From a very young age we come in contact with different types of people. We bond with some to form lasting friendships and others come into our life for a limited time, either to be forgotten with the passing of time or leave wonderful memories behind that we hold onto for ever. Over the years I too have formed lasting friendships with some people who I still keep in touch with. We might lose touch but when we meet the love and interest is still there as we get up to date with all that has happened in each others lives while we have been out of touch.

One friendship that I was blessed with and learnt a lot from was with a lady called Jo who I met 4 years ago. She joined my place of work and we got along from the word go. This woman was 74 years of age but she came across with the spirit and enthusiasm of a 24 year old! This is the first quality that attracted me to her. She seemed genuinely interested in me as a person and wanted to know my opinions on current issues, people, places of interest...the list was endless! We would argue sometimes if we had differences of opinions but it was wonderful to learn something new from each other. She had a genuine interest in people from all walks of life and religions. She would discuss my religion and would ask me questions about any aspect that she didnt understand. She respected all religions but did not want to be put in a group herself. 'I am a humanist. I believe mankind is one. I do not feel the need to put people in any religious group, it only causes problems' I agreed with her on this point and respected her beliefs as she did mine.

Gradually as we opened up to each other's lives I found out that Jo had given up a comfortable life in a 2 bedroomed flat to live on a house boat very near to where we worked. I sometimes used to wonder how she coped during a severe winter or if the river levels were high due to heavy rains. This never dampened her spirits though and she would turn up at work as full of life as she always did. 'Life is so exciting' she would say 'I could never live life that was preditable and boring' This is when I realised that for Jo life was an adventure, she approached life with the enthusiam and excitement of a child. There was so much to learn, so much to see, so much to do and so little time to do it all in!

She would come into the office and excitedly tell me about an outdoor market in the local area where you could get beautiful trinkets or exotic foods and there would always

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