Another topic has got me thinking.
What kind of friendships do you have?
I dont mean list here all your friends and what you like/dislike about them as individuals.
Just, what kind of friendships work for you?

You could count my friends on my two hands and have a finger or two to spare.
I have many more online friends.
Apart from my online friends from Flirtbox, none of my friends are really aware of one another's existence.
When I was at boarding school, then college, I found that if you have circles of friends everyone else gets dragged into other people's fall outs, boyfriend/girlfriend sagas, gossip, bickering etc.
I much prefer my friends not knowing each other.
That way, each friendship has something unique about it, we share different interests and no one falls out, gossips, bickers etc.
Oddly enough, all my "real" friends are exactly the same with their friends.
Am I odd? (and my friends odd) or are other people like that?
Do you have big gangs of mates or one-to-one friendships?

I have one strong one-one friendship and a few more casual friendships with people who are considerably older than me. I just like exercising my jaw and sharing jokes. Sorry, but I often struggle to be enthused by my peers

I have a best pal and several good pals in Bradford.
I have 2 best pals and several good pals where I live.
I have team mates at my local pub at home, in Beverley and Hull, some of whom I count as good pals.
I also have female friends and yes it is possible.
There is you lot as well.
Bradford does not know the others.
Home do not know the others.
The others do not know home and Bradford.
There is certainly a different mix of interests across the board.

I have 2 very special friends who we love each other as more than friends but know we could never be together.

I also have a group of 7 friends who I see pretty much all the time, go on holiday together, buy each other presents, always there for each other and stuff like that.

I have a group of about 15 friends who we have known each other for more than 10 years on the internet, we have met each other a few times but rarely speak.

Then there are the 50 or so clubbing friends who I always love to see and care about but outside of clubbing we don't hear from each other.

Glad I'm not the only one then snaith!

I forgot to mention, other than my friend who I mentioned living locally, she actually lives in the flat above me so we are careful not to 'live in one another's pockets', I dont know anyone else at all locally.
Everyone else (including family) are far-flung in all corners of the world, some literally, some just less than an hour's drive away.
And yes of course some are male, as you say it is possible.
I think the boy/girl issue with friendship becomes more relaxed as one gets older?
Oh, and my friends ages range from 20 to 90+ (I am 42).
As you suggest snaith, each friendship has something unique (like different interests) holding it together.

Well U4ric, you are proof that the groups of friends set-up can and does work!

I have about seven really close mate's, one of whom is my best freind. They all are close to each other aswell, and yes if something is going wrong in a relationship, or whatever we all know about it, but I dont think that is a problem for us. We used to fall out over silly stuff when we were younger but we're all 30's+ and dont really find (beyond the odd little niggle) that that happen's anymore.

I have a load more good freind's, and then more who I see out and about, at party's, festival's and pub's, ect.

And then there's my ex.

Which is a bit weird.

I'm not sure that I SHOULD be freind's with her, and she's not close to my other freind's (we didnt go out very long), but I find it hard not to talk to her.

Dont have any real best friends, I only have a few friends who are you guys on here & a few that text me from FB also..
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I am beginning to feel "normal" reading this lot....

Phew, I used to sometimes worry that I was weird - the little I know about lets say eastenders where everyone knows everyone else and they are all buddies, I used to think there might be summat wrong with me...saying that, both my kids and their dad are the same as me, and so is everyone else I am friends with, but I did wonder....that's why I asked.
It seems its 'normal' ie OKAY to be either a party animal with loads of mutual mates, *or* like me a loner of sorts.

I no longer have friends outside of online. And I'm crap at keeping the few I get to know well. I became good friends with Pol(if you don't know/remember her, don't worry) and met her a number of times in the flesh. After my op we started losing touch and now I guess I just find it easier to not have friends. You can't get hurt then and there's not the pressure to be cheerful all the bloody time.

I do miss having friends I can meet up with occasionally tho.

Oops, naughty me, I have remained on good terms with my last boss and we have the occasional coffee in town, but I know I would never do more than skim the surface when chatting to her.
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"Always look on the bright side of life..... tetum tetumtetumtetum....."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHPOzQzk9Qo

I have 7 best friends: one I grew up with and our parents are friends too. 3 friends I know since school times and the other three friends I know since ages too. Noone of them ever let me down but as in any other relationship they can't keep you from feeling left alone sometimes. All of them are female besides on gay (even so he is not fag at all I don't really know if he counts if it comes to male friends ) The only occasion they all meet are my parties. I sometimes wonder how people can be only with one single other person as all my friends seem to symbolise a different feature of myself and covers different needs of me even though they are very different from myself. The group of buddies always varied in my life as they probably stand for different phases of my own life.

I have no real friends outside of online.

I have 3 best friends, The first Ive been best friends with since I was 3 ( so 35 years)
The second for 22 years
and the third one around 10 years

I also have a lot of other good friends, I just dont class them as 'best friends'

I love my bestfriends, they are like part of my family

I have some good friends. I have 3 best friends, one is a neighbour who i have known for about 10 years, one is from my banding days and thats 10 yrs and one is a fella who is now in Brussels and i've known him about 6 years.
I have a large group of friends at work that will do anything for me, same with neighbours (about 6 of them) and we're all really close. too.nd i have a few friends who i have met through other friends who i see regularly.
Then i have school friends who i don't really see anymore but we're still in touch.
And a couple of close friends who i speak to regularly on the phone who are in England.
Then all my fb friends too!!
I'm very lucky.

Hard question... LOL

I don't know if I have best friends, but if so... There are only two. Me and a chick I've been knowing since 1st grade.

Then I've got a close group I've been with since school (about 8-10 peeps, some met in 1st grade too)... Got closer then pulled apart again... We're still somewhat of a family anyway. LOL

Also there's a chick I really love whom I met on a snooker related forum. She's a top friend.

Then there are the peeps I shoot pool with, of which I'd like to think some are my friends... Not as in best friends, but friends anyway.

There are a couple of peeps from FB I'd like to think I'm quite close with and also some other peeps I met online.

And that's about it I think.
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