I Didn't Realise How Much I'd Miss My Work Friends

I worked for 35 years. Same company, same office, same tea room. I knew everyone's kids' names. We complained about the same things, celebrated the same wins, ate lunch together every day.

Then I retired.

Within three months, those friendships had quietly evaporated. Not because anyone was unkind. People are busy. Work friendships happen at work. Without the shared context, the conversations got shorter. The catch-ups got further apart. Eventually they stopped.

I hadn't expected that.

Retirement planning covers the money. The travel. The hobbies. Nobody mentions that your entire social infrastructure disappears on your last day.

I tried a few things. A book club that met once a month wasn't enough. The gym was too anonymous. I wanted what I'd had at work: regular contact with the same people, a shared purpose, conversations that happened naturally without anyone having to organise them.

A neighbour mentioned croquet. I'll be honest, I pictured elderly people in white, gently tapping balls around a lawn. I went anyway, mostly to be polite.

The game is surprisingly strategic, which I like. But the structure is what kept me coming back. You turn up on Wednesday. The same people are there. You play together for a couple of hours, then everyone has morning tea. You talk about the game, about life, about nothing in particular. Next Wednesday, you do it again.

That's how work friendships formed. Regular contact, shared activity, low-pressure conversation. Croquet recreates that pattern.

Within a few months, I knew people's grandchildren's names. I knew who was having knee surgery and who'd just come back from visiting family in Perth. When I missed a week, someone texted to check I was okay.

That hadn't happened since I left work.

Croquet is for people who want to belong somewhere. A regular commitment that gets them out of the house. The kind of slow friendships that only form when you see the same faces week after week.

If you've retired recently and found that your social life shrank more than you expected, a croquet club might be worth a look.

Here's what you'd want to know before visiting.

No. Every club teaches beginners. You'll spend your first few sessions learning the basics, and honestly, that's when you meet people fastest.

No. Most people join alone. The game mixes players up, so you'll play with different people each time.

Flat-soled shoes. That's it. Clubs provide everything else.