Meeting Up

 It's probably clear that I'm the opposite of a socialite.

I loathe parties, I hate being required to be "on duty" in networking and other social contexts.  It's not really that I hate people, it's more that I find other people tiring and seldom feel like I have anything in common with the people in front of me.

We decided to avoid rushing straight to a pub garden - partly because of people but also because it's chilly out the second the sun goes in.

So, when some friends said they had to come to Eastbourne tidy up a recently-deceased parent's house and could we meet in a garden, we were in a bit of a quandry.  Where?  How?  Would it be cold?  Will there be idiots around?

In the end, the most sensible course of action was to invite them to our garden. We fretted about it being chilly, especially as the back garden loses the sun very early - but it still seemed like the best option.

Fortunately, they are also beer lovers (him being a talented home brewer too) so I went mad with the direct-from-the-brewery shopping and got cans and bottles from many of our favourite breweries.  Himself made a beer menu and, for all the world it looked like we had the makings of a beer-festival.

They were planning to arrive around 4.30 and at 4pm I had the dumbest idea to sit in the sun-drenched front garden instead.  It faces the street and we have a drive so it's a little exposed but we removed the car from the drive, got some coffe tables and our garden chairs out and had a little bask.  It was alright.

Friends arrived right on cue.  It was sunny and convivial.  They admitted to some nerves about venturing back to the pub just yet - it seems they're just about as people-shy as us. Although we hadn't seen them for probably nearly 2 years, it felt as comfortable as ever.  

We made some pretty basic bar food and we ate and drank.  I'd expected them to go around 6.30pm when the sun starts to dip below line of the Downs but they didn't, we had another, and another and they eventually left around 9pm.  Yes it was chilly by then and I couldn't do it every night but my goodness, it was a real tonic.