Unmiserable

Glasgow was awarded the 2014 Commonwealth Games on Friday at around 7 minutes before the lunchtime bell rang.

I know this because the S3 Physics class - who were about to start the Health Physics module (thermome'ers an' that) - asked if they could be told what the result was when it was announced. Bugger it (I guess) the incumbent teacher thought - let's just fire up the radio and listen to it live.

So we did.

Twenty minutes of "comment" from the usual Radio Scotland worthies....eh ? Hang on. Twenty twitching teenagers held in raptures by Dougie Bleedin Vipond ? But aye, sure enough not a peep. I did have to confiscate a mobile phone (school rules) but was it out in order for me to be videoed getting happy slapped ? Nope - it was out to record the announcement. I felt like a complete arse.

And then the announcement itself. Now, having spent the last god-knows-how-many-years in the professional company of right-on (and some not so right-on) adults, I had naturally (and involuntarily) been through the miserablist approach of considering how much better the cash might have been spent developing sport at grassroots level (if that was really the aim). I mentally tuttutted at the notion of Empire/Commonwealth and reflected on the fact that if we hadn't spent the last few centuries plundering the homelands of other nations then they might be in a position to produce slicker videos (and have better, more "athlete-friendly" infrastructure) blah-de-blah-de-blah.

Kids ? They don't give a monkey's nudger about all that. And to be part of their unmiserable celebration, to see the fire in the eyes of those pupils who do some sort of sport (and those now thinking of taking it up) starting to believe that they might be part of something big was one of those "deeply rewarding" moments we've been promised repeatedly during the formal University part of the course.

Whoopin' and a a-hollerin', the kids were overjoyed at this annnouncement and their completely unselfconscious celebrations will stay with me for a long time. As things are getting tough on the workload front, a timely wee reminder of why we're doing this.