Sunday 19 April 2009

With a little help from my friends

Along with my family, my friends are what keep my world turning. Stretched across the world, they exist as a living, breathing web of support.

My friends can be found living in the Caymans; in a beautiful lakeside town in Switzerland; in a leafy-green tree house in Mount Eden, NZ; circling Australia in a van; everywhere from Toronto to Te Marua; dotted about London, and as close as just across Clapham High Street.

They are a remarkable collection of people, my friends. Artists, musicians, teachers, academics, entrepreneurs, amazing mothers and fathers, a human rights lawyer in Sudan and a neo-natal nurse. They dance on stage in 80s Lycra outfits, and run, bike and kayak from one side of New Zealand's South Island, to the other.

They have fought tragedy and had triumphs.

They write me e mails, send me letters, and give me advice and reassurance when I'm confused. They celebrate my successes, guide me through failures, and are there to make me hot water bottles when I'm ill. They call me for a chat on Sunday mornings, and take me out for a chai latte and a trip to Notting Hill when the day dawns a dark one.

There truly is nothing like going through life with tens of invisible hands on your back, propping you up and helping you make your way in the world.

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