One of the things that all us have in common is the need for friends. I’m not talking about the type of friends that most people discuss today from social media. As most of us know, they aren’t really in the same category as a close friend because we sometimes have never met them face to face and we might not even be able to identify anything about them personally. I’m talking about the type of friend that will be there for you when you need them the most to hold your hand and talk with you face to face.
Of course, we all have special people in our lives that we would classify as those kinds of friends but there are also some that are even more special. These people are friends for life and we would trust them with the most private information. Once we have them in our lives, we would never want to let them go. I’m sure that is how the pair of friends in this story feel about each other. After all, they have been friends since they were 11 years old and that was over 78 years ago!
Kathleen Saville and Olive Woodward are the couple who share that special type of friendship. According to a report from BBC, they met in school back in 1941 and became close from the start. These days, they continue to be close and they are living in the same nursing home, on the same floor!
According to Kathleen, their friendship was true from the very beginning. She said: “We knew we would always be friends when we met. She means a lot to me. If Olive goes first she’ll come back to fetch me. We’re going to be friends in heaven.”
She also says that they never argue.
All throughout their lives, these best friends have never lived more than a 10-minute walk from each other. Olive would even visit her friend regularly when she entered long-term care at Berry Hill Park Care Home in Mansfield.
She took things to the next level when she moved into the same home. Now they can visit ‘all day every day’
She said: “If I’m unhappy or in trouble I only have to go to Kathleen and we’ll always end up laughing.”
Of course, the staff can’t get enough of this lovely pair of friends.
“The sparkle is still there. They are full of mischief. They never stop chatting and giggling,” said Sally Tebbett, Berry Hill Park’s home manager. “It’s so endearing, they genuinely love each other and you can see that.”
If you want a friend like this, follow the advice that Kathleen gives:
“Put yourself out and go and see your friend. Don’t always wait for them to come and see you. It takes two to tango.”