Lifelong Friendship

My story is about Trish McGinley, whom I first met 30 years ago when we were ‘mature’ students starting a degree.

On the surface Trish and I couldn’t have been more different. I am from a down-to-earth, working-class Merseyside/Irish background and, even though I’m ashamed to admit it now, I thought Trish was a ‘posh Southerner’. How wrong was I?

Once I opened my mind, I quickly realised we had so much in common: the same sense of what was important in our lives. Fairness, family, friends, and the ability to take what life threw at us at times and find a common path to deal with it.

When things didn’t always go to plan, Trish was a constant support with her caring nature. When I occasionally needed a kick up the backside, Trish was there with her no-nonsense approach to problem solving.

What stands out for me is her tenacity, her resilience, her ability to get things done, but most of all her sense of humour, which, for the past 30 years, has been called upon so many times.

I am proud to say I have a lifelong friend who will always have my back, and I will be forever grateful to have her in my life.

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Caroline Grundy