23 things I learned at my high school reunion

This is not a particularly “outdoorsy” post, although I did take advantage of the trip to Peebles to use my campervan and to go out for a bike ride and a run. However, sometimes I like to write about things that happen in life, rather than all outdoors news.

So, back to the topic: On Friday I found myself at the 30^th anniversary reunion for 1968-ers (the year we were born!) at Peebles High School. I say “found” because I had ummed and ahhed for months prior to the event. I couldn’t decide if it was the sort of thing that I would like. I had heard a few horror stories of showing off and big egos at other people’s reunions and this had put me off.

However, I finally decided I would make the effort to drive across from Glasgow on a very busy bank holiday weekend – and I am delighted that I did. Our Class of 1986 reunion was a thoroughly enjoyable night – and such a fun blast from the past. These are a few of the things I took from the evening:

1 Nerves are perfectly normal. I confessed my trepidations about walking into a room filled with school people from three decades ago and almost everyone agreed that they had nerves, too.

2 Some people haven’t changed much at all, while others are very different. I instantly recognised some faces, while it took me a few seconds to see down the years to remember others. There were some people at the reunion that I still can’t recall/recognise from school days!

3 I could remember many more faces than names. I am still quite confused about the names of lots of men and women that I met at the reunion but I do know that I remember their faces from 30 years ago.

4 Some people didn’t recognise me. I was pretty geeky looking at school (as I recall) and I only joined the school at the start of fourth year. I went on to do fifth and sixth years, too. The people that I remember the most – and that remembered me – are those that also stayed on for the final two years. Without exception the people who had no idea who I was had left in fourth year to go into a work place.

5 I had forgotten but I didn’t wear glasses full time at school. When I was asked to take off my glasses people found it easier to recognise me.

6 There was a lot more hugging and touchy-feelyness than we ever did at school!

7 There was very little chat about success and brilliance. Most people were very modest. We talked away about school days, our families, partners, marriage, the children we have and generally how life has treated us but no one was boastful or egotistical. I found many people to be very interesting, warm and friendly – and this felt extremely heartening.

8 We all said over and over again how stunned we are to find ourselves 30 years older and that this has happened so quickly. The years have slipped by and melted away and suddenly we find ourselves approaching the big 50!

9 Many people have stayed in Peebles, or they left to go to uni and work in another place and have then returned to bring up their own children in the town. I can see why. Peebles is a beautiful place and one that I total under-rated when I was at school there.

10 I was amazed by the number of people that met and married in Peebles and are still married today. It was great to hear about so many happy marriages.

11 While some people are grandparents already others have just had their children. The age range of off-spring was from almost 30 to just four. One school friend that I was chatting to is a grand-dad and also has two more children of a similar age to his grandchild. Isn’t it brilliant that we can have children younger and older these days and no one really cares?

12 Of course, there are those who have divorced. But no one dwelled on this. No one judged me for being twice divorced (well, I don’t think they did!). It didn’t matter if you were divorced three times over, never married, married to one person for 25 years, with or without kids, because no one seemed to be judging. We just enjoyed the chat, catch up, laughter and a lot of drink.

13 Many people still love to dance to terrible 1980s tunes! The disco, organised by my old friend Gibby, was great fun. Although, I confess, I have not changed and I still find disco dancing makes me cringe.

14 It was really, really lovely to stop to chat for longer with a few people that I wished I had not fallen out of touch with. Inevitably, I migrated towards those I had known best at school.

15 I can’t believe how quickly the 30 years have melted away – and how easy it was to make renewed connections. I fully intend to stay in touch with a few of those that I re-friended at the reunion night.

16  I am sad that I did not make more of an effort to remain in contact with them over the last 30 years.

17 Facebook is superb for bringing people together. I doubt that we would have had such a big turn out if the event had not been organised through FB. Even if you loathe the social media networking site it is a great way to find people and to bring them together.

18 We might look older and many have put on weight (this is an observation, not a criticism) and some have changed quite considerably, while others look almost exactly the same, but, as a group, our school year really was a great one.

19 Tony Hope. I hope he reads this and understands what I am writing. Tony came up to me at the reunion and said he wanted to say hello before he left to go home. I tried very hard to recall the man who stood before me with a bald head and glasses. This makes him sound unattractive but he isn’t. Simply, he is bald and does wear glasses and he looks so very different to a school boy. He said he’d known me, we had shared the same school bus and that we had mutual friends (a boyfriend of mine who has since died called Stuart Thompson). He said he had fond memories.

It only dawned on me at 4am when I awoke with the start of a hangover who Tony Hope is/was. “Ah, that Tony Hope,” I exclaimed to myself. As a boy he had a full head of curly dark hair and I don’t think he wore glasses. I do remember him from the school bus and I remember him being kind to me and chatty back then.

I am sorry Tony that I didn’t make a quicker connection at the reunion. I wish you well Tony Hope and thanks so much for taking the time to look me out at the reunion. You seemed to me to be a lovely man.

20 Thanks so much to all those that organised the event. Without you guys I would not have enjoyed such a great blast from the past and renewed some friendships so sadly lost.

21  I wanted more time to chat to people. The evening went by too fast. It would be great to have another get-together sooner, rather than later – and before another 30 years flies by.

22 I wish I had taken more photos but I was too busy chatting.

23 Lastly, thanks to everyone who chatted with me and made me feel welcomed. I didn’t find the move from England to Scotland in fourth year of school an easy one. I suffered some bullying and I lost a lot of confidence. But there were still some very fond memories on S4, S5 and S6. I made some great friends back then. I have to say that my memories after the enjoyable reunion evening are much happier and positive.

• Many thanks to Helen Rainbird Scott for letting me use some of her pics.