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I was saddened to hear today of the passing of canine legend; Ronnie Ronster.

I did (briefly) meet the Ronster in his puppy days, and have followed his adventures as a fellow facebook friend, through the early years of puppy walking, to his stardom in literature [“Ronnie” Susan Macentee-Campbell]. I always thought his exclusion from the book launch was a shame, but am proud to own one of his paw signed copies.

I have never had a pet, so I cannot comment from personal experience, but I understand both from those dear, and perhaps a little more through having known of him – albeit at a remove – that his loss, will be felt as that of a familly member to many. I offer such condolence as I can to Colin and Susan.

Life has moved friends such as these a little further away, without the lynch pin of our annual festival, and it is easy to drift into the casual friendship of facebook like, birthday greeting, and perhaps only a longer word when prompted by tragedy/ loss/ or lifetime event.

Perhaps this distancing is an inevitable extension of age and life, but I don’t think so.

There are athletes who preserve their performance well past my current years, (not that I ever had any athletic prowes), perhaps not at the cutting edge of their halcyon days, but still, capable of an astonishing marthon time, 5 sets of tennis, triathalon completion…

These acheivements are worthy of celebration, but they are not simply chance events, but inevitably the fruit of continued dedication and practise, and a stalwart refusal to accept that anyone is “too old to…” and refusal to allow a slide into easy complacancy.

So too, I think, must we practise with our society and wider friendships, making the effort, journeying the distance, renewing old ties. Constantly flexing the muscles of relationship to keep them strong, and eschewing the easy- but distant – immediacy of our electronic words.

“We were friends” must surely be as sad a story as three words could tell, but it is not an inevitable chapter. True, some effort must be made, and electronic communication can indeed be a part of bridging physical distance, but is the actual sharing and the doing, that make their own value, not just at the time, but to carry forwards.

“We are friends”