Back To School

That used to bug the crap out of me when I was a kid. School's out for summer, and only a couple of days later all the shops would be full of 'Back To School' advertising posters. Gimme a break, I would think, I've only just got away from the frickin' place, and you're telling me to go back already. The clothes shops would use them to advertise their new uniforms, and the stationers would use them to plug their latest range of, er, pencil cases and protractors*. Or perhaps advertising was merely a front for an evil ploy to crush the spirit of the young.

The schools here start again in just over a week, after the fastest six weeks I can remember. It's funny how, when you're young, six weeks can seem like an eternity, but when you reach adulthood** a summer can pass in the blink of an eye***. I still remember my surprise one when I thought the summer holiday had been cut to a measly six weeks, until it was pointed out to me that it had only ever been six weeks. It just seemed longer at the time.

* Has anyone used a protractor since leaving school?
** Which I hope to do any day now.
*** Of course, if you live in Scotland, it's quite normal for summer to pass in the blink of an eye.