Chugga chugga chugga

I was talking to someone this afternoon, about getting the new term launched. Since my last blog, there has been oceans of administration, menacing floods of emails headed 'colleagues are reminded' , and so forth, buckets of no fun and mostly depressing. Now term has properly started and one is actually teaching, it becomes possible to recall that this is often interesting and sometimes rewarding - students, as people, are fine. It's students presenting as x number of eight-digit numbers which can be a bit tricky But still, we have got there, and the metaphor which occurred to me was those antique self powered rail trolleys one saw in Buster Keaton films and the like.  Two chaps pushed a bar alternately, and eventually, the platform they were standing on set off along the track.Term is a bit like that. A devil of a job to get started, but once it is moving you just have to put your back into it.