Farewell

Well tomorrow is the day when the Adlards leave these shores, a lump rises in my throat as I lament their departing. I am not one for great long standing lists of friends, I am discerning, at least that's what I tell myself, I guess I make friends very slowly, it takes time to mature and culture; as a consequence I have a handful of friends, most of whom [to my chagrin] I keep in touch with by email because I move away from them... something subliminal there then perhaps... an inability to forge very close friendships....? In James I found someone who had a similar sense of humour who tolerated me and my liking for real ale and single malt, a liking in which we indulged from time to time [not really enough though I fear].

It helped that we are similar ages and both experience the "joys of pregnancy" and the arrival of our respective first born children within a matter of weeks, I have fond memories of being sat outside at dusk on a sultry Summer evening, cigar in hand, enjoying the peace and tranquillity and the novel experience of a Romeo and Julietta... half of which is still in the tube in my sock drawer.

I know that we'll see them again and we'll trade mails and maybe phone calls, but in a world that is made so small by technology, nothing can really ever replace an evening sat around a table sharing a meal or a drink. I look forward to raising a glass or two in the Southern Hemisphere next we meet.

Taking a leaf from the Adlards, Sarah and I are exploring the possibility of working overseas before we're too old and decrepit to enjoy ourselves... we'll take the children of course.