Dear LPG,

I am writing this some eight months in advance of when I hope that LPG posts it, in the hope that by the time it is being read by the LPG readers, we will have got back to some sort of normality and the summer excursions that we were all used to until March 2020 will be in the planning stage.

Have you ever got up nice and early to go shopping on Saturday morning when you notice an increasing number of predominantly older people gathering with their bags and trollies in the usual meeting places around the borough’s High Streets, outside a church or social club building or at some other street meeting point?  The crowd is particularly noticeable because of the air of expectation and the size of the group.  You pop into the bank leaving a handful of people, but by the time you get to the chemist there are at least twenty. If you are not sure what is happening the coach will then arrive and there will be one person, usually a younger lady with a clip-board in hand as she ticks off who is present and who they are still waiting for.

I was reading what SY had to say on 12^th November 2020 (►►►) when he related a story which got me thinking about those scenes that are so typical during the warmer months, and the anecdotes that nearly always become a part of the day trip. 

It is coming up to that time of year again when the community days out are being organised by the churches, social clubs and day centres that Lewisham are now left with, and the annual business of working out when and where this year’s excursions will take their guests is underway. 

When each morning starts with a chilly atmosphere and a shiver, one of the things that we can really look forward to is a day out by the sea, to explore the supermarkets on the eastern coasts of Europe or a trip to a farm or museum that ends in a cream tea.

The really disappointing thing about so many of those early morning charabanc gatherings is that there always seem to be so many more ladies than men attending these trips, with the men who attend being dragged along by wives and partners rather than a willing expectation.  When I read that article it got me thinking about how much fun the gentlemen are missing out on. In spite of all the preparation involved, the quality of the cream tea, or always having to skip it because your health and diet forbids it, or especially if you are less mobile than you used to be, such a day Is really worth it.  It is the funny memory, the unexpected thing that someone did or said, the person that was late back for the coach, the sing song that passed the time on the way home or the silly thing you bring back as a memento of the day, which will make you smile when you remember. 

I have a friend who is involved with organising such trips, and she tells that all too often they get cancelled because they need just one or two extra places to be filled to make it financially viable.

 So, and I am talking to the single gentleman who are not pressured by their wives to be a part of such a trip; when your outing organiser asks who is interested in attending this year, single gentlemen, raise your hands too.

YD, Lewisham.