Love and Work

Epilogue: Over to You

At my college they made you put on a cap and gown and then parade down the town’s main street—called King’s Parade—to the courthouse. Here your final exam results would be posted on the wall for the world to see whether you graduated, and if you did, how well you did. If you failed, there would be an S by your name. S stood for Special. It meant you weren’t. Typical British understatement.

And then, if you passed—I did, thank goodness—you and your muckers would run, run, run to the punt place, where you’d rent a punt for the afternoon, grab your picnic provisions, and punt your way up the River Cam to a small village of ...