Spent the last couple of evenings catching up with friends. Thursday was a drink and some food with a friend who I did my accountancy studies with 10 years ago. We've kept in touch and now his career has brought him to the world of Whitehall - handy for catching up when you work in the Westminster village!
Last night was a meal in north London with a group of friends I used to work with nearly 10 years ago - in many respects people to whom I owe my career. Again we've kept in touch and gather together over food once in a while to catch up, gossip and find out what's going on in our lives. The conversation was varied, and at one point I commented that I'd been to at least a wedding a year for the past 15 years - often several in some years.
This seemed to surprise them, not that I got invited to weddings as I'd been to most of their's, but the amount I'd been to. Most of them had only been to a handful, which I found slightly strange especially as I was the only unattached person in the group. I said I guess I know quite a lot of people and often through different aspects of my life - few of my friends intersect. I probably have a wide circle of friends/acquaintances (aside - when does an acquaintance shift to friend territory? - end aside) but I suspect most of the relationships aren't as deep as theirs - for example, many friends and family are spread out around the country. It's probably different to those who have a smaller, but deeper circle of friends and family. Anyway the conversation quickly moved on to catching up with something else.
Driving back I had a brief ponder. I know I'm quite private and can keep a distance - I'm aware of the irony that I have a blog (!) - yet I also keep in touch with people over many years. Is a smaller, but deeper, circle of friends better than a wider set of acquaintances that last over several years?
Who knows - and does it matter? All I know is it was thoroughly enjoyble spending time catching up with people with whom you have a connection and a shared history.
Such time is always time well spent.
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