The youth of today can’t seem to spend a moment away from screens and often communicate with their pals via online messaging – but a group of mates in their eighties have proven that friendship in the flesh is the secret to finding enduring bonds. 

A group of men from Rotherham opened up about their shared 56 years of friendship – expertly maintained through a weekly Thursday night pub trip.

Speaking to Joe Inwood on BBC Breakfast this morning, Paul Haynes, Bill Munden, Ken King, Peter Thirlwall, Brian Ayres and Dick Cotton, explained how they have maintained the pint sipping tradition for so long.

The group, who are all in their eighties now, began meeting in 1968 and believe they have missed no more than two dozen weeks in all their years of friendship.  

The tradition began back in the 60s when schoolmates Ken and Paul would sneak off during their free periods to play golf or sink a mischievous pint. 

Friends reunited – every week! A group of six friends (pictured) from South Yorkshire have celebrated 56 years of weekly pub trips. From left: Ken King, 80, Dick Cotton, 81, Paul Haines, 79, Brian Ayres, 83, Bill Mundon, 78, and Peter Thirlwall, 78

Time flies, the friends pictured in 1970, two years after the soiree became a regular thing…that none of them envisaged would still be going strong more than 50 years later

The pals have met up at the same pub, The White Swan in Sheffield, weekly since 1968 – the friends pictured in 1980: left to right, Mick Courtnel, Mick’s wife, Jean Thirlwal, Peter Thirlwall, Julie Mondon, Maureen Cotton and Bill Mondon, 1980

The cheeky weekday drinks quickly became habit and the group maintain they meet up nearly every week. Ken even joked that anyone not able to attend a Thursday must write a school-style note of absence if they bail.

The group has evolved over the years with friends, colleagues and neighbours coming and going.

During the news reel on Tuesday, Inwood asked one of the oldest standing members of the group, Ken, what he thought of his new found fame – following the original article about the group posted last Saturday.

‘It’s amazing, I can’t understand it and a friend of mine said [he] can’t understand what the fuss is about, some old farts siting in a pub. And I think I agree with him.’

The BBC newsreader wondered how the group – who have scarcely missed a week apart – have managed to maintain the tradition after so many years.

‘Well, it’s difficult really but I think we’re all very similar, have similar backgrounds and a tremendous sense of humour.

The drinkers have stuck to their weekly conversation date for over half a century: Pictured: Bill Mundon, 78, Paul Haines, 79, Dick Cotton, 81, Brian Ayres, 83, and Peter Thilrwall (seated), 78

Peter Thirlwall. fifth from left, said he inadvertently helped found the meetups when he started going for a pint with his neighbour Paul Haynes after rounds of golf

The group later swelled to include seven core members: pictured from left: Mick Sorby, Peter Thirlwall, and Bill Mondon

‘And we can laugh at ourselves and yeah… It’s just the camaraderie.’

Answering how the conversations had changed over the 56 years of pub outings, one member of the group, Peter, a retired electrical engineer, explained.

‘Originally it was soccer and sex and now it’s pensions and prostates!

‘We quite often talk about our ailments now which we never talked about when we were younger.

‘The amount of subjects we cover at the pub is just tremendous,’ he added.

The friends were featured on BBC News this week after the story of their Thursday night meet-ups made it to Facebook

‘It’s very, very rare we miss a Thursday. Sometimes we’re all on holiday and we can’t manage it. We might be down to three of us if it gets really desperate,’ he told the broadcaster.

He proudly explained that there had even been up to three consecutive years where the group had met every single Thursday, without fail.

They vary the pubs, alternating between Sheffield and Rotherham, to account for the different homes of the friends. 

And a commitment of half a century is no small feat. Peter recalled the bond that cemented the men together week on week.

The friends said almost everyone tries to make it, and they alternate pubs so it’s close to where everyone in the group lives

He credited the ‘proper’ social reaction shared between the group – with each meeting devoid of the distraction of mobiles.

‘The problem is nowadays is that they’ve all got mobile phones, everything they do is on social media. They meet up on social media.

‘We’re from the old school, the rock and roll days. We all meet up, it’s nothing to do with phones. There’s a proper social reaction between us.

During an interview the group did with BBC Radio Sheffield, Peter admitted that the group ‘don’t do emotional type stuff’.

Despite the longevity of their bond, Paul claimed they have never fallen out – despite not always seeing eye to eye. 

During an interview the group did with BBC Radio Sheffield, Peter admitted that the group ‘don’t do emotional type stuff’

Fashions have changed – this photograph was taken in the 1980s…but the lure of a pint has remained the same 

‘Everybody is different. We have incredibly contrasting political views, which leads to the most incredible, illogical arguments,’ he said.

Ensuring their friendship lasts, the group have never let an argument follow them out the pub.

‘We are quite different people but I suspect we’ve all got the same fundamental values,’ said Brian.

During the Covid pandemic, the country was plunged in several lockdowns which lasted months on end.

Despite the longevity of their bond, Paul claimed they have never fallen out – despite not always seeing eye to eye

While the restrictions could have drawn the groups meetings to a halt – their friendship stood fast.

Nothing was going to deter the White Swan three from their weekly catch ups over a pint.

‘It just carried on as it was actually,’ said Peter. ‘The only thig that changed is – some of the lads who left, one went to Australia, one went to Pennsylvania – but the only thing that changed was that they joined us on Zoom. 

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‘So we actually had a bigger group when we were on Zoom than we had on a normal week.’

Another member of the group, Bill, recalled how much the weekly meetings had meant to him over the last half a century.  

‘It’s made a tremendous difference. In the earlier years, I was only able to visit occasionally because of work commitments but since I’ve retired.

‘But since I’ve retired, I’ve become a full time Thursday night lad and I wouldn’t miss it for the world.’

According to one member of the group, while they used to polish off three pints in one nights, these days they stick to just two.

Explaining what keeps them meeting each week, one joked ‘It stops me being boring.’

‘You have to do things,’ said Paul. ‘You can’t just meet up as a group for a reunion because all you discuss is the past. But if you keep on doing things, then it continues and there’s always something new to talk about.’