- You have a growing urge to tell the sprawling bus queue, which seemed so delightfully free-form a few weeks ago, to stand in line and get their hands out of their pockets.
- The person in the stationery shop greets you by name.
- The manager of the stationery shop offers you a whiskey.
- You are queuing for a lottery ticket when you realise the person selling it to you is the parent of Tom, a child in your new class…
- … and when Tom’s dad says “Good luck”, you’re not sure how to take that.
- You start longing for your own kids to call you sir…
- …or at least not “dumb-brain”.
- You start hankering after scalding coffee – having time to let it cool seems somehow decadent.
- The latest “Educating…” series starts. This time in Cardiff.
- You don’t win the lottery.
- It’s the first inset of the year – the only time you’ll see the headteacher smile until July.
- You learn you are expected to instigate major government-required changes to assessment – but the government hasn’t published its review on how best to do this.
- You learn your headteacher is keen for you to be featured on the next “Educating…” series …
- … we’ve got some great characters, she says…
- … unfortunately they are mostly in your class.
- You drink scalding coffee
- You stop looking forward to Sundays
- The sun starts to shine
Good luck everybody.