It seems like only yesterday that I was enjoying the long warm, evenings (yes, I’m sure we did have some!) and contemplating a few glorious weeks away from the pressures of exams and students and marking. Suddenly, it’s not even the end of September and I find myself surrounded with assignments and wondering what on earth happened to the summer.
It’s particularly annoying right now, because we’re in the midst of a Rugby World Cup and, frankly, I’ve a Sky+ box full of live games and highlights that I haven’t yet caught up with, and I’m finding them a teeny bit more appealing than yet another essay on murder. Better yet, ITV have somehow persuaded the incomparable Francois Pienaar to join the team, which makes it unmissable in my book. This Ireland supporter is finding the Southern hemisphere trio of Pienaar, Fitzy and Michael Lynagh considerably classier than the Northern hemisphere analysts…with the honourable exception of the wonderful Girvan Dempsey of course. However, the mix of North and South does have its joys. I’m still marvelling at the nerve of Gareth Thomas who raved on and on about how ‘Wales were the better team and should have beaten South Africa’ the other week, apparently oblivious to the fact that Pienaar, sitting next to him, was rapidly developing the look of a caged tiger that had missed out on a few lunches and was eager for a bite of Welsh rarebit…
