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The
popular Teacher series is back for its yearly installment,
this time the seventh and showing no sign of running
out of steam yet. There is the usual mix
of humor, drama and a smidgeon of tragedy as a new teacher
is appointed for good or ill, the school wrestles with
technology and the possibilities of a national curriculum
as well as coping with bereavement, the miner’s
strike and the vicissitudes of pointless bureaucracy.
If
you are still missing those Sunday evening bouts of
nostalgia such as Heartbeat and find that Downton Abbey
doesn’t quite cut it then this ought to fit the
bill. There is something life affirming about
any book that points out the simple things in life that
matter like loving families, loyal friends, a good laugh
and enjoyable traditions. This is an evocation
of a more innocent time, albeit one where the clouds
are gathering and we can see the ominous shape of life
as it is now.
Anybody
over a certain age will be able to recall the time of
the miners’ strike, saying goodbye to the halfpenny
piece and hello to computers, singing along to hits
by bands like Wham! and Culture Club, reading about
Princess Diana and early rumblings of the green movement. If
you were not alive then see this as an enjoyable way
to learn a bit of social history that is well drawn
without too much false glamor. There ought
to be more books like this– maybe even a few about
today but until there are,
one a year of these is better than nothing. |
