Names: Colin & Nik Bathe
When and where: Thursday, April 7th, 2016 at The Coaching Inn, St. Columb Major, Cornwall
Beverage: beer
Last time we met in person: We had a similar meeting in the same pub during my visit in May 2014, when we were joined by their late dog, Barney
Friends on Facebook: Colin since May 2009, Nik since October 2010
Friends in real life: Colin since (I’m guessing) 1999, Nik since 2001

It hardly seems possible now but for a couple of years I somehow found myself in the very unlikely position of teaching salsa dance classes in various venues around Cornwall. Colin started coming to my class at Truro Dance Centre, and became a regular there and at the Thursday evening salsa night I later started doing at a nightclub in Truro. We were even part of a group who danced on stage at the Hall for Cornwall in Truro! By the time I was planning my move to the USA, we’d developed quite a nice little community of dancers, and it seemed a shame for it to end just because I was leaving, so I handed over the running of the club to Colin and a couple of other regulars, who kept it going long after my departure. I believe the first time I ever met Nik was when Colin brought her along as his date at my wedding, but we didn’t really have a chance to get to know each other until several years later.

Above: our little salsa crew backstage at the Hall for Cornwall in 2000. (Colin is back row first left, and I’m back row fourth left.)

For the past six years or so, we’ve got together for an evening on probably all but the last one of my visits to the UK. I can’t remember the last time we even mentioned salsa dancing: these days we bond more over our shared love of animals (particularly dogs) and music. During this evening, the conversation flowed non-stop and covered such topics as their two tortoises (in particular, the hibernation and toilet habits thereof), folk festivals, and running. Colin’s been a serious runner for a while, but now Nik has also caught the running bug in the past couple of years. As a sloth in human form, I am constantly dismayed at the popularity of running, and so I am always curious to get inside the runner’s mind. (If you ever see me running, look out for the maniac chasing me with an axe.) I can’t count the number of friends and people I know who started running in the last few years, and claim to love it. It seems like everyone’s at it apart from me. I must be missing something. I mentioned how astounded I was at Eddie Izzard’s recent achievement of running 27 marathons in 27 days. That’s nothing, said Nik, what about this guy? I’d be amazed if I could run to the end of my street. I should probably just accept that I was built for comfort rather than speed.