‘We’re like sisters’
LKim Clarke, 47, from Tamworth, met Lisa Edwards when she was 11 years old
isa would like me to forget her fringe, but it was the first thing I noticed about her. She had blonde hair and a cowlick-style flick. We met on the first day of school and sat next to each other until we were separated for being ‘disruptive’. Teachers called us the Terrible Twosome!
When I was 15, my mum, Rita, started running a few pubs and life at home was busy, so I moved in with Lisa’s family. We’d talk about boys or go shopping.
We had a few rows, mostly if I dared to borrow her hairspray. But we were like sisters. We’d argue, then make up.
I was pregnant with my first child at just 16 years old and had Leigh, now 29. A year later, Lisa had Ashley, who is now 28. I went on to have another girl, Alex, 25, and Lisa had another son, Danny, 26. Lisa longed for daughters, but our families were so intertwined that it was like my daughters were hers too.
Many years later, we became grandmothers at the same time. Leigh had Owyn, now eight, and Ashley had Callum, seven. Then Leigh had Eliza, three, Alex had Orla, three, and Ashley had Charlie, two.
Now, Lisa and her husband Lee run the pub on my street, which means I get to see her several times a week. Lisa has the biggest heart – she’d give away her last pound. While I can be a bit opinionated, Lisa is gentle. But that’s what makes our friendship work.
My mum died a few years ago and Lisa was almost as devastated as I was. Our mums have always been each other’s second mums, just as we are to each other’s children. Lisa arrived with flowers and insisted on taking me out. It was lovely to reminisce with someone who knew my mum in a way only a childhood friend could.
We love seeing the next generation of friendships blossom and feel proud that our friendship created theirs. Partners can come and go, but your best friend is there for life.