We all know the best parts of school are the school trips.

I come from a generation that missed out on ski-trips and safaris. Ours was a more simpler time. Day trips to the beach at primary school and the de rigeur trip to Paris at secondary school was the height of luxury. Nearly.

Fourth class was different. Something was in the air or should that be on the screen? It was 1978. Saturday Night Fever was over 18s. Grease was a year away. Disney was going through a dry period. What was a 9-year-old kid going to do?

News came from a distant Galaxy far, far away. There would be light sabres. There would be a strange gold robot and there would be a princess. This was too good to be true. I had to see this thing.

In 4th class we still started every day telling our news. I piped up and told everybody about that new film. I ended up by saying wouldn't it would be great to go on a school trip to see it?

This was special school. This was the 70s. This was going to be a logistical nightmare for teachers. We didn’t care. We were going to the cinema. After school. To a real cinema. In the city.

I still remember going in the fire exit. Politically incorrect but in those day it was a tunnel leading us into another world literally.

The light sabres were amazing.

The gold robot had a friend.

The princess was a princess.

There was a Star Wars comic to be collected.

There was going to be a sequel.

That was seen with a big brother.

All those memories reawakened in the past few days as the force returned. It was great. It was warm. It’s perfect for Christmas.

May the Force be with you.