Back to School?

Oh, how I remember that feeling - arriving at school in the full and despairing knowledge that the homework due in the first period lay in my bag, untouched, blank, a glaring testament to my utter inadequacy. Ah, that ten minute panic before registration, trying to find an obliging friend who would let me look at their diligent and carefully crafted efforts so I could attempt to throw something together that would pass muster. And the recriminations, the self-loathing, why was I such a flop as a pupil? Well, actually, it was because I could always find something much better to do with my time than homework, but such self knowledge was little help in those desperate minutes.

So it was that I read of Ben Bloom's disastrous live blog with tremendous sympathy. I imagine he was experiencing the pre-registration panic ten-fold. You see, he was attempting a live blog of a footbally type press briefing (don't ask me, I'm even worse at football than I was at homework), only to discover that the entire thing would be delivered in German, something his GCSE study of the subject had left him woefully ill-prepared for. The result was wonderful. What Ben Bloom lacks in international linguistics he more than makes up for in humour. How he kept his head in the circumstances I have no idea. According to the Telegraph, he has now gone home to start his German lessons and they have, thankfully, decided not to sack him. Well, they obviously recognise a star when they see one.

Tip: scroll down to 12:37 of the Telegraph's link and work your way up from there - Ben's blog reads from the bottom up.

K.