I’m sure I’ve pulled out the old Douglas Adams quote before, but it’s true:
*”Time is an illusion, and lunchtime doubly so”*
So, time was at its illusionary best last saturday when I got to catch up with some of my oldest friends.
If you were to discover a snapshot of my childhood, at least one of the people pictured above is likely to be in it.
Friday night meant time for the Bevans (Chris on the left, Nell at front in the blue & Lucy to Nell’s left) to come over. A glass of [Seaview](http://www.seaview.com.au/) for the mums & a 20c mixture (lollies, or “candy” for our American friends) for the kids.
Somewhere on the weekend, or definitely in the holidays we’d see Scott (Right) and his mum Ness (to Nell’s left), Anthony (Centre-right) and the Pannell clan.
[Guy Fawkes Night](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes_Night), January at Pearl Beach, lazy summer days on the SS Bundabah, these were my formative years.
Still… my formative years are long since gone…
15+ years.
It’s been that long since I have seen some of the crew, but when we got together on Saturday afternoon, the sun stopped in the sky, the calenders spun in the opposite direction & for a few short hours I could have been 10 again.
It’s a worthy addition to my little “Things I Like” theme. It’s nice that we have friends who are there for a season. You know, the people you hang out with at Uni, but don’t really keep in contact with after.
But even better are the friends for the long haul. It’s not that you have to see them every week (or in this case, you might not have seen them for over a decade), but there is enough shared history, enough context, that there will always be the connection.
Even if it’s just spent reminiscing, the time has great value.
Here’s hoping we can organise a proper catch up for the parents now!
…. And to leave you, a happy little santa picture. Our departure from the [Manly Wharf Hote](http://www.manlywharfhotel.com.au/)l was ushered in, in part, by the arrival of 400-odd santas on a pub crawl.
Surreal to catch up with a bunch of old friends? Yes!
Too surreal to catch up with said friends whilst surrounded with santas? absolutely.