This was the problem with drinks parties: getting stuck with a person you didn't want to talk to while someone you did was tantalisingly in view.

How strange is that we are connected for years and we don't know each other just because we never initiated.. how pseudo is that connection or how pseudo social we are!!!

They are a very decent, generous lot of people out here and they don't expect you to listen. Always remember that, dear boy. It's the secret of social ease in this country. They talk entirely for their own pleasure. Nothing they say is designed to be heard.

Socializing is more positive than being alone, that’s why meetings are so popular. People don’t like being alone. That would be, however, an important skill to learn...

It was a civil dispute and it was resolved amicably between parties.

Institutions, no less than persons, may need to be socialized.