One of my many teachers

I must have been about seventeen so the year was 1959, just two years into my apprenticeship as a toolmaker and as part of my education, I attended Erdington Technical College one day a week in an effort to further my education.

I can’t remember many of the teachers or their names but the one who consistently told me that I was a cert to fail my maths exam is locked into my memory. And to be fair, initially, I wasn’t very good at that particular subject. But by spending many hours locked in my bedroom I somehow scraped enough marks to move on to the next year of a six-year course, the teacher Mr. Clifford congratulated me when I saw him the following term, and perhaps it was his bluntness that was a stimulus to push my limited abilities much farther than they were designed for but at the time I would have preferred to be encouraged.

It’s strange that I can’t remember the name of one of the nicest teachers there or what subject he taught but can still picture what he looked like. I would class him as a gentle giant because he had a very calming disposition and was quite laid back about teaching and never criticized anyone. Most mornings he would arrive after the last pupils sat down, still wearing a crash helmet having traveled to the college on a very old motorbike that matched his frame size. It would take him another ten minutes to remove the helmet and leather jacket as he was close to retirement age and struggling with arthritis.

It’s only July but the yellow leaves on some of my Acers are tinged with pink and that is quite disturbing as it usually means the start of a different season.

I feel sorry for Philip Schofield, I doubt anyone goes through life without telling a lie but usually no one finds out, and most of us class our lies as white lies and necessary. I am not religious but I remember a quote from the bible, He who is without sin throw the first stone, it never said if someone did. Surely it wasn’t Borris or Trump.