Guy and Kate 2023 version

Some people are better at, or more interested in, staying in touch than others. I have been friends with Guy and Kate for a long time, but if I manage to see Kate once every year I can count myself lucky. How often I see Guy depends a bit on whether he comes to the office or not. I had last seen them almost exactly a year ago, and I was starting to wonder if this slow burning friendship was going to die altogether now. But then they suddenly were in touch again. And Guy even started to appear in the office again! And we made a plan to go do another walk, like last year. 

Last year I had already been pondering about getting the bus, but because I had more in the diary that day, I couldn't. But this year my diary was otherwise free, so I was flexible in what time I would come back. I took the bus, and the whole household picked me up from the bus stop. We drove straight to a tiny parking space a bit south of where they live, from which we could do a lovely ridge walk.

On my way

It was a beautiful day, but very windy, so it was nice but we couldn't talk much. The wind made so much noise in your ears you couldn't really hear what anybody was saying. We walked for about 1 1/2 hours, and then we had some coffee, tea, and cake at the car, and then went back home.

Lovely landscape to walk in; pic by Guy

Group portrait; pic by Guy

There we had lunch and tea. And we could finally catch up! Indoors we could hear each other. So with the dogs largely pancake-shaped with exhaustion (although Indy found enough energy to be very loved-up between her naps; it was very cute as usual), we could tell each other what that year we hadn't seen each other had contained.

Tired Indy

The bus ride back was uneventful. I think it is the ideal way to get to them! I hope the next time I see them it won’t to be in a year’s time, but earlier, and I intend to take the bus again! But at least this friendship is clearly not dead yet. And that is good.