Catching up with Old Friends

I arrived in London yesterday afternoon and made my way to the Cortauld to meet up with two college friends. I’d seen them since our school days but not much and also not recently. We saw the special Seurat and the Sea exhibition which was astonishing. I’m afraid my feet have decided they’ve had enough and made sure I didn’t give the paintings the full attention they deserve, but I was very glad I went.

I spent the night at Carol’s in Kingston south of London and saw Richard, her husband, a fellow birder and someone I hadn’t seen for 40 years. We’re all older and grayer, but it was fantastic to catch up.

Today I made my way to Stratford-Upon-Avon to see two other friends and meet up with my niece, who then drove me to her house in Worcester.

Staying in touch with old friends is an interesting exercise… Do you because they were your BEST friends or because they, and you, are good at staying in touch? I think at this point my Christmas card list is well winnowed down. And whatever past I’ve shared with the friends I saw, we still have plenty of points of connection, well beyond cataloging recent minor or massive medical issues (Martin said once you’re in your 60s you’re in Sniper Alley, which seems sadly accurate).

I did a lot of drawings but haven’t yet colored them in, see below…