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Open thread: The things that remind us it's back-to-school time

Wallpaper-wrapped schoolbooks, the theme tune to Glenroe, a shoe-fitting machine of torture: what were the triggers that let you know it was THAT time of year again?
6.00pm, 2 Sep 2012
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WE’RE SORRY TO bring this up but… you know what time it is.

Most children have already themselves back to school this week – we feel for you, kids, we do.

Do we ever get over the lurch of the stomach at the thought of a return to the timetable, the homework, the loss of summer freedom? These are six of the triggers that still send a shiver over us here in TheJournal.ie… What are your memories of getting ready to go back to school?

Tell us in the comments below…

Open thread: The things that remind us it's back-to-school time
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  • Spanking new copybooks

    Sealed packs of 10 copybooks piled high in the local shop... just waiting to be filled in, doodled on and slashed through with teacher's best red pen.... (Image: books4schools.ie)

  • Getting fitted for shoes

    Remember those scary-looking slide-rule contraptions for measuring your foot? This image is from Boston Public Library but you just know that this shop had one of them too... (Image: Boston Public Library Archive/Flickr)

  • Alarm clock

    You hadn't needed one of these all summer and then... (Image: Alan Cleaver/Flickr)

  • Covering your books in wallpaper

    The time-honoured tradition of keeping the covers clean and fit for use by the next five siblings below you. (Image: romana klee/Flickr)

  • Invasion of the uniforms

    That horrifying moment when you spot shop windows filling with displays of generic navy, grey and bottle-green clothes... (Image: Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland)

  • Rattle of protractor/compass set in its tin box

    It was definitely the start of term when the new compass had yet been used to punch a hole in the tin it came in. Also feared as the weapon of choice for the bored classroom thug. (Image: Helix)

  • The theme tune to Glenroe

    If it was autumn, it was time for Glenroe to return. And if it was time for Glenroe, it was time for bed on a Sunday night... (Image: Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland)
  • Sealed packs of 10 copybooks piled high in the local shop... just waiting to be filled in, doodled on and slashed through with teacher's best red pen.... (Image: books4schools.ie)
  • Remember those scary-looking slide-rule contraptions for measuring your foot? This image is from Boston Public Library but you just know that this shop had one of them too... (Image: Boston Public Library Archive/Flickr)
  • You hadn't needed one of these all summer and then... (Image: Alan Cleaver/Flickr)
  • The time-honoured tradition of keeping the covers clean and fit for use by the next five siblings below you. (Image: romana klee/Flickr)
  • That horrifying moment when you spot shop windows filling with displays of generic navy, grey and bottle-green clothes... (Image: Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland)
  • It was definitely the start of term when the new compass had yet been used to punch a hole in the tin it came in. Also feared as the weapon of choice for the bored classroom thug. (Image: Helix)
  • If it was autumn, it was time for Glenroe to return. And if it was time for Glenroe, it was time for bed on a Sunday night... (Image: Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland)

21 tips for parents on their child’s first day of school>

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