Unexpected

In the midst of rendering one project, I'm scouring Soundclick for music for another when I chance upon mp3s of my old school's marching band.

My alma mater had a marching band?

Bloody hell.

That school was such a sorry affair when I began there that the only notable event in its history had been the suicide of its principal the previous year.

Its population was so low that it'd had to merge with another secondary school to boost its numbers, and our classes were still only half-size. Oh, and as a result of the merger we didn't have a standard uniform. The weekly assemblies included public disciplinary actions for vandalism and petty crime, and visits by the local constabulary were a common feature. It was a farce.

Gradually, over the next couple of years, something changed. The new principal was a man who believed that anyone could achieve great things, however disadvantaged they thought they were, as long as they were willing to work for it. Next thing I knew our school had started a small lion-dancing troupe and its own magazine.

Then the school hockey team won the national under-14s trophy. We got a new (icky brown) uniform. Morale and school spirit blossomed, despite the uniform.

In the years after I left, the uniform was redesigned to something a little more flattering, the population maxed out, and my old school was no longer quite the embarassment it once had been.

And a few years ago, they apparently put together a band. And they've posted some mp3s. And they're good.

Wow. Unfamiliar feelings of pride in my alma mater are stirring. This is so weird.