reintroduced in the early 1980s after being persecuted here to the point of extinction, Britain's most beautiful bird of prey has staged a remarkable comeback. The Scottish red kite population is now at a 200-year high, with 1,200 pairs of the awesome raptors.

7 It's finally stopped raining

One dry weekend does not an Indian summer make but after the deluge that was August and early September, forecasters are finally predicting some relief.

8 British Paralympic athletes' success

They may not have enjoyed the same wall-to-wall adoration afforded their able-bodied compatriots in Team GB but the scale of Britain's Paralympic achievement in Beijing was truly spectacular. The team won 102 medals – 42 of them gold – ranking Britain second only to China.

9 The little man can win

Dragon's Den contestant Andrew Harsley ploughed all his time and savings into creating his Rapstrap nylon cable tie. Now he has secured an order for a billion of his homespun invention.

10 Truffles

They may smell like unwashed underpants but two wet summers have produced a bumper British truffle harvest.

11 Demise of the Guinea worm

Twenty years ago some 3.5 million people in Africa were afflicted with this most appalling parasite – 3ft-long worms which gnaw their way out of the body after being swallowed as eggs in drinking water. Thanks to massive efforts, led in part by the former US president Jimmy Carter, just a few thousand victims remain.

12 Costume drama

The sumptuous historical recreation of the Victorian literary canon has become the highlight of television schedules. In the BBC's portrayal of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, broadcast on Sundays, Gemma Arterton in the role of Tess is proving as picturesque as the rolling Wessex landscape.

13 Sir Cliff is back

Empires may rise and fall and entire economic systems crumble around our ears but one reassuring constant remains: Sir Cliff Richard. Now celebrating his 50th year in the music business, He is back in the charts at No 3 with "Thank You For a Lifetime".

14 A spectacular season of mellow fruitfulness

This autumn promises to be particularly colourful in our woods and forests thanks to the combination of a wet summer and warm late September. The full kaleidoscope of colours is expected to be at its most intense by the middle of October.

15 Two wheels good and getting better

The National Cycle Network now runs within a mile of half the UK population. Bristol has been named the UK's first Cycling City, along with 11 other towns and cities eligible to share millions of pounds of government funding to create new cycle lanes.

16 A brighter future for England football fans

Theo Walcott's thrilling hat-trick against Croatia last week promises to erase the gloom of sitting out Euro 2008.

17 Coast

We may be an island race but access to Britain's coastline remains sadly lamentable for most walkers. But all this could be about to change. MPs look likely to agree to the creation of an English coastal path giving full rights for walkers to enjoy a seaside stroll under the draft Marine Bill.

18 Hope for the Amazon rainforest

This week Norway led the rest of the world by donating $1bn (£500m) to help stop deforestation. Brazil wants to raise $21bn to secure the future of the forest.

19 The return of peg leg trousers

Good news for anyone still harbouring a pair in their wardrobe – a fashion statement last witnessed in the early 1980s. The look is more forgiving than skinny jeans and promises a degree of comfort and warmth this winter.

20 New home for orphaned ape

Kera, a four-year-old western lowland gorilla who was rejected by her mother in favour of her twin finally found a home yesterday when she was placed with an adoptive family in Bristol Zoo Gardens.