Homeworkers in the 'real' office

It's one of the commonplaces of homeworking that it's a good idea to turn up at the office regularly to keep up to date with what's happening. But I was interested by the comments at Phoneboy's blog about the social aspects of these treks into HQ as opposed to the strictly 'business' element. "From time to time," he says, "I visit the office in person. When I’m in the office, I joke that I don’t actually do work in the office. I socialize to a large extent. I talk to key people on every visit, even if it’s just for a few minutes. By making my presence known in real life, I strengthen my connection with those people."