Mark's Message 2010

A lesson

Good morning class,

Our lesson today is the year 2010. Everyone should have in front of them a European rail timetable. Your first task is to plan a skiing trip for yourself and 5 friends. If you can avoid a desperate panic to leap on both the Eurostar and the TGV, so much the better - I didn't.

Then, plan a 20 day solo trip around Northern Europe, taking in Holland, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. But don't waste time, you may not plan the trip more than a week in advance. You must plan for an amazing time, but allow for problems: oversleeping and getting lost in Helsinki are unavoidable obstacles.

Hurry up, hurry up, we haven't got all day! Put your pens down and look this way. I am about to demonstrate the way not to begin a Teacher Training course. Do not wake up in hospital 5 days before the course starts, with loss of hearing and no energy.

Oh dear, look at the time. We don't have enough time for the graduation worksheet, so just make a note in your exercise books that you are now a Master of Mathematics and Physics with Upper Second Class Honours.

Was that the bell? Right, let's quickly sum up what we have learnt this year: Norway is beautiful, Riga is fun, Warsaw is confusing, teaching is hard, and come what may - make the most of it.