Aww I am really saddened at this thread and it will definitely make me feel more blessed to have such good friends in my life. I had the usual school friends (still see 1 of them) but the rest drift away as you move, start/change careers. Then when my daughter was born I went to all the mother and toddler groups and made some friends there and again, when she started school I made some wonderful friends, especially 4, who I consider my best friends in the world as we would do absolutely anything for each other. When I was chronically ill and almost died they pulled me through and laughed and cried with me which showed me just how true our friendship is. When I got pregnant with my son the whole new process of meeting new people began all over again, and I'm still close with alot of the mums 12 years later!. So I do think that if you've got a little one do try and get out to mother and baby groups etc coz you can bet your life there's loads of nervous women sitting there just dying to make friends. Be friendly and sociable, encourage play dates and I'm sure there will be some lovely new friends out there to be made.
Good luck! Xx