Episode 1 Christine & Adrian's Friendship Test

# If you wanna be my lover You gotta get with my friends

# Make it last forever Friendship never ends... #

RADIO CRACKLES

# Oh, you're my best friend... #

RADIO CRACKLES

# I'll be there for you... #

The subject of friendship has fascinated philosophers,

poets and pop stars for years, but there's one group of people

that know more about it than most, us.

# ..be there for me too. #

Yes, recent research has discovered that Northern Ireland

is the friendliest place in the whole of the UK,

which is why, in this little series,

I want to celebrate the many different types of friendship

that exist across Northern Ireland.

But I won't be doing it alone, no,

I'm bringing along my own special friend

just for the company, if you like.

Hiya! Welcome, welcome!

-How are you doing?

-Where do we start?

-Will we go and get you settled?

-Yes.

-Come on, follow me.

-Can I have a coffee?

-Yes, of course you can.

-# If you change your mind

-Take a chance

-# I'm the first in line

-Take a chance... #

I've known Adrian Chiles for over ten years.

It's fair to say we've been through a lot together and found ourselves

in some odd situations.

# Take a chance on me. #

But we've never spent any real time together in Northern Ireland.

So, it was great to welcome him to the country I call home

and have the chance to show him just what a friendly bunch we are.

So...

..Northern Ireland, friendliest place in the whole of the UK.

-But I knew that already, you see?

-But do you think that is true?

I don't know, is it more friendly than Birmingham or Manchester?

I've spent a lot of time in all those different places.

I don't know, is anywhere more friendly than anywhere else?

Well, I remember when I first went to London,

completely wet behind the ears,

and I would find myself on the train and everything, like,

sort of smiling at people and just being friendly

and I would get odd looks back.

I know that's a big, big crazy city, so there's a bit of a difference,

but I always thought that when I'd come back home again,

and I'd arrive just at this very airport and I'd think, "Oh!"

I just think we are a nation of smiling people

here in Northern Ireland.

I feel quite passionately about that.

So, no-one ever falls out here in Northern Ireland?

Well...!

History dictates that sometimes that happens.

Is that just the surfeit of friendliness,

that sometimes overwhelms things and causes trouble?

When we first met on The One Show,

did you not think that I was

quite a friendly person?

-Yeah, yeah.

-And did it have something to do with

maybe where I came from?

You know, there are friendly people from sort of everywhere.

So, I mean, you were noticeably friendly, whether that's

because you're from Northern Ireland, you know, I don't know.

Look, I've only come here as being reasonably well-known, and, so,

I don't know whether people were just being friendly

by the luggage carousel because they recognised me

or they're just generally friendly.

So people have already given you a bit of time

since arriving here today?

Yeah, yeah. I mean, my problem, I just don't smile enough.

I find smiling painful.

-You do.

-Like that, it's like a grimace.

And you need that to be friendly, you need a smile.

I mean, you know I'm smiling inside, but, um...

-Are you?!

-But it's hard.

So, here's what we're going to do.

Over the course of the series, I'll be introducing Adrian

to some of Northern Ireland's friendliest people and animals,

hearing some inspirational stories along the way...

It's something I don't forget, you know?

Daily, I know Mark's kidney has given me this quality of life.

..and finding out just why we have been voted top of the league

when it comes to friendship.

Isn't that lovely? He's actually made some new friends.

THEY CHEER

And trust me, if Northern Ireland makes friends with Adrian...

-Looking good.

-I thought you're supposed to see where you're going

-in these things.

-..then it really will be a miracle.

-Are you up for it?

-One thing.

-Yes.

I've got to go to the toilet first.

Off you pop, yeah.

We were on our way. Well, nearly.

TOILET FLUSHES

Little did I know Adrian wanted a quick word with you all first,

just one-to-one.

Now, look.

I wouldn't want you to think I'm being negative,

that I'm doubting Christine when she says

it's the friendliest place on earth,

but when Christine starts smiling at you,

she'll convince you it's the sunniest place on earth as well,

so I'm just a little bit sceptical.

But, hey, look, I'm really excited.

I love Northern Ireland, the little bits I've seen of it.

It's going to be fun. Find me some friends,

-we're going to get some friends.

-Yeah.

-Come on.

-Are you all done?

-Yes, I'm done.

-OK, right, let's go.

Oh, he really is Mr Cynical.

Looks like I have my work cut out for me.

First on my list was to introduce my mate

to the people of Northern Ireland.

To say hello, as it were.

So he could experience first-hand the friendliness we all take

for granted, and where better to demonstrate this

than the sight of a very special sculpture.

They call this the Spirit of Belfast and it's slap bang in the middle

of Cornmarket.

So, look at this, Adrian, isn't it beautiful?

What do you see?

I see sort of some ringy things.

Yes, yes, yes, absolutely right.

These are friendship rings.

-Friendship rings, so they've been intertwined.

-OK.

Summing up the spirit of Belfast, which is a really nice thing.

They're a bit jagged at the edge.

I get the intertwining, but why so sharp and jagged at the edge?

-That's not friendship.

-No, no, no, that's... It's art, Adrian.

-OK.

Ignore the negatives. I think it's a nice symbol

of what we're talking about. So I'm going to now show you

-the spirit of Belfast.

-OK.

-Right here, right now.

What...? Why? How?

-I've got...

-What's...?

-I've got a bucket.

-And in the bucket...

-Yeah.

-A little face of yours, right?

Yeah, and what do we do with them?

So, I'm going to get you a bucket full of friends.

By the time we leave here today, I'm going to prove to you

-that you can make friends here.

-OK.

-I'm going to give you that.

And then we give the badges to your new friends.

-Face!

-Is this your way of humiliating me,

-just to bring me down a peg or two?

-Kind of, kind of, kind of...

# I can see that you're watching me Come over, talk to me

# I need you to give me a sign. #

It would be fair to say my experiment

didn't get off to the strongest of starts.

He's going to get arrested!

So I decided to step in and help.

Well, everyone needs an introduction, don't they?

-Adrian, come over here.

-Hello.

-Hello, there.

-Hello.

-Pleased to meet you, I'm Cathy.

-Hello. How are you?

-Adrian, I'm Terry. Pleased to meet you.

-Yeah.

-Yeah. We...

-Would you be my friend?

-We could be your friend.

-Then may I award you this badge?

-Thank you very much indeed.

-Valerie and Margaret. This is Adrian Chiles, ladies.

-Hi.

-How are you doing?

-Oh!

-Adrian Chiles, the miserable one.

-I love living here.

-Why is that, though?

I think people in Belfast have been through so much and I just think

when you come here, people want to know you, where you're from.

You know, just get to know you and be friends.

-I'm looking for some friends.

-Aw! I'll be your friend.

-Will you?

-Yeah!

-Aw! Thank you. Can I have a hug?

-Of course you can.

-If I have a hug, then you can have a badge.

-Will you be my friend?

-OK, whatever.

There you go, you get a little badge of me for the rest of your life.

Wear it with pride.

She's caught the flippin' Northern Ireland smiling bug,

never stopped smiling.

Is it you're more friendly than anywhere else in the UK?

-Yeah.

-Let's have a picture. Do you want a pic? Can we get a picture?

-Go ahead, Hillary.

-No, just her.

-Oh, just her?!

Oh, you want me in now, do you? All right, OK.

I'm going to pull a sulky face.

Oh-ho-ho-ho! This is what I'm talking about.

-Thank you very much.

-What are you doing in Belfast today?

-Hello, what's your name, sorry?

-Violet.

-Violet. Pleased to meet you.

-Nice to meet you all right.

-Christine, Adrian.

-Hi, Violet.

-Nice to meet you.

-How are you doing? Nice to see you.

I'm keeping very well. I've just had my hair done there.

-You look lovely.

-Looking good.

-I look lovely, thank you very much.

Can I just say, you've proven a very crucial point -

the fact that you just came up there to say hello,

because I am trying my best to prove to Adrian that Northern Ireland

-is the friendliest place.

-It's very friendly.

-The best people in the world.

-You see, you are fantastic.

-Really?

You see, Violet and I are friends.

It is clear the people of Northern Ireland were willing to become pals

with even the most awkward of newcomers.

Off on his own again,

Adrian seemed to strike gold with a pair who took a real shine to him.

Adrian. How are you doing?

I'm looking for friends around here, you seem very friendly.

-Oh, yeah.

-Will you be my friend?

I might be your friend, it all depends.

What have I got to do to win your friendship?

-Sit between us.

-Shall I sit between you?

Can I sit between you?

Oh, looks like he's found himself some friends,

that's good, that's good.

Oh, God, I feel good here.

It's like the sun's come out, I just...

It feels right to be between you.

-What's your name?

-My name's Betty.

-Betty.

-This is Nan.

-Nan. Have you two just met today?

-Oh, no!

-We've known each other over 40 years.

-Really?

You're genuinely sort of friends for life, really?

-Yeah.

-Yeah. And now we live next door to one another.

-Really?

-Do you go away together? Oh, yes.

-Ah, yeah.

We've been to Turkey, we've been to Ibiza,

we've been to Portugal.

-Cyprus.

-We've been to Salou...

-When's your next trip?

-Whenever you can take us, Adrian.

-If you take us, we'll come.

-You're very forward, aren't you?

The more I look at the three of them,

the more I realise just how similar they look.

Have you noticed that?

The hair, glasses...

He could be a son of theirs.

I hope this is the beginning of a meaningful friendship between us.

-There's a little badge here.

-Adrian, one's no good,

you'll have to give me about six for my club.

There's six for you. Where are you off to now, then?

We're going home to get our tea.

Well, I mean, if I was at home, I could cook for you.

Are you staying overnight here?

-Uh, yes.

-Oh, well, then, we'll go to the hotel with you.

What, room service, or...?

-Or should we...?

-Well...

-We don't mind.

Let's hug it out. Fantastic.

I've found some friends. Proper friends.

Nan and Betty, they're the business.

Look at that, isn't that lovely?

He's found real friends,

having a proper chat there and how appropriate is this -

underneath the Spirit of Belfast.

I rest my case.

The spirit of friendship had truly settled on Adrian's shoulders.

In many ways, it was a little friendship miracle.

# He was a friend of mine... #

Now, outsiders to Northern Ireland tend to have

a certain view of us lot here.

They think we can't be friends because we're always fighting.

So, although Adrian hadn't said it outright,

I wanted to nip that in the bud early doors.

First, though, I had my own little friend to introduce him to.

Adrian, meet Minnie.

Minnie.

-You are cute.

-Isn't she gorgeous?

-Mm-mm-mm-mm-mm! It's my little girl.

-Is this your best friend?

-It is my best friend, yeah.

I used to be her best friend, and now you've taken the part.

-Hey! Hey!

-But when we talk with my friends, we've often discussed,

I know, Northern Irish politics, whether people

from different religious backgrounds can get along, all of the above,

and I'm going to bring you to a place now to prove

that things are changing. I'm going to bring you to a place

that's proven that, to be honest, and it involves a sport

-that you love.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Football?

-No.

-Uh, cricket?

-No.

-Tennis?

-No.

-Rugby?

-No.

-Water polo?

Fishing.

I don't like fishing. I've never been fishing.

We were here to take part in a bit of cross community angling, which,

I don't know about you, is something I never knew existed.

I guess you could call this lot the REEL fisherman's friends.

Club secretary is Scottie Lonsdale.

So, tell us about this place and what you have going on here.

We originally started about seven years ago.

A load of fathers from Belfast wanted to get their kids out,

you know, off the Xboxes, the usual, off the streets,

doing a bit of fishing. From there, over time, it developed.

Started doing a bit of work with the Polish community

and now work with everybody, work with the Belfast Islamic Centre,

we've worked with Fasa. You know Fasa?

They're the alcohol/substance abuse.

Also done a lot of work with groups from Gaelic speakers, west Belfast,

-Whiterock, things like that.

-It sounds like chaos.

You've got Catholics, Protestants, alcoholics,

there's people who speak in only Irish... Irish Gaelic, then...

It sounds nuts to me.

-Well, the thing...

-Does any fishing get done?

Yeah, we get a little bit done.

I mean, it just works. It's the whole thing around...

A lot of the sports, they're not inclusive.

-Yeah.

-Whereas, with fishing, it's fully inclusive, anybody can do it.

It's a safe, shared community space and that really is our ethos.

-Does everyone get on well?

-Yeah.

I mean, the main thing is, like, when you see cross community

in Northern Ireland, you think - Protestants and Catholics.

-Yeah.

-And I do notice the pitches are quite a long way apart,

is that so they can't get into sort of theological discussions

-about the Eucharist and stuff like that?

-No, not at all!

That's purely a technical reason

-so they don't tangle with their lines.

-Right.

THEY LAUGH

I'm guessing, though, by the sheer nature of what this sport is,

there's time to sit and talk.

-Yeah.

-I mean, is that part of it, obviously, then?

Yeah, it is. I mean, the likes of summer there, you'd be sitting here,

it's quiet. You know, early in the morning,

the sun's up and you can just sit and chat to the person beside you.

We all mix together, but the whole idea of it...

The fishing is really the background.

The idea is that you can sit here and speak to each other,

have a chat on whatever subject...

There's something relaxing about it, though, isn't there?

-It is, yeah.

-You see, the whole nature of where you are is just...

Well, for me, angling involves sitting still.

So, for me, it's traumatic.

-But, I mean...

-Only you could say the word "traumatic"

-when you mention the word angling.

-No, but I can see the...

I tell you what, we'll get you 15 minutes on the fly rod...

-All right, OK.

-..you'll not be saying that!

-All right, OK.

Our chat with Scottie would be enough to prove to any normal person

that friendship can be a bridge across troubled waters.

Can I have a word, mate, please? Can you come with me, please?

Adrian, though, felt the truth lay in crossing to the other side,

literally, where he got talking with John, Connor and George.

All right, guys. I've heard all the PR guff.

What's the truth here? I've brought you over to what we're calling

the "bank of truth". It's not all peace and harmony here, is it?

-Of course, yeah.

-Are you sure?

-Oh, definitely, definitely.

If you come down and there's somebody on a peg or on a stand,

you're not going to ask him what neck of the woods he's from

or what school he goes to, you ask him has he caught,

or what bait's he using.

-Yeah.

-The divide doesn't count.

So what bait he's using is more interesting

-than what church he went to?

-Oh, yeah!

-Than what church he went to!

To be honest, the fish don't care what church you go to.

I've never had one ask me.

So, arguments don't break out on the bank,

where you start sword fighting with the rods and all that kind of thing?

No. The first time that Connor and his group came down -

I'm from East Belfast, Connor's from West -

there was a bit of suspicion...

Who are they, what are they doing, what are they going to be like?

But at the end of the day, and from then on, I regard him as a friend.

It's been... It's been a really positive relationship.

-It's been good craic.

-If you are in any way offended

at the sight of a man dividing a cross community angling group

that was brought together to bring people together,

I can only apologise on behalf of myself,

everyone behind the camera,

the makers of this programme and little Minnie here.

Not that we want to encourage this, but if you thought one day,

"Come on, let's get it on. Let's have Protestants versus Catholics

"in a fish-off here," who would win?

I mean, I'm a Catholic, but for some reason, I just find myself

thinking Protestants make better anglers.

-I don't know why I think that.

-The fish would decide that.

-Would they? Yeah.

-OK.

What could the politicians learn from the anglers?

Well, I think if you put anglers into Stormont,

they could run the country better than the politicians are doing

at the moment. You know, like, you've a small pond there.

There's roach, rudd, pike and trout in it.

They're living quite happily together.

We can live happily together.

The fish don't discriminate.

I mean, that's a profound thought.

But, as a Catholic, I do need to ask...

Have Prods got the biggest rods?

How big do you want it?

It depends which tackle shop you go into.

With Adrian's plan having slipped off his cynical hook,

it was time to test the water and find out just how well

my powers of persuasion had been working.

OK, so, half-time analysis.

Am I convincing you so far?

Yeah, I mean, look, everyone is very friendly, you know, to me and,

you know, largely with each other, as far as I can see.

But, you know, there's something lacking.

-It's not Birmingham.

-It's not Birmingham?!

Birmingham, we've got more canals than Venice.

It's also pretty multicultural.

Multiracial environment, different creeds and colours.

Everything from... Everyone from all under the sun is in Birmingham.

-OK, your point is what then?

-Belfast...

It's a bit sort of monocultural,

everyone's the same colour as everyone else.

Interesting. OK. Right, I'm going to prove a point.

-Follow me. Come on.

-OK.

Hang on, I'm just going to have one more cast before.

# I want to thank you for the day and nights

# I want to thank you for the breath of life

# Without you, I'd be lost That's because

# That's because you are my friend. #

It was clear that if Adrian was to be convinced about the friendliness

of Northern Ireland, then he would have to hear it from someone who had

chosen here over their own homeland.

Luckily, I knew just the lady.

-Hello!

-Hello! Wendy!

-Hiya.

-Nice to see you. Hi.

-Nice to meet you.

-Christine.

-Hiya.

-Adrian.

-Nice to meet you.

-Nice to see you.

-How are you doing? Are you all right?

-Good, thank you.

-Oh, smell the spices.

-That's a funny accent you've got,

-that's not a...

-It's a Brummie accent.

Is it? Oh, it's beautiful.

-Give me a hug, come on, come on.

-Fellow Brummie!

Let's hug it out, love it.

This is getting better and better all the time!

I knew you'd fall in love with Wendy.

Oh, it's multiracial and there's even Brummies here as well!

Fantastic.

I wanted Wendy to tell us what the special ingredients were

that made her choose Northern Ireland as her home.

In return, however, she was making us prepare our own lunch.

Well, I say WE.

I'm actually rolling my sleeves up now.

-OK, that's good.

-Very professional.

So, you're going to do a breadfruit and plantain jerk.

-We need a scallion.

-Yeah.

-Or half the scallion.

A lot of people don't realise this, but he's actually a very good cook.

-Ah!

-Yeah, yeah, yeah. Which is why I'm letting him do

all the chopping here, I'm just going to happily watch

-the two of you.

-Everything into here. OK.

So how does a nice Brummie like you end up in a place like this, then?

-How did that happen then?

-Erm, it was a man, really, to be honest.

-Was it?

-Yeah, it was a man, yeah.

-What, a Belfast man?

-Belfast man, yeah.

I was actually leaving Ireland and I gate-crashed a party.

The party happened to be my now husband's.

-Oh!

-Yes.

-I don't know how much of this I can tell...

-Go on.

..without getting into trouble!

Well, that might have been the reason Wendy stayed,

but it's also interesting to hear how she found living in a city,

which, at the time, wasn't exactly known for its multiculturalism.

So, how many black people were there in Belfast when you came?

-I knew one other person.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Were they stopping the traffic to look at you?

-Yeah.

-Really?

All the time and then...

I remember one day, I'd gone for coffee in the city centre

and somebody stood up, they were being really nice, and said,

"Welcome, welcome to our country, your English is amazing."

And I just burst into hysterical laughter

because they were being lovely, but it was just...

They just didn't expect me to speak English.

But, ultimately, it's the friendliness

of the Northern Irish people that's kept Wendy here.

Although, she has a more interesting take on it.

I found people were very friendly because they're nosy as well!

-Are they?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Very nosy.

-Ah, that's very...

-We hadn't got to this, interesting.

-Yeah.

-So, friendliness...

-Yeah.

-..grows out of nosiness?

-I think so.

I hadn't thought about that.

That's an interesting point of view, that, isn't it?

And I did have friends, I did make friends,

because my husband's incredibly friendly and has loads of friends.

But it takes a while to get deeper, I think, definitely.

So, friendly at first, stroke nosy...

-Yeah.

-But then you've got to work at friendships like everywhere else.

Yeah, definitely. Yeah.

In the years since settling here, Wendy made a living

in her adopted city by setting up Northern Ireland's

only Caribbean cafe.

And by the smell of this kitchen,

it's not difficult to know why her food makes her loads of new friends.

What would people most ask for off the menu?

Corn fritters, definitely.

Have you made your millionth corn fritter yet?

Uh, I think I'm probably on my second millionth corn fritter,

to be honest!

Well, food like that's going to put lead

in everyone's pencil, isn't it?

But the true test is in how the grub tastes.

This is unlike a flavour I've ever had before.

-Really?

-I've had lots of things, but it's fantastic.

I could eat my body weight in that.

-You've moved around a bit.

-I have.

The big question is this - where is the friendliest place?

In a friendliness league table,

where does Belfast and Northern Ireland feature?

Like, you could go to Birmingham as somebody just visiting and not many

people speak to you, whereas if you came out of the bus station here,

people go, "Oh, hiya! How are you?"

People automatically say hello to you.

So, I think on that scale,

I would definitely say Northern Ireland is friendlier that way.

-Yeah.

-Right.

-I'll take that.

I'll be speaking to the Mayor of Birmingham.

No, I'm just saying, you'll not be welcomed back.

You stay where you are, Wendy. You're very welcome to stay put.

As our first day neared an end,

I felt I'd dished up solid proof of our friendliness.

But I had one last tale I wanted Adrian to hear from two friends

who share an incredible bond.

In 2014, Mark Boyce donated one of his kidneys to friend Justin Weir.

Without it, Justin faced a life of gruelling dialysis

and deteriorating health.

Their story is proof of the life-saving power of friendship.

-Thanks for having us here.

-No problem, thank you.

You've got an incredible story.

I sense Justin's the kind of guy who doesn't moan about how ill he is,

so did you know how ill he was, Mark, had you figured that out?

When we first sort of met, I knew he was sick.

Judith had told me a few times that he was unwell,

but I suppose I didn't really understand

the full extent of how unwell he was.

It's when we started to become more friendly

and went out for meals and things that a few times we had to cancel,

a few times we were sitting at the table

and had to leave the restaurant because he was so unwell,

that it dawned on me just how severe this condition was.

It wasn't something that you could, you know,

live with and tolerate.

In 2013, Justin made three trips to hospital for a possible transplant,

only to have his hopes dashed every time.

It was then when Justin and his wife Sharon were over for dinner

one Saturday night, Mark decided to make the ultimate sacrifice.

You could see they were both mentally and physically exhausted

with what they were going through.

Justin was away in the toilet actually being sick

at the time and Sharon had said that, you know,

she was just fed up with it and she had said that she had went

and been tested, and that's sort of when it dawned on me that, really,

this is something that I could do.

I'd said to Judith that night, I said,

"Look, this is what I'm thinking about."

She said, "I could see it in you that you wanted to do something."

We actually sat down with our daughter who was four at the time.

That's a hell of a discussion to have with a four-year-old.

Did you...? "Look, we've got to switch CBeebies off.

"We need to talk to you about something"?

I mean, could she get her head round it?

The way I put it to her was that Daddy has a way

that he could potentially help Justin and stop him being sick.

I said, "Do you think that's a good thing to do?"

And she just looked at me and she said,

"Daddy, that's the kind thing to do."

So, for me, it was that, it was stripping away all my concerns.

It's not a completely straightforward decision

because I suppose you could then start thinking,

"Well, what if one of my kids needs a kidney one day?"

Which would be extraordinarily bad luck.

Nevertheless, did you think that?

I suppose I could have said,

"Well, what if I don't give Justin a kidney

"and he dies in two years and I live to 95

"with two perfectly functioning kidneys

"and never have to give one away?" For me, it was,

"What if I don't give it to him and what if I lose him as a friend?"

And tell us about the moment you called him to say,

"Justin, I've got a bit of news for you."

Well, it was that Saturday night I listened to Sharon and found out

it was in the Belfast City Hospital, that it was a few blood tests.

And it was just when I was sitting there at that time,

I thought to myself, "I'm just going to let him know what I'm thinking."

So, I sent him a quick text just saying,

"Some view out of the 11th floor!"

And Justin said, "Well, where are you?"

And then at that stage I said to him,

"I've looked at becoming a donor for you."

And all of a sudden, the phone just went quiet,

then I got a couple of muttered thank yous.

Sharon came on the phone and, again, she was just,

obviously emotionally charged and she was saying thank you as well.

It was just an amazing feeling, just, you know,

-to be able to do that.

-That is friendship.

Can you describe your feelings at that moment?

Yeah, I suppose stunned.

The best word I could use is stunned.

But very, very thankful.

Justin and Mark went under the surgeon's knife in 2014

and the kidney transplant was a complete success.

Justin's life was transformed, but more than that,

their friendship has gone from strength to strength.

How does it feel now, Justin, to look at your best mate,

who you've known for all these years,

and to know that a part of him is keeping you alive?

It's something I don't forget.

You know, daily, I know Mark's kidney has given me

this quality of life that I have now, you know, and the freedom.

And your family's life, like everyone around you,

it's not just you any more, isn't it, it's...?

It's not just me, it's affected everybody.

So what would you say to anyone sort of agonising over it?

All I could say, I've never...

It's a 100% positive experience for me.

We've went mountain climbing together,

we've trained together since the operation and that, for me,

is reward 1,000 times over.

So I would promote anyone to go if you've anyone that you can help.

All of which leaves just one obvious question.

Well, obvious for Adrian, that is!

-If he asked you to borrow your car...

-Yeah.

Or for... You know, "I need to borrow

-"a couple of grand or something..."

-Yeah.

It's slightly awkward for you to say no, isn't it?

I mean, is that...? "Now, come on.

"Come on, you've got my kidney, now let me borrow your car",

or something? "Or lend me your golf clubs, or..."

I've never thought of that, I might cash in.

-You never thought of it?

-No.

You're too nice for this world, you are.

-It'd be the first thing on my mind.

-That says everything, doesn't it?

It's an exchange, it's not a gift, it's an exchange.

Mark and Justin's inspiring story had brought the first part

of our friendship journey to an emotional end

and I really felt like I was getting somewhere.

# In the winter, springtime and fall

# In the summertime

# I call you a friend for all seasons. #

So, first day, what are your thoughts?

Fair play, I concede, a good solid start.

You are convincing me, but I think we need to dig deeper.

OK. What, maybe get sort of out into the countryside, see a bit of that?

-Exactly, into the country.

-I'll prove a point then, OK.

Good, we'll do that. That sounds great.

In the meantime, I am knackered.

Ladies, can you look after him tonight?

-No problem.

-Thanks very much. Thanks.

Ah, fantastic. Where's your badge?

-My badge is still in the hotel room, waiting on you coming.

-Really?

-I was with Nan, actually, last night.

-Oh!

I wondered where Nan had went to!