SHRINKING SOCIAL LIFE?

[oglander]

So many friends have left London that, although I've lived here for over 30 years, my social life seems to have shrunk horribly -is anyone else in the same position? I'd love to meet more nice people & I'm sure that there are plenty around! I'm in my 50s, self-employed & a (mature, obviously!)student at UCL.

Oglander.

[Michael Palaeologus]

Yes - then I joined the ED Forum and revived my social life...

[KalamityKel]

What are you studying Oglander?

[oglander]

Czech. There are reasons, but too complicated to write on this machine!

[louisiana]

Excellent that you're doing so, oglander. (The studying, I mean. And also the coming onto the forum.)

I have a friend who is also a mature student and is also studying at UCL (a master's in something related to psychoanalysis), and I myself completed a degree in my 40s, and then almost studied again at UCL (I was an undergrad there, many years ago): I was offered a research council studentship, but I turned it down, in part because I then realised I'd be studying and penniless until so-called retirement age!

The middle years though are always good for doing those things that 'if I don't do it now I never will', and doing further study for various personal interest reasons is I think often important too, certainly among people I know.

Are you in what used to be SSEAS? (which got absorbed by UCL?) Always considered an excellent place for all things east European.

Anyways, there are plenty of us 'oldies' around these parts still, so no need to panic yet :-S. Though I must admit that over the years my friends have been getting younger (or at least, most of my friends are not around my own age any more, but substantially younger). I sometimes wonder why this is, and whether it is an 'issue' in any sense.

[KalamityKel]

Age should never be an issue Louisiana - we can all learn a great deal from each others experiences or lack of :)

[oglander]

Lousiana- How nice to get your message! Yes, it is SSEES, a bit under pressure as Eastern Europe isn't as 'exciting' as it was, but still going. I'm luckily not penniless as I still teach a bit - I was a viola player most of my life but now have too many shoulder problems to play but can still teach.

I also have a lot of younger friends which is lovely, but London leaks people & I do miss my old frieds! I don't know whether it's an 'issue' or not- I'd like both. There are very few mature students at SSEES, I've only ever seen 1, & no one doing Czech - I'm very fond of the young ones but they're younger than my own children so I'm always being their 'mum'. That's fine but I'd love to have a good freak with another oldie when it gets tough! What would you have done research into if you had taken it up?

[????]

I think an anti-social life is underrarted

[SteveT]

>:D< lol

I think an anti-social life is underrated..................

yeah but not by much.......

only by forkwid

[louisiana]

???? Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I think an anti-social life is underrarted

I agree. I simply love spending time on my own, but some people seem to think it's strange to not be in a gaggle all the time. I can get quite shirty if I don't get enough time on my own.

Anyway, oglander, I should have said SSEES (not SSEAS, which might be the devilish offspring of SSEES and SOAS). My apologies. I would have been studying how people build complex systems (systems in the widest sense, including people, places and processes). Sort of social anthropology meets design & engineering of complex things...