A FRIEND FOR LIFE

Two women open up about the special bond they share

- MISHAAL KHAN

‘Fiona was at my door as soon as she found out’

Louise Morse is a cognitive behavioural therapist and lives in Cwmbran, South Wales.

One of my favourite pastimes is sitting in the garden with my friend and neighbour Fiona, and putting the world to rights over a bottle of wine. We relate on so many levels and can spend hours chatting about our families and work or discussing the meaning of life. Despite a substantial age gap, there’s no question about it - Fiona is one of my dearest friends.

Fiona and I met when I moved house in 2003, and every day, my grandchildren, Luke, then four, and Lucy, two, came to me after school and nursery. Fiona was a single mum, with five children at the time, and her eldest was a year older than Luke, so the children spent many hours playing together on our cul-de-sac.

Over the years, a friendship blossomed between us. Fiona has a cracking sense of humour, and I was so impressed with how she raised her children singlehandedly. She always made me feel welcome, inviting me to family BBQs in her garden.

In October 2018, I lost my son Hywel, then 51, after a 14-year battle with leukaemia. I was devastated and Fiona was a huge support.

But just a few weeks later, in December 2018, Luke, 19 by then, was killed in a freak motorbike accident on a deserted country road. Losing Luke so soon after Hywel, and at such a young age, was crushing.

Luke and his uncle Hywel were doppelgangers, handsome and intelligent, with the same droll sense of humour. Although I’d experienced grief, losing my husband in 1995, this was different. As a mother, you never want to imagine losing a child, let alone a grandchild.

UNCONDITIONAL SUPPORT