ann m

Mmm, I kinda agree, and I think the reason I say that friendships have been slow here is that I was possibly thinking I could replicate that depth of friendship again that I had in the UK. Not necessarily replace, because I could not replace my best mates - but I realise it takes a great deal of time to get to that point with a lot of history required - a great deal of time, much getting drunk, laughter and tears and piss-taking. And of course I cannot replicate that type of relationship in a matter of months or years and I guess it took me a little by surprise. Hubby feels the same, if not more so.

It's strange to know a completely new set of people who have no sense of my family or my history, people who never met my dad, people who didn't hold my hair out my face when I drank too much vodka ( ), and a million other embarrassing parts of my life that made me who I am now.

But we are getting there - the more people you meet, the more likely you are to find 'your' kind of people. So 'getting out there' does help.

One thing I do find somewhat exhausting is that you have to really sharpen up your memory and really pay attention with new folks, so you'll actually remember some details of their family, and history, and their embarrassing tales for the next time you meet.

You do get there eventually. It's not just you Paul !