Friday, September 11, 2015

Back to school

For some reason I have that back to school feeling. It is slightly unusual as I have not actually experienced the new academic year since I left university and I do not have any children or close relatives that will be starting school this week. I have spent all of August working and as I am now a retired athlete it is not even the start of pre season training. All of these factors combined should make for a standard September, one that follows on fluently from August. The only two factors I can attribute it to are the topics I love to comment on, sport and the weather.

The sudden dip in temperature over night has pushed me to crave my first bowl of porridge since springtime, I have dug out the long sleeved running tops and swapped my sandals for shoes. The sporting change has been more subtle this year with a significant overlap. Most notably, the athletic and rowing world championships were only just finishing, whilst the international rugby season had already begun. Athletics and rugby in my mind should not overlap, just as summer and winter should be distinctly separate.

I decided to embrace this unexplained back to school feeling and what better way to do that than with a new haircut. One of the most exciting features of the first day back was seeing the new 'looks'. Sadly I was never that brave and after attempting a fringe cut by my mother that turned into frizzy ringlets that lay unattractively on my forehead, I decided plain and simple was at least always safe. My hair has not been shorter than shoulder length since I was a toddler, thirty two years later I've plucked up the courage and gone for the chop. It feels invigorating, I am now ready for the new season, whenever that might be.