To some the term Romeo might be an insult, but for one group of Bermudian men it is a term to relish.

A group of eight mostly retired men, calling themselves 'ROMEOS' have been eating out together every Tuesday for nine years.

Royal Gazette reporter Jessie Moniz was recently wined (well she had a soda) and dined by the ROMEOS during lunch at Speciality Inn in Smiths Parish.

Sometimes the ROMEOS have a little trouble agreeing on things.

For example, how Romeo Webster B. Tucker's cell phone turns off. Which reef would be the better one to be buried under, and what exactly ROMEOS stands for.

"What ROMEOS stands for varies," said Mr. Tucker. "Sometimes it's 'Retired Old Men Eating Out Sometimes, or is it Really Old Men Eating Out Sometimes, or is it Retired Old Men Enjoying an Outing Sometimes. Whatever you do, don't put any dots in it though. It's ROMEOS."

"A friend of mine came up with the name ROMEOS," said Bryant Richards.

Other members include Winston Lee, Ralph James DeShields Senior, Sherwin Jones Senior, Randolph Rowling, Cleveland Foggo and Allan Cooper.

And what would any boys club be without a special t-shirt? On this day they all wore 'ROMEOS' on their shirts, but in a range of colours.

"We have about ten different shirts," said Mr. Richards. "We just pick out the one on the top. My wife washes them."

Mr. Tucker said the shirts sometimes drew attention from other diners, particularly the ladies.

He said the group name was really a reference to how they were (or wished they were) in bygone days.

"You know what a Romeo is," said Mr. Tucker. "That used to be us, back, in the day."

There are guffaws all around and Mr. Tucker discusses whether he should wear a bikini to the beach next time.

All the men are married, and admitted that sometimes its nice to get out of the house and just hang out.

They have their ways to make it up to the women (who are probably just as happy to get rid of them for a little while).

"Once a year, usually Christmas or New Years we take the wives out to a nice restaurant for dinner," said Mr. Cooper. "We give them a rose. Everyone has the opportunity to say what they want to say, including the wives."

The ROMEOS have known each other since "back in the day".

"We were school friends," said Mr. Richards, a retired drug rehabilitation counselor who now works with the Hustle Truck programme. "Some of these guys were in my wedding party. I went to school with one of the guys 45 years ago."

He said over the years they would see each other in passing, but they never really got together.

"Then nine years ago we decided to have lunch," said Mr. Richards. "It has continued ever since. It started with about four of us and then expanded to eight. That is where we are right now.

"How this started was, Winston Lee said to me one day, all of us are married. The children are all grown. When we were younger we were together.

"Then we decided we needed to get back to one another and enjoy our company the way we used to in the early days."

Mr. Tucker might be considered the chief Romeo. He organises where the guys will eat every Tuesday.

The Romeos have eaten out from St. Georges to Somerset, but there is one place in particular that they love.

"We have had lunch at Speciality Inn more than any other restaurant," said Mr. Cooper who wanted the public to know he is the youngest member of the group.

And the staff at Speciality seemed to treat the guys with much affection.

"You get good value for money," said Mr. Richards. "The food is always good. The service is always good. We can relax here. We don't have to worry about someone coming and telling us to be quiet."

"Waitress Jacqueline Jordan deals with us every time we come to Speciality Inn," said Mr. Tucker. "They really treat us well. We appreciate that. As she terms it, 'she sets us up'."

Mr. Cooper said Pietro (Peter) Di Vuolo, the chef and owner, comes by every so often and wants to know if everything is okay.

"Every now and again he cooks up something special for us," said Mr. Cooper. "We really appreciate this."

In addition to the banter, the ROMEOS help to mark each others birthdays.

"Every time someone has a birthday we will treat them," said Mr. Tucker. "We do something special. They don't have to pay for it. Everyone has a turn. My turn is next."

The eating out helps to relieve the boredom of retirement or semi-retirement, for some of them.

Mr. Tucker was formerly a broadcaster at ZBM for 40 years.

"I took off for a couple of months," he said. "I did get bored. Then I went to work at M&Ms for five years, selling televisions. Then I said, that is it. I am fully retired now."

In his spare time, now, Mr. Tucker helps out with the mentor group YouthNet.

Sherwin Jones Senior said that when retirement came for him, he was ready.

"I was looking forward to retirement for a long time," he said. "I was a school teacher for 14 years. Then I was in insurance. I worked for Sun Life of Canada for 26 years.

"I retired broke but I am enjoying it. I have four grandsons. I love them. I look forward to seeing them."

Mr. Jones said that the ROMEOS like to joke around, but they also talk about more serious things.

"We talk about a lot of things," he said. "We talk about health matters. We talk about friends. We talk about friends with problems.

"Some of our friends are no longer with us. We say look we are getting government cheques now. We rejoice in the fact that we are still around."

Mr. Jones said men sometimes have trouble talking about certain issues, particularly relating to health matters.

"They tend to keep things to themselves," he said. "The ROMEOS are not afraid to talk about these things.

"It is important that we look after one another. If someone is in the hospital we visit, or call. So it is a fresh thing to me. I am not a person who calls all over the place, but I like to know that someone has my back. If I am in the hospital these guys will visit me."

Mr. DeShields said he really enjoys the camaraderie of the group.

Mr. Cooper said there is also a networking advantage to the ROMEOS.

"We all have different careers," he said. "I am in real estate. If a real estate question comes up, they consult with me.

"If an insurance matter comes up they consult with Sherwin Jones. Anything to do with hotels, Mr. Lee was in the hotels."

"I get a lot out of the group," said Mr. Lee. "I like to get together with my friends.

"When we were teenagers we always travelled together. A lot of us in the early days were in Sunday school together."

Mr. Richards said it was the fellowship that counted.

"We tease each other, sometimes unmercifully, but it is always in good fun," he said. "We keep abreast of how our families are going. The good, the bad and the ugly. All of that is very important.

"We also talk about prostate issues, colon cancer, about putting a will together. We ask each other 'Have you done your physical this year. What are you waiting for?'

"It is a checks and balances sort of thing."

"Most of all though, it is the fellowship that we have amongst ourselves," said Mr. Rowling.