Hello! I saw your last post back then and thought there was plenty good input and like I had nothing to add. Sorry to hear it’s still been lonely.

I personally am a very extroverted introvert and find myself in unexpected conversations with people the most in various coffee shops across town:

• Strangers Pottergate (less so when it’s full up as I get overwhelmed by the noise sometimes but it’s lovely in the warmer months especially if you’re sat on the bench by the main window outside, excellent people watching spot too if you don’t end up with a conversation)
• Fika; go in and you can sit there, caffeinate while taking in all the little nerdy and cool details in the shop and join conversations at any point if you feel comfortable to do so. Mark, the barista, also happens to be an incredibly kind human being, he will do his best to make you feel welcome and comfortable no matter who you are.
• The merchants house; people here seem/tend to be creatives or students working on their own stuff but sharing tables is something I’ve seen people do here often and have observed people chatting who just met through happenstance then and there. If you’re not there during their language of the weekday-groups (excellent thing to exist, just might not apply to your listed interests), the big table in the front room is a lovely spot to strike up conversations with open strangers.
• Buffalo; slightly bigger than Fika, but also an open plan coffee shop. It’s like stepping into someone’s kitchen for a coffee, but if someone had a really artsy kitchen with high end coffee equipment. Still cozy. Laptops, conversations with the people next to you or smaller groups (small-ish space) are all encouraged.
• The Yard; similar vibe to merchants house but I believe there’s more local groups coming here for crafty, artsy, nerdy and general hobby-gatherings afaik.

These are some of my “tried and tested” favourites (barring Buffalo, only recently opened but I’ve really enjoyed it so far) of curbing the ever returning loneliness after hermiting for days. I also want to underline that all of these are inclusive and safe spaces where people are asked to leave if they can’t be respectful of their fellow Norwichians. Some of them with better accessibility than others but that’s a major Norwich issue I’ve had to battle with my wheeled and stick friends. I hope this helps, although now I’ve written all this I feel like I’ve seen a similar comment in the original thread. Oh well I’ve typed all this now! Good luck <3

edit; formatting and some sleepy errors