Jayne Dawson: Older and wiser? You're ready for a school reunion

You might right now be having a funny turn at the very thought; shuddering with distaste, sobbing at the notion. All of that.

I can sort of see why. I went to one when I was a lot younger than I am now.

I found it a bit of an ordeal. I felt like a lot of effort would have been saved if we had all worn badges proclaiming our name, marital status, number of children, annual income and whether we had achieved fully detached.

Yes I know, a lot of information for one badge but none of us needed reading glasses at that stage so the type could have been small.

But you get the point. There was a competitive edge, a lot of unspoken comparison between the laughs about teachers and times past. You could feel it in the atmosphere. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, it was just there.

And there is another type of reunion too: the type where people find themselves new partners. I think those reunions reached peak popularity a decade or so ago in the days of Friends Reunited, but people remember these things, and it tends to put them off.

I actually attended an all-girls’ school so the chances of a partner-swapping reunion were statistically a bit less, but my friend who went to a proper mixed school said the reunions were legendary for picking up where you left off, so to speak.

Anyway, here’s the thing. I actually went to a fantastic school reunion recently, one which blew all others out of the water. The difference? Older and wiser.

If ever you require proof that age makes you kinder, wiser and all-round nicer, attend a reunion when you are getting on a bit.

You will find the edge has gone. All that exhausting anxiety about keeping up: about having the best job, living in the right place; about your children going to the right schools; about having the best holidays and a decent car. All mercifully gone.

I can’t tell you exactly when and why it happens.