Friends for life.

 Today in The Times A N Wilson - has an excellent piece about the central importance of  - male friendship. He sites the celebrated book The Iilad that endorses this touchstone relationship between Achilles and Patroclus. Many years ago in March 1975 - I started the first Men's Consciousness Raising Group in Britain. It was a collection of friends, some new each other, but most were strangers. I spoke to a friend who I had known since 1971 and he thought it was an excellent idea. There were 2 academics, a GP,  2 social workers working in adult psychiatry, a photographer, a solicitor and a book publisher. We met each two weeks in various properties of group members. The group ran for many years and there was no formal leader or agenda. I was seen as the leader as the group was my idea and founder of the group - I guess I was the nominal leader. After a couple of years we had a - weekend away in Norfolk close to Sandringham, the royal families country retreat. We enjoyed a very long walk along the coast - on a windswept rainey Saturday and collapsed in a pub and enjoyed a good supper. These relationships that were formed were for life - but now age and deaths are  catching up with us. So friendships going back to the early 1970's when I was a student at the London School of Economics. Only recently a member of the men's group died and he was only in his seventies. The grim reaper isn't far away these days - I now check the Obituaries section in The Times to see if - I'm mentioned and whether I should get up or not?