TIME TRAVEL

Aged (only) 48, I am in

The resources cupboard collecting a

Sundial when I catch sight of

A few familiar items:

· A trimphone with luminous dial

· A Sony Walkman cassette tape player

· An Olympia electronic typewriter

Just normal stuff from a few years back – nothing special,

And then I am brought up short by the label on the box:

‘Key Stage 1 History Artefacts’

I spend a moment digesting this, then

Emerge from the resources cupboard

Aged (only!) 48

Feeling

Ancient.

The Year 6 pupils set out their case:

They need

To bring their phones to school.

I remark that I used to walk to and from my school every day without a phone.

They follow my remark with:

· Jokes about ‘those days’.

· Jokes about bricks

· Comedic mimes of holding phones the size and weight of several bricks

I follow their jokes with brief explanations of:

· The complete absence of mobile phones in ‘those days’

· How landline phones and phone boxes work.

They follow my explanations with:

· Amusement

· Pity

but mainly

· Relief

Relief that ‘those days’ are gone.