Returning to the once familiar surroundings of school evokes a strange mixture of feelings. Memories of halcyon days, formative experiences and influential characters who have, undoubtedly, shaped my own. I am left wondering, who is it that we 'reunite' with at a reunion? Perhaps it is more about reuniting with parts of ourselves that may have been left behind in the environs of old than with those we shared them.
Wandering without aim around the streets where I had some of my earliest retail relationships, remembering the easily forgotten and noticing how much things have changed was illuminating on different levels. Change is inevitable and yet, when returning to school, one could be forgiven for feeling that it shouldn't. School was once a constant, as we were confronted by a panoply of change. It stood for constancy. Term after term, time seemed to stand still. Until we left.Parts of the fabric of the school seemed to have changed beyond recognition but as we explored there were remarkable facets that have remained untouched: the less tangible memories conjured by sights, sounds and smells capable of transporting us back into our uniforms.
We reflected on the sense that we held, whilst anticipating our own imminent departures, that the status quo was exactly as it should be, that it was 'our' school - a defence against the fear of being 'replaced' by pupils that would, like us, leave their books exposed to the elements in the quads, ascend the stairs and pace the corridors we once knew every inch of. Far from unique, this narcissistic quality of a particular stage of youth, had been replaced with a maturity eager to reminisce amongst those who understood.
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