…Did some computer printing today.
Got things ready for the Open Evening at school which was tonight.
At the Open Evening there was the old bells and ribbons mob, the Morris dancing team, with parents, children, work, computers and teachers all about the place…
I confess I used to find something intriguing and a little exciting about being in school after hours.
I realise this view places me in a very very small minority of similarly-minded people. Yet I did enjoy those occasions where I could legitimately be in school once everyone else had gone home, such as open evenings or, as would be the case at secondary school, rehearsals for plays and concerts.
I think it was a combination of the impression of feeling privileged and a sense of being trusted. After all, not everyone, in fact not even most people, ever got to see what school was like once the final bell had rung.
Admittedly most people didn’t want to. And for some people being in school after hours only ever equated with punishment.
But I would have quite looked forward to this open evening, despite the presence of “the old bells and ribbons mob” with its reminders of my own humiliating and enforced participation in country dancing.
I’m utterly baffled, however, by the reference to computer printing. My reticence on this point is very annoying. What on earth was I doing – producing worksheets or handouts? Doing a favour for a member of staff? Or just shamelessly if discreetly messing about?
Twenty-five years ago today 
I remember computer printing still being something of a novelty in 1986 especially in school. Perhaps that’s why it was noteworthy.
There was definitely a thrill about being in school after dark. I did a lot of concerts and prize evenings at school and I loved wandering down the silent corridors.
It helped remind me that school was, at the end of the day (literally), just another building and not the intimidating workhouse you were sometimes encouraged to believe.
An additional after-hours thrill was getting to actually step inside the staff room, to maybe fetch something for a teacher. That really was a moment to savour.