I cannot be too grumpy today. I’ve just been watching the coverage of the miners being rescued in Chile. At time of writing, eleven have been brought up safe and well to the surface; I can’t help but feel a warm tingle whenever I see another miner arrive at the surface and hug his family.

I’m not so happy with what is going on closer to home. I’ve written before on here about how much I value my time at university: I firmly believe my experiences in higher education brought me out of my shell and made me who I am today. It gave me confidence and firm friendships. Had I not been to uni, I would still be a timid little person living with his parents; I would never have met Steve or charlotte or Ricardio or the rest of them, and I’d have never have met Lyn, as uni gave me the freedom to do so. Thus I am appalled that the government plans to remove the cap on tuition fees. Under labour, anyone who had the ability to desire could go to uni, but now it will be more restricted to your ability to pay. I know of no word which sums up my revulsion at this: it is a move which means a return to education only for the rich. How CaMoron can describe this as ‘fair’ is absolutely disgusting. I can’t help thinking of the many kids who won’t share in the joys I found at university. I’m lucky – not only did I get a degree at uni, but I also got much more in terms of life experiences which, in a way, mean that certificate is worth far more to me than I can possibly put into words. Now, many kids who could have benefited from university as much as I did will be denied that chance due to the Tories’ will to reduce taxes, and I will never forgive them for that.