Sunday 22 July 2012

my best friend



This is a little tribute to my bff.
It's her birthday today and the last year or so hasn't been easy for her, and yet she keeps thinking of me, and helping me out and visiting and really, I could never thank Pandy enough for all the things her, and her family have done for me over the years.

We met at nursey school when we were 5.

We then both went to St. Hilary's School, Sevenoaks. And even though we were in different classes, we would see a lot of each other at weekends.


When my mother was very ill (I was 11 or 12), I went to live with her family for a few months.
One day, when her mother was dropping us off at school, she handed us our bags from the boot of the car and said - here you go Andy Pandy (for Amanda) and Oni Poni (for Fiona).

I have called Amanda Pandy ever since (some of you will have heard this name often around here), and what I love is that only I call her Pandy.

I think it's quite fortunate that I don't get called Poni ! - to Amanda and her family I am Fee Fee.

We have lived very different lives. After school, I went to Art College and Amanda went to Finishing School, to learn manners and etiquette, though from the stories she told me, it sounded like one big party !
She got finished off good and proper, as she knows what knife and fork to use and has a great appreciation of alcoholic beverages, especially dry white wine !

We sometimes haven't seen each other for a year at a time, and when I went travelling it was Pandy's parents who told me that if I wanted to come home, at any time, they would pay for the flight.
I went for a year and a half, and never made the call, but it was Pandy who I saw first, when I got home.

Pandy's style is so different to mine - you won't find any shabby shit (her phrase, not mine) in her house, but our common interest has always been interiors.

This is Pandy's dining room.



This is mine.....................


Hmmmm,  It's a work in progress, as is the living-room -


Whereas, this is where Pandy and her family entertain !



Yup, our lives have been very different, but we have always been the best of friends. Pandy thinks we'll end up living together in our twilight years. She thinks we'll be like the Ladies in Lavender - a British film about two sisters who live by the sea in Cornwall. The Maggie Smith character is rather domineering and bossy and the Judi Dench character is rather daft and dreamy. 
We haven't quite decided who will be who, as we both tend to drift between both of these descriptions. However, I am rather bossy, and I'm convinced that Pandy's favourite tipple will take it's toll eventually !!

Pandy and her mother are especially generous with gifts as well, and I was going to show you the amazing presents I've had (not just on birthdays), but I've run out of time, and I want to post this.
If I need something, they do their best to find me it, and if I like something - they find me that too.

I was recently given six amazing dining-room chairs, a printer's block tray (I've wanted one for years), a gorgeous glass jar for my kitchen.
Over the years I've had furniture, a dryer, curtain fabrics, a chandelier, a bathroom suite - the list is endless.

My life is better for having a best friend like Pandy - not because I've received amazing things, but because she knows me better than I know myself sometimes. She understands me, she listens and she doesn't judge. She would do anything for me and she is the most loyal person I know. 

Thank you honey, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


The last time we made an effort, on her sons 18th birthday in April this year - not quite yet over the hill !



14 comments:

  1. It's amazing to have friend like that. What a nice tribute to your friend.

    Holly

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  2. Great post Fiona! There's nothing like a treasured friend!

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  3. How lucky you are to have a special friend who knows you inside and out and shares a lifetime of memories with you!

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  4. Oh, what a wonderful post... I, too, have a best friend, and wrote a blogpost about her on her birthday, but it truly does not hold a candle to this one. I already love Pandy! And now I want to see "Ladies in Lavender." Thank you. You make me think of my very favorite fiction author, Rosamunde Pilcher -- and there is no higher compliment I could give a writer.

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  5. Lovely post, Lucky Pandy to have such a great friend too. CJ

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  6. Well, she's lucky too, to have a friend like you! You both stay this way for as long as you live! It's so important to have such a good loving friend. Happy Birthday Pandy!

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  7. Happy birthday to Pandy, she seems to be sharing it with one of your blogging friends. Can you guess who?

    ~Bliss~

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  8. not many friendships last through the years--you both are blessed, fiona

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  9. Having a friendship like this is priceless. You are both so blessed. Thanks for visiting!

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  10. Hurray for Pandy! I'm so glad you have a friend like this. It is a rare thing.

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  11. IWhat a sweet post.

    I have a Pandy in my life - JL. We have been friends since we were 9 when she moved onto my street. We were college roommates and she was once engaged to my cousin. Recently he made the comment that he felt like in their split, she got custody of me and it should have been him since he is family.

    I love that you and Pandy share different styles. It would be boring if you were too much alike. How fun it will be to live your twilight years in Cornwall as too old crotchety friends. I told my sister that she and I have to live in Italy like Maggie Smith and Judi Dench in Tea With Mussolini. I will have to hunt for Ladies In Lavender.

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  12. What a great story. Pandy sounds like the type of friend everyone should have. I LOVE her dining room. By the way, I nominated you for the Sunshine Award. Stop by my blog and check out the details. Have a great week!

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  13. To me, you friendship is all the more special because of your differences. It's like some sort of soul collection instead of and interests connection. Who will wind the style wars when you are a couple of dotty old ladies, living together? ~ Maureen

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