LAURA CARTLEDGE A little holiday at home can bring a new lease of life

Having said that – we hadn’t seen each other in over six months.

Not that it mattered.

We stayed up late, drank more beers than I have in a while and even got a takeaway.

It was like we’d stepped through a time machine back to the university days when we met.

Plus it was a bit of a change from my normal routine which sees me tucked up with a Horlicks by ten.

But I loved it.

One day saw us head to Brighton and enjoy the amusements on the pier.

Not even the rain could dampen the fun – in fact, it added to it as we chased one another down the lanes with our umbrellas.

On the other day, we headed to the penny arcades in Bognor and to see the carnival, and to go clambering over the beach and posing for pictures.

The only thing we failed to do was have fish and chips.

Then, what felt like minutes since we’d said hello, it was time to say goodbye.

They say a change is as good as a break, and it really was.

Despite how quickly it went, it gave us all a chance to stop and take stock of where we’ve come from and where we are now.

It’s amazing how you can tell the passage of time by the people around you.

For instance, when I first came home I felt really out of the loop.

It was only then it began to sink in that I had been away for three years.

It seems time had ticked slower here than it had for me.

Now, when my university friends and I do catch up, we can’t help but reminisce about the good old days.

And how working life had altered us all.

But the best thing is, despite everything that does change, our friendship stays the same.