On attending my first French Language class, aged eleven, the teacher asserted that "everyone of you will be able to speak French on leaving this school!" It was an idle boast, and proven to be so by the fact that no-one left our school speaking ENGLISH, let alone French.
Other idle boasts included the Maths teacher's optimism that one day we would find a need for Algebra, or the PE teacher's claim that we would eventually come to appreciate the rules of Cricket.
Yes, I am a cynic, and probably atypical of the sterling generation produced by my Secondary Modern back in the early 70s, unlike those high-achieving others who, to this day, know doubt calculate the Test Scores in French using Algebra on a daily basis. And maybe, had I spent more time listening, and a little less time sneering at my betters, then maybe I'd be an internet millionaire by now, rather than an insignificant ten-a-penny blogger that no-reads.
However, there is yet hope.
In the Guardian Quick Crossword today:
Question 9 Down "Abrasive Sheet"
The answer (which I actually knew) : "Emery Paper".
At Last! That's five years of Metalwork finally justified!
Thankyou Mr Cadman, I clearly remembered more than the fact that your fingernails were permanently ingrained with industrial grime!
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