Chairman’s Chit Chat March 2026
“Yes – we must keep in touch”.
How many times have you said this or has this been said to you? These words are often part of the conversation when someone is changing jobs, retiring or moving house.
I know I uttered these words to colleagues when I retired and received several responses along the lines of “Yes – we will have to meet up for a coffee. Give me a ring/I will give you a call” from a number of colleagues. Did any of this come to fruition? The answer, in the main, is “no.” I have to confess that, after 16 years of retirement, I am in contact with only two of my old work friends.
Lindsay lives in York and we phone each other regularly, do meet up for the occasional coffee and have been known to go for a curry.
Peter lives in Redditch, Worcestershire, and the friendship lives on through a couple of long phone conversations a year.
I suppose losing touch with old work colleagues is almost inevitable because the common denominator that held you together was ‘work’. When that thread is severed, the bond is lost. Their lives move on and so does yours.
When we moved to York from Kidderminster 34 years ago, the usual pledges were made to keep in touch with friends and neighbours. For the first couple of years Jessie and I entertained a steady stream of visitors from Kidderminster, which was wonderful. We were making a new life here in York while retaining long-established friendships. But long-distance relationships are hard to maintain. The visits dwindled and then the phone calls became less frequent; they flickered for a while but eventually faded away.
Some ancient friendships, however, do stand the test of time.
We visit Kidderminster a couple of times a year and always make a point of catching up with Audrey (our next-door neighbour from our first house), Mick (we have been mates since the first year of senior school and he was my best man) and Anne (we met when we were both about 18 and have been close friends ever since). Happy days.
Let’s keep in touch!
Tags: call, jobs, move, phone