Aren't children creepy?

They certainly were today, anyway.

I go swimming three times a week, and on Friday, a load of 9 year-olds (possibly, I can't tell anymore) are changing into their togs as I'm leaving. Usually, they're boisterous: loud, laughing and chaotic. Their teacher is a soi-disant cool guy, and he's normally quite chatty too.

Not today. It felt like The Midwich Cuckoos. They came in, changed and headed off to the pool in total silence. No shuffling, no whispering, no laughter, no instructions from their teacher or requests to him. They lined up and marched off as though they were all being controlled by some central intelligence. Very disconcerting.