Some thoughts

On retirement and old age.

I moved to Dover some 18 years ago, and through photography, met lots of new and interesting people.

Sadly, the East Kent Flickr group soon burned our way through new places to visit, our lives moved on. Some died, some married, had kids and so on.

I joined the local camera club. It met down the hill from our flat in town, so was easy to wander down on a Thursday night. It was clicky. Cliquey. And in 2009, we moved from town to here, and so would have to drive to attend, and anyway, I am not competitive, so saw no real desire to put images up for internal and external competitions.

I left. And now the very same club has folded because no one wanted to take on the committee roles needed to keep the club affiliated.

I worked for a shot time in the box factory, but my colleagues were of a generation younger, and I was married to a memeber of the management, no matter how junior. I made no friends there.

I then started work in the wind industry. Initially commuting to Ramsgate every day, but when promoted, I lost touch with the folks who worked there. My colleagues lived in Manchester, north Waes, Denmark and leter on, India.

We have done quizes with our neighbours, but they have other friends and several times they can't come out with us because they're with other friends, and another local friend, has issues with his very elderly mother so dies not socialise, nor ever has done.

Turns out it is bloody hard making friends as an adult.

I am an only child, so used to my own company, but unless we do something, our dotage will be lonely and quiet. And what happens when one of us passes on?

There are clubs, but nothing really grabs, and it seems joining for the sake of it, not because we want to. Thing is I have friends through orchids, churches, music and so on, all around the world, just no one local. If I can do that online, surely I could do that in person?

I am running a group through an organisation called U3A, two groups. One for churches and the other for orchids. Orchids won't start until April and will comprise of maybe half a dozen meets, but churchcrawling is planned to have fortnightly meets and travel to churches. Might meet some folks through that.

Or there is volunteering at either the Battle of Britain Memorial, Dover castle or Canterbury Cathedral.

It is the long winter months when going out is hard, and meeting folks next to impossible.

We shall see.