Picture this: Middle Park Bowls Club on a sultry Saturday afternoon in February. Sausages sizzle and pop on the barbecue. Crowds in bare feet wobble bowls down the length of the green.

Here I am with my wife and our son, 11, and daughter, 14, to celebrate the wedding anniversary of a couple we befriended just a few years ago.

Our group was about a dozen or so couples and families. Our children, most of whom had not previously met, ranged from infants to early teens.

It only took a few moments before they formed little packs, and we parents faced away from our progeny so we could talk and drink together. Occasionally, I would turn around to see…

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