The Boys Are Back In Town

And so, unfortunately, are the girls. Even now, just shy of one decade out of university, I notice when the kids go back to school, and then, the even greater shudder to the senses as term begins back at university: first the freshers, all young and giddy, before the old hands turn up, experienced and ready for another onslaught. I'm not sure which type makes the most noise, but it's clear to me that both are very noisy. I guess as the university halls are just across the way from me here in Birmingham city centre, that I - not to mention all the other hard-working, decent folk who call this area home - that perhaps we should accept this? But, even when you know you've done the same, you can't help wanting to be that miserable bastard that yelled out of his window at you ten years ago. Sometimes, it seems to me like some kind of national swearing contest. You've got this bunch of bright young things from varying social backgrounds and locations, all descending on one town, trying to make friends, to establish their personalities. It's this last bit that makes most noise, and in the panoply of accents available here in the British Isles, from west coast Irish, to Cockney, Scouse, Scots, Panjabi, Cantonese, you name it. Sometimes, I think a kind of police curfew for students and young people might be a good idea. Bah humbug.