I read a post earlier today from my blogging friend in Australia, Lloyd Marken. He wrote about attending the wedding of a friend. Since those friends had grown up, got married, and moved around the vast country that is Australia, they don’t get to see that much of each other. But when he was invited to that old friend’s wedding, he did not hesitate to book a hotel, then drive almost 800 miles to Sydney.
Real friends are like gold dust. Real friends endure, despite distances that might separate you. And they rarely judge you.
Compared to Australia, England is tiny. Yet moving just 140 miles from London means that I rarely see my oldest and best friends. Add to that the sad fact that a few of them have died, and you might be forgiven for thinking that my friends are now few and far between.
Yet nothing could be further from the truth.
Despite lack of physical contact since I moved to Beetley, made worse by travel restrictions during the pandemic lockdowns, my oldest friends are undoubtedly still my best friends, whether I am able to see them, or not.
There is nothing I would not do for those real friends. I would give them my last pound, lie in court for them, and give them my car if they needed to drive anywhere. I would let them stay in my house rent-free, send them food, in fact anything they ever needed or wanted.
The simple fact that I no longer live near any of them is meaningless. For that matter, I could be living in Australia, and never see them again.
But they would be my best friends, until my dying day.
I love this! So much truth ☺️
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Glad to hear that.
Best wishes, Pete.
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This is what I’d like to think too, that distance doesn’t matter, but some use it as an excuse to not keep in touch when we have so many forms of technology to stay connected.
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That’s very true. Sorry for such a late reply.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I live in Australia and have done all my life, apart from a year living in rural Somerset, and I have a daughter and granddaughter in Cheddar UK. I’m not sure when i will be able to travel to see them again. Yes you’re right Australia is a big country! Nice to read your post, I’m visiting from Stevie’s Friday Click and Fun 🙂
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Thanks, Debbie. One of my good friends moved to New Zealand many years ago, and we have not seen each other since. But we keep in touch by email, and he follows my blog. Nothing changed, except the distance.
Cheddar is a 4.5 hour drive from Beetley, and that seems to me to be an incredibly long way. That’s the difference of an ‘English mentality’, I suspect. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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I feel exactly the same. Even though I now live in Spain, my good friends are still my good friends and I love them dearly.
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Glad to hear that, Darlene. Real friends are for life, whatever the distance.
Best wishes, Pete.
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your story really touches me, nowadays there are only a few people who value friendship. “Real friends endure, despite distances” well said, because of this I reminisce the good old days
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Glad to hear you liked the post, and your comment is appreciated.
Best wishes, Pete.
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You could be going back to London soon, Pete! I’m sure Ollie would be happy too. He’s originally from London? Just imagine what he has to sniff out there. 😉 Best wishes, Michael
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No, Ollie doesn’t know London at all. He is a Beetley dog!
Best wishes, Pete.
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Oh, now its much more important to show him the big city. 😉 xx
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This is such a pretty post
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Thanks for that, dear Suzan.
Best wishes, Pete. xx
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Time always tells us what things are real-genuine. best wishes for you and your friends.
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Thank you, dear Michele.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Really nice, Pete.
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Thanks very much, Jennie.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Best to you.
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It is hard to explain the loss of a friend. They seem to take a part of me when they go. I feel it most strongly with my best college friend who has dementia. She was really the only friend who clearly knew my college self and I miss her terribly.
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I can feel that pain, Elizabeth. The friends I lost took a different part of my history with them. Shared experiences that only we two remembered. I remember for them now.
Best wishes, Pete.
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One of my favorite shares with that friend was how dreadful my college lover was. Her husband told me that even he knew how dreadful that boy was! It’s that kind of little detail I miss.
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I have two friends like that . I’ve known them for 45 years but haven’t seen them for 2 years. When we do meet up we carry on where we left off, and it’s like we haven’t been apart at all.
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Exactly the sort of thing I was talking about here.
Thanks, Stevie.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thanks for the shout out and of course I completely agree with you. Best wishes Pete.
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My pleasure, Lloyd. Your post hit a nerve with me about friendship.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Best wishes Pete.
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Here is to absent friends. chuq
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I miss them every day, chuq.
Best wishes, Pete.
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We just enjoyed a final dinner on the patio of our dear friends home last night, they sold the family house and they’re moving two hours away. While we all got a little emotional in our good-byes, we realize we will always be friends, distance doesn’t matter, but when you live just miles apart it is easy to see each other often. Love the loyalty you gift to your friends Pete, C
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Thanks, Cheryl. Two hours is not too bad, at least by American standards. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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so true, Pete. friendships that span a long/life time are so precious and distance is no barrier. we are fortunate to have them. good read! 🙂
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Thanks, Wilma. In these days of social media, so many people are regarded as ‘friends’, but we are old enough to know what real friendship means.
Best wishes, Pete.
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(1) You might think that 140 miles is a long way from London. Yet nothing could be further from the truth.
(2) I would give them my last pound. Weight, are you sure?
(3) I would lie in court for them. Just give me a pillow, and wake me up when the jury returns with the verdict.
(4) I would give them my car if they needed to drive anywhere. Just don’t pull a Thelma & Louise stunt, okay?
(5) I would let them stay in my house rent-free. However, there are usage fees for the television, the toilet, and the toaster oven.
(6) I would send them food. I hope they like last year’s fruitcake and eggnog.
(7) Australians like their pancakes. IHOP does great business down under.
(8) Bad citation: “But they would be my best friends, until my dying day. After that, I’ll haunt them for shits and giggles.”
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I could have used ‘Quid’ instead of ‘Pound’, but I have no doubt you would have found a pun for that too. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Nicely written, heartfelt sentiments, Pete. You are a true friend.
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Thank you, Pam. I have always tried to do the right thing by my friends, and they repaid me in kind.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Great piece heartfelt and true!
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Thanks very much.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Friendships that last a lifetime are so cherished.
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They certainly are, Peggy. They are a constant that can alays be relied upon.
Best wishes, Pete.
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So true. As a wandering nomad there’s few opportunities to make those deep kind of friendships that last forever… Still, I’ve crossed paths with a couple kindred souls and we remain in touch long after we’ve parted ways. Those kind of friendships are a beautiful thing. As we nomads typically say, “It’s never goodbye, it’s always see you later.”
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That nomadic life might seem strange to me, but I can understand how those kindred spirits can become great friends, even at a distance.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I think that your friends are very lucky Pete
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Well you should know, Bobby. You are one of them. Even though you buggered off to NZ! 🙂
Cheers, Pete.
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Well said Pete. I recently met up with a dear friend of over 40 years and we sat and talked for 2 hours even though we hadn’t seen each other in a few years.
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That’s what it’s all about, Susanne. Reconnecting after years as if it was yesterday. Shared experiences, and a lifetime of love and affection.
Best wishes, Pete.
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So wonderful to have really good friends. They are worth their weight in gold.
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Yes indeed. Irreplaceable. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thanks for sharing this…lifetime friendships aren’t about distance, it’s about a connection that can be re-established at any time…we all have lives that get in the way, but that doesn’t mean the bond is broken
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Exactly that. Thanks, John.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I know exactly how you feel, and I totally agree!!
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Thanks, GP. You and I live ‘mirrored’ lives indeed.
Best wishes, Pete.
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How wonderful to have a group of friends like that.
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One of the joys of my long life, Kim. 🙂
Except for the loss of those who have already died of course.
That’s so painful.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Hi Pete, I think it’s wonderful that you have friends you feel so strongly about. I moved around so much as a child and attended 14 different schools [yes, sometimes more than one in a single school year] that I learned not to form close attachments. I am close to my sisters and my parents but I don’t have life long friends.
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I have a close relationship with cousins from childhood, but never had any siblings. My friends date from 1963 on, so 57 years and more. I treasure them, Robbie. They are everything to me.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Definitely good to have those kinds of friends Pete.
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Definitely the best thing during my life. Two divorces, numerous moves around, but those same friends, solid as rocks, even now.
Best wishes, Pete.
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That summarizes a life well lived! Warmest regards, Theo
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Thanks very much, Theo.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Priceless words xx
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You know you’re in there, Ro. xx
Best wishes, Pete.
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You are a gold dust to your friends 😊
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Thank you, Maha. I do hope so. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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I am still friends with Liz whom I met on the first day of kindergarten – 57 years ago. How lucky I am.
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Three of my friends I met on the first day of secondary school, in 1963. I spoke to one of them yesterday. I haven’t seen her for a year, bceause of coronavirus, but it didn’t matter a jot.
Thanks, Betty. Glad to hear you have a 57 year-old friend.
Best wishes, Pete.
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The friendship is 57 years old, not the friend. We are older. 🙂
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Same with me. We are all 69 this year. 🙂
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If you don’t have friends like that, you really miss something in life.
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I have been blessed with some amazing friends, Geoff. Though three of them have since died, they are never forgotten. And some of those remaining I have known for 58 years.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Agreed!
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I enjoyed your post. It is nice to have friends like that.
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Thanks, Molly. I can count at least five at that level. Not bad going, considering my age.
Best wishes, Pete.
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