Tuesday 5 August 2008

You Gotta Have Friends....

I was very fortunate on my recent UK trip to hook up with a few old friends and make some new ones.

Given that I only had a couple of days in London this year, where many of my friends live, I had to do a "come one, come all" kind of gathering on the Terrace at Somerset House. (A lovely place, right on the river at Waterloo Bridge if you're looking for a venue, by the way.) A mixed bunch of Uni and ex-work friends gathered, a few of whom I literally hadn't seen for over twenty years. Obviously, none of us have changed a bit. Among the motley group was my old partner in crime, Drunk Mummy. When I say "old", she's actually a couple of years younger than me, but we're both on the wrong side of 40 so "old" it is. Sadly, she continues her self-imposed blogging ban despite pleas from around the blogosphere, but admits to trawling around every now and then for a quick update. She has various other 'projects' on the go, so we may not have heard the last of her however. I will keep you posted.

Up in Northumberland, I had a lovely evening with fellow bloggers Hadriana, Muttering and Meanderings, and Mutterings from the Mill, (who is also under a self-imposed blog ban). I have to say for four women who'd never met before and on paper, had little in common, we got on like old mates and covered a huge range of conversation topics.

It was a challenge explaining to family members where I was going that night, without reminding them about my blog. Not that it's anonymous, and I know I mentioned it when I first took to the blogosphere, but I'd rather not alert them to its existence unneccesarily. My mother kept saying, "So who is it you're meeting tonight?". I knew if I'd said, "I'm driving up the A1 to a pub I've never been to before, to meet three other women I don't know and have no idea how I'll recognise them", I would have been in for a lecture on personal safety. I didn't want to use the B-word (blog, that is) so I said something about us all being writers and belonging to some Internet group. I think she thought I was seeing someone about a possible book deal so I shall need to come up with a "book deal update" soon. I see I'm becoming a tad free and easy with the porkie pies these days. (That's cockney rhyming slang for "lies" to any non Brits reading.)

Anyway, it was great to see old friends and a real blast (as they say here) to make new friends, especially via blogging.

13 comments:

  1. I've never had the pleasure of meeting any of my blogger friends, but I'm looking forward to the opportunity some time.

    Glad you had such interesting adventures while back home in the UK!

    Janet

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love the Terrace at Waterloo Bridge (it's especially good if you're going to one of the summer concerts at Somerset House, which I can highly recommend). Ah, the glory days of drinking outside...long since gone, sadly.

    Looking forward to hearing more about the trip (a chance for me to be back in Britain vicariously, I guess!)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I adore Somerset House and plan on taking the Hubster there next summer. Always great to meet-up with old friends and blogging buddies

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ah, those porkies we tell our families. Be careful - before you know it the guy in your mum's corner shop will be requesting your autograph on a copy of the new book you will kindly donate... Mums are the best publicity machines in the world, especially when they haven't got their facts straight!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Glad to here you had a good time back in good old Blighty. It's always nice to hook up with old mates, and meet new ones.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yep. I enjoyed the evening too expatmum! Glad we've got Mutterings and Meanderings blogging again. We've just got to work on Mutterings@the Mill. Good that you met up with Drunk Mummy. Does anyone have the address of Super Rilly? I think we should start work on her as well (as she seems to have a self imposed blog ban)...I do miss her, Milly, Tilly, Hilly and Fabio dreadfully. Sigh.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Glad you all made it home safely. And glad to hear you caught up with some old and new friends while in Blighty. If you're ever in the Brighton area, let me know.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Was great to meet you.

    But Hadriana, I'm not promising to write regularly!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Know what you mean about having to keep such things secret - you don't want to give out the message to youngsters that it's ok for them to meet strangers online and then go meet them in person! But I'd love to meet some of my bloggy friends. What a complicated web we weave!

    ReplyDelete
  10. did you and M&M and co all meet up wearing false beards, something like the stoning scene in life if brian - or does M&M even need a false beard -hmmmmm

    ReplyDelete
  11. Every meeting I have had with fellow bloggers has been great and you are so right about that meeting up with old friends feeling. Pity you can't make our trip to Jo's shop on the 29th! Can you pinch some air miles?

    ReplyDelete
  12. That sounds like a lot of fun - and I hadn't heard of the Terrace either. Haven't yet met any Blogging friends in real life, but I'm sure we'd get along. M xx
    PS Apologies because my Blog seems to have wiped all my last lot of comments - will reply properly when they are reinstated.. if they are!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hey, we could've met up...

    ReplyDelete

The more the merrier....

Blog Archive