Here we are again. It’s La Rentrée. Bookshops around the country have piles of textbooks laid out for the new term and the stores are full of shiny new pens and writing pads ready for a season of doodling, note taking and (hopefully) some studying.
I recently heard a report on the radio about the length of journey that some children in Switzerland have to make just to get to their place of learning. For children that live high up in remote mountain villages, a téléphérique or a funiculaire is often their only mode of transport to get to school.
I recall my school days in the north of England. The school itself was an old Victorian pile surrounded by moors and situated at the top of a steep hill. It wasn’t exactly Alpine but I would have happily ridden a cable car to get there. It was tough battling...