A friend indeed

By Jane Comben

This song came on the radio and it made me think immediately of Shelley. We met at a design firm and we clicked.

Once I'd started my own business, and Shelley left work to have children, she was the person to call if I needed some extra design help or a fresh pair of eyes. In an industry where there is no right or wrong answer (just subjective opinion) having a "wing man" you understand and trust is invaluable. A safety net for creative confidence you could say.

Back to the point. I heard the song and realised that much time had passed and I missed her. Not just bouncing ideas around together, but I missed her energy. Her laugh, her sense of fun and her slightly mad obsession with all things Christmas. (You too can have a desktop widget that counts down the days to Christmas – all year!)

"The better part of one's life consists of his friendships." Abraham Lincoln

While I'm slightly envious of those people who still live and work close to friends they've known since childhood, I'm also grateful for all the people I've met on my travels. Some have passed through quickly while others have stuck around.

Here's a small selection of the types of friends I've been lucky enough to meet. I look forward to the ones I haven't met yet... maybe it's you.

Furry friend
Who said a friend had to be human?

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”
Dr. Seuss





  

Surprising friend
Peggy was a friend of a friend. She just happened to live up the road from where I flatted at art college. Who would imagine that this woman taught Elizabeth Taylor and took a whole class of evacuated children from London to Canada on a boat during WW2? She always wrote in green ink and liked daffodils as much as I did.

The only way to have a friend is to be one.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Dance mate
I love dancing and Milly and I always seemed to end up on the dance floor.

Love is blind; friendship closes its eyes.
Friedrich Nietzsche

(Just as well. The eye shadow is frightening!)

  

Golden Oldie
An oldie but a goodie. I talk about going to our school reunion together here.

Sharing the journey
Charlie's Angels: an unlikely but effective alliance. I couldn't have achieved what I have without them. Read how we met here and about another one of our challenges here. Marlene Dietrich says "It's the friends you can call up at 4 a.m. that matter." I'd add "It's the friends that meet you at 5.30am for a training run in the dark that also matter."


"That's when good neighbours become good friends"
It's like something out of a soap opera but I'm blessed with the most wonderful neighbours. They're available for cat-feeding and curtain duty, bolster the numbers at parties and are all-round good eggs.
Do not protect yourself by a fence, but rather by your friends. Czech Proverb