Friends and friendship.

 I often quote Shakespeare from his play Hamlet - ‘those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel’ Act 1 Scene 3. On Saturday morning I met up with two of my oldest friends for breakfast at Simpson’s in The Strand. We have known each other from July 1971. One was a neighbour in West Hampstead and the other a student with me at the London School of Economics. So much water has passed under the bridge since our first meetings. Interestingly we all eventually trained as psychoanalytic psychotherapist or as Jungian analytic psychologist. We are all either in our late seventies or mid-eighties. Time is beginning to take its toll either through a recent stroke, arthritic knees or impending Laser treatment for enlarged prostate. Nevertheless it’s always good to - see each other, like old soldiers reminiscing about battles won or lost. We plan to meet in January - hopefully the three of us, but you never know what - Father Time is planning for you.