Friends old and new(ish)

Today was very much a day of two halves: shaved, suited and brogued up, this morning, for client meetings in West London, and then, this afternoon, I was up on the Southbank to meet friends.

Firstly, I met up with my Twitter friend, Elly, who was the person who got me back into writing a few years back. I think that was about four years ago but it was (clearly) prior to the start of the daily blog in 2012. We had a couple of drinks, today, while I nagged her to write another book. (I wrote about her first, 'Foucault's Daughter', here.)

Then it was a few hundred yards' walk to 'Le pain quotidien' to meet a much older friend. Much older. I don't know how old I was when I met David but certainly during the one year I did at secondary school in Hong Kong, he was my best friend. At the age of twelve he was a confident skateboarder -  something that I very much admired (I was rubbish) - and already a good singer: he played Oliver in the school play, that year.

Somehow, sometime in the last year or so, we became friends on Facebook. It's a funny phenomenon - at least, one that I observe - where sometimes I'll make friends with someone on Facebook - proactively or reciprocatively - but then won't really interact with them. So, I've seen David's posts and liked them, and then, a little while ago, we decided to meet up.

When I told people I was meeting David, today, after 36 years, they asked if I was nervous but I really wasn't. And, as I stood on the concourse outside LPQ and saw him walking towards me with a big grin, I simply found myself looking forward to catching up with him. And it was fun. His life, especially as a professional singer, has been hugely interesting and entertaining, and I loved all his stories. I can't wait to see him again.

So, much as prefer to look forwards in life, it made me realise that, actually, good friendships are something that you should never leave behind.