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Praise be, primary school children in England go back today.
But not their parents for the foreseeable future, they are being discouraged from hanging around after drop-off and pick-up.
In normal times, primary school playgrounds are the modern equivalent of village wells; Cranford-like community hubs where people gather to meet, gossip and make plans.
They have their own social codes, hierarchies and even uniforms: athleisure for the WFH juggler; smart shoes and coat for the non-stopping office-bound; relaxed fashions for the Friday ladies-who-lunch and play-daters.
British literary expert Patricia Nicol selects the best books about the school gate, including Gill Hornby s The Hive (right) and The Rumour by Lesley Kara