Have you ever..contacted an old school friend?

Two weeks ago when I was doing an author presentation at the Edinburgh festival thingy, I looked up and in the audience were 2 school friends. One was over from Australia and the other had seen an advert and recognised me as I write under my maiden name. A lovely surprise and welcome faces to suddenly see. They hadn't changed much over the years.

A few years ago I saw an article in the local press about a lady who was in our old area collecting a specialist car with her husband. We got in touch after garage put us in touch. We exchanged potted histories of our lives and it was lovely to catch up. She had been my best friend at junior school before her family moved away. It happened at a sad time for me when there was long term illness so we just drifted apart again. . .
I also met up with a friend I've kept in touch with since grammar school with a lady we last saw some 50 years agoat school. It was lovely but we haven't met up again since sadly. . . No time!

I would never contact anyone I had not seen for years. I think if contact drops off there is usually a reason why, and best leave it as history. I guess there are exceptions as with everything, but for me, no what's gone is gone in my opinion

My school days were not a time that I wish to remember as I was bullied constantly by a particularly nasty group of girls. I was even pushed down a flight of stairs once! Nothing was done about it as in those days you just had to get on with it. It was a relief to leave school, but it took years before I gained any confidence and even now I hate being singled out for anything and have a fear of water from being pulled under the water during a school swimming lesson. Happy Days not!

Like some on here I went to a 50 year old met up.

I found it terribly embarrassing as I couldn't remember faces let alone names! I did remember what at the time were close friends, but like many life changes and we had nothing in common. Friendship definately needs frequent contact in order to survive I think. Except one friend who emigrated to Canada in early 70s -when we met it is like yesterday.

I've posted before about the friend I met after over 60 years. We had a nice meeting and all seemed to be well but I never heard from her again. I rang a few times but no reply. I know she is OK because I've seen her on Fb in another context.

On the other hand I reconnected with another friend from Secondary School through Friends Reunited many years ago. We had kept contact until our late twenties and are now friends again, e mail each other, ring occasionally and meet from time to time.

I think it's best to maybe give it a go and if it doesn't work out don't be disappointed.

I attended two secondary schools, although the second one was just for over a year.
I realize now, but not at the time, that I am pleased I left the first school, or rather was asked to leave, due to illness. The young ladies there were rather snobbish as the school was a boarding school, far away from society and in an old chateau, not what I would send my children to at all. It was the second school, that was a boarder come day girl school, where the young ladies were so nice and were still friendly when I attended a school reunion, celebrating 100 years since it first started. But the young lady that I used to go around with has now gone back to Bangkok, so I don't keep in touch.

I would love to find a girl I was friends with in what was then Tanganyika now Tanzania. If you are out there..you are Scottish, I think from Paisley and you had a huge collection of Noddy books! We went to the European school in Mwanza!

I contacted a friend I went to college with through Friends Reunited and then we became FB friends. We have no inclination to meet up but it's nice to follow the birth of her grandchildren and vice versa.

not school, but a college acquaintance of mine, who was on the edge of our friendship group but often got together with us with us, is a famous crime writer. I was taken by a friend to one of her book launches, and couldn't resist saying hello at the signing table 40 years on. She pretended to remember me, and wrote something pertaining to our hall of residence in the book.

I don't know whether this will be any help to you or not. My old sixth form, which I left in 1949, have kept in touch with one another from all parts of the globe ever since and we had a reunion a few years back. It was a great occasion and what struck me on seeing some of them for the first time in years was that although we are all grey, or even white, we were instantly and delightfully recognisable. Tricks of speech, a turn of the head, how we used our hands are things that never change. My advice would be to go for it.

My D.H and I are in touch with a school friend who was also his ex-girlfriend. We met up recently after 40 years and had a good reminisce about old times. Afterward my D.H. said ' I'm so glad I didn't marry her and met you.' It made my year !!!

I would encourage you to go for it. You have nothing to lose and may gain a good friend. I recently met up with an old school friend after thirty years away and she introduced me to another. There are now six of us and we meet up every month or so for lunch/coffee. It is really interesting to hear about what they have been doing and if conversation ever flags (a very rare event) it only needs one of us to say, "Do you remember ..." and we are off again!

I emailed an old friend from the seventies. She responded that she didn't do email and asked for my phone number. She had become very successful as a dressmaker. When she phoned she went on and on about herself and her family. She paused to ask if i'd had children. I said we had a girl, and was about to add, a boy, when she began talking about herself again. Each time she phoned it was the same, and the calls lasted a long time. i could hear her working at the same time. I got to the stage I dreaded her calls. She sent me a studio photo of her perfect family and I didn't respond. I felt awful but couldn't take any more. At the end, she still knew nothing about me and what I'd been doing in the time we'd been apart. All I'm saying is don't give your friend your phone number until you're sure you want to!

A few years ago I met up with some old school friends through Friends reunited. Although we had not all met up together for 30 odd years, we very easily slipped into a comfortable relationship again and had a mini reunion at least once a year for a few years after that. I suppose we knew roughly what each other had been doing, because we came from a small community and news had been shared through families & friends. We didn't talk much about the missing years, more about our present lives and what we hoped for the future. A few of us even went on holiday together one year. Now we are older, and people have moved on retirement, or encountered ill health, it has tailed off, but we still email from time to time. It was a good experience, perhaps because we had been a childhood & school "gang" for a number of years.

E and I met when we started grammar school and were put in the same form. She lived nearby, was the only child of older parents who didn't ever think that they'd ever have a child. We became 'blood sisters' in an embroidery class and solemnly vowed we'd be each other's bridesmaids <ahhhh>

At 15 or so we pulled the old trick...I'd go to her house to do homework while simultaneously she'd be at mine for the same reason...reality, we'd go to a new coffee bar, after putting lipstick (miners) on in a telephone kiosk, to meet BOYS! (Homework was done on the bus to school the next day). I had a couple of holidays with her mum and dad. They had a motorbike and sidecar and E. And I had a whale of a time. This was the one and only time I've been camping. We went to Wales and our tent was flattened by a freak hailstorm. Great fun!

When we left school we pretty well lost touch as our career choices (and new friendship groups)were so different .

Mum and dad's lives had changed too. With children all grown up, mum went out and got herself a job in an office(big rows with dad who thought thAt a woman's place was in the home and the man's role was to be that of the breadwinner. Good for mum, she stuck to her guns ) in the office she was approached by a trainee manager who asked her if she was my mum, as his fiancée wanted to know?

So that's how E. And I got back in touch - and how I came to be her bridesmaid

She went to live in Cornwall, to where her new husband's job took them. They had twin girls and a son. I went abroad where I met my (English) husband and we had a son, so keeping in touch back then was by sporadic email letters, tho every time I came back to the UK I'd call in to see her mum and catch up on all the family goss.

Phone calls to E. Revealed that she was deeply unhappy in her marriage and wanted out. They'd once had a family holiday to Hawaii (remember Hawaiian Eye? Was E's most fave programme) and she was planning to go out there, sans husband, sans children who were living their own lives) and wanted me to go with her. But I was now a widow with a 17yr old doing exams,etc.so it was a no-no for me.

So E.went alone, met an American, divorced her English husband, married her beach bum gigolo American - and died in an apartment on Waikiki beach, alone. The US called it an 'unexplained death'.

Was her overdose an accident? Deliberate? Knowing my friend so well,I have my theories,

And that's the tale of my old school friend. I still have a book she gave me one birthday with her inscription dated 1966. And I miss her still. I'm quite well off now. What fun we could have had, living the life of The Golden GIrls in Florida! -but would Florida have ever been ready for us?

I keep I touch with a number of my old Grammar School friends Three of them I meet regularly at least 4 times a year, one I meet at least once a year All of these 4 I talk to on the phone in between. One other is a facebook friend who I never meet but we like to keep up with each others lives. I also have contact with a whole group of others via a dedicated web site for 'Old Westlainians' So go for it, it might work out, if not you've not really lost anything.

My old school Facebook site has arranged a few get togethers which I haven't wanted to attend; not grumpy, I just feel that I have kept in touch with those I wanted to. These reunions seem to be falling off a bit now after a very enthusiastic start, and less people are going. The trouble is, as many have said, you just find that all you have in common is having attended the same school for however many years, and once that has all been discussed to death, what is there left? It's like going back to see people where you once worked - not a good idea. They are busy, life has moved on, and after ten minutes you are in the way and nobody knows what to say. I guess what I am saying is it's never worth 'going back'. Does anyone else feel the same?

I recently contacted an old cycling club friend, she was my bridesmaid 60 years ago.She lives down south and she was visiting family. We had a lovely two days, catching up on lots of things.It was good, so please try to contact whoever you would like to talk to, don't be afraid.

I met up with some old school friends about 10 years ago we meet up a couple new of times a year

I've reconnected with some through Facebook. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. My most disappointing experience was being contacted by one of my closest friends - we'd lost touch at 18. She said she was dancing round the room with joy at finding me, & would message properly when her ipad had charged. I wrote with a brief description of what had happened to me over the last 40 years & said I was looking forward to hearing from her.

Nothing. She was clearly active on Facebook, but ... nothing.

I left it a few weeks then messaged, saying, am I ever going to hear from you?

Nothing. So I gave it another couple of weeks then with a heavy heart deleted her. It made me realise that however close we'd been at school there was a reason we'd lost touch, the reason being she was rubbish at maintaining a friendship!

Give it a go. I have contacted lots of my old friends thanks to the internet. Some contacts were successful, some not but I think as you get older it's nice to see how old friends are doing and what they have done in their lives. You will regret it if you don't. If your friend dosn't want to reply to you she won't - no harm done.

I have regular contact with my best friend from School days, we have studied together, become Nurses and worked together, been each others bridesmaids, I live in Sweden, but have a second home just ten miles from my friend, how fantastic is that!
I have had contact with another School friend over the past few years, we try to meet up when I am in the UK, and have a good chat,still have a lot to chat about. How lucky am I!

I didn't, but someone else, who I knew vaguely at primary school, contacted me through Friends Reunited and we corresponded, then met up a few times. He changed my life in rather a startling way, and although we now have no contact at all, it's thanks to his 'interest' in me that I began to feel valued and confident, after years of being put down/belittled/controlled by my ex DH. I'm now divorced and living with a new partner (also someone I met on Friends Reunited!) and I've never been happier.

I got in touch with my best friend from school on Friends Reunited. Her family had emigrated to Australia after she finished school at 18. We wrote for years, then lost touch. After we reunited, she came to England for a visit and it was as if we had seen each other the day before. We email and skype now. She has visited the UK again and we spent a day together. I am going to Australia soon and will be spending a few days with her and her husband. We are very close and get on very well. I have contacted other people from school but nothing came of it.