A new academic year

Yep. The new academic year starts today.

For me that means thirty new postgrad broadcast journalism diploma students. I've begun to meet them about the place - in Tesco's for example - though in practice they meet me.

At interview you see people in suits (or the female equivalent) so are hardly prepared for meeting them in standard student attire.

Putting names to faces on a new course is always difficult. Colleagues tell me I do it pretty quickly.

As it happens I know I tend to rely heavily on the hairline to recognise people (this is not a lifestyle choice - it appears to be fairly deeply built-in) so a beany or a new haircut will confuse me more than a suit.

Thus - students with similar hair styles - if I fail to get your names right - forgive me. There is something more fundamental going on here.