Old Friends

One of the biological facts of age, at least in my own case is that the older one becomes, the more friends that fall by the wayside though the wiser one may also become.

Two friends Bernie and Paul, from years of HCPT pilgrimages  together, and I, meet occasionally for lunch after mass at Westminster Cathedral.

Recently we met and after mass, enjoyed discussion together over a meal at Bill's near Victoria Station. The conversation flowed.

In the early days, our pilgrimage group used to travel to Lourdes by ferry to Boulogne sur Mer, thence by overnight couchette train to Lourdes.

Sometimes when the children were safely in their couchettes and being cared for, the younger helpers would have a party in the empty hospital car attachd to the end of the train.

On a further occasion with HCPT, when there was a national SNCF railway strike in France, an HCPT helper who had been in the French resistance during WWII, persuaded the union leader who had been in the same WWII resistance unit with her, to drive the train himself to Lourdes, which he did.

Many other friends though have over the years, passed away.  For example  John Farr and  Brian Burgess

Another  close friend from the thankfully long since closed  boarding prep school Ladycross, Prince Henri Melchior de Polignac tragically died in an air crash years ago though my oldest surviving friend also from Ladycross, lives with his family in County Dublin. 

Interestingly there used to be some dozen boarding prep schools in sunny Seaford Sussex but all have long since closed, bar one I recollect.

Of course, new friends are also made from time to time and mrs maytrees has several who have also become friends of mine, but overall there seem to be fewer friends  than when we were younger when our children growing up and still living at home.

Life is indeed short; thus needs to be lived to the full.