Best mate

This is my best mate in Shetland, Lionel C. He's a consummate gentleman, and a very faithful and loyal friend. He doesn't take any bs from anyone, and he's as hard as nails, but what a laugh we have together!

Friendships become more difficult to find as one grows older. Perhaps we have less time to invest in other people. Perhaps we are too wrapped up in family or just keeping in touch with the friends we have! Or perhaps we become less willing to open ourselves up to any great depth to people for fear of rejection, or judgement.

I'm not sure what the reason is. But now and then we meet people with whom we find an instant kinship, a bond and a view and approach to life which just resonates and works, and friendship fits as easily as a comfortable old jacket which we hardly notice we are wearing.

Those friendships allow total freedom to be whatever one needs to be... Sad or angry or irrational or depressed or grumpy or rude and inconsiderate and selfish, or mad and happy and idiotic and gleeful...a good friend will just take all our moods in their stride. They won't let us off with bad behaviour... but they'll never walk away from us, no matter what we do or say.

True friends are gifts from above.

I hope that I'm as good a friend to him as he is to me.