In praise of mature students

I went to the Barbican Library on Saturday to ensure I had enough to read over the weekend. It is one of my favourite places and I have been a member since I worked in the City in the 1980s. If you have an addiction to crime fiction as severe as mine this is the only way to feed it.

Anyway – that isn’t the point – the point is that there was a graduation taking place for the Open University. The sun was shining and everyone was out on the terrace having their photographs taken – graduates of all ages – and some of very mature years indeed. It was a joyous thing to see – many of them will have done that degree for its own sake and are not facing the agonies of finding employment in this difficult climate. What a wonderful legacy Harold Wilson and Jennie Lee have left for us.