‘They did. They’re a bright bunch, and continue to be so. I can only pray that I have half their energy when I’m their age. Anyway, after that day, when they helped Katie move in, they began to call themselves The Bonnets of Bath and, as Bath is a Georgian city, they began to assume pseudo-names that fitted the period. Kate signed letters and emails as Lady Muck, Gabrielle became Lady Eyre, Rebecca was The Duchess, Bridget’s pseudo-name was Lady Bottom, and Jenny was simply known as Rosamund.’
‘I remember, they wrote in a sort of Jane Austen-style language. Some of the letters they featured on TV were hilarious.’
‘What’s interesting is how they live now. Most of them are still around the Bath area and, as they got older, they bought properties within five minutes of each other in the same village, so that they can watch over each other as they sail into their old age. They did toy with buying a big house and dividing it into apartments, but they felt that might cause problems because they all value their independence so highly.’
‘What a great idea.’ I felt a rush of excitement. If we could get these women, the programme would be, as Gary liked to say, ‘TV gold’. The Bonnets of Bath series had got millions of viewers; most of them would surely tune in to learn about the real Bonnets behind the fictional ones played by actresses. ‘I like the idea of doing something like The Bonnets did – old friends living nearby to each other.’
‘I read that it’s becoming more popular.’
‘You and Jo are lucky that you already have such good friends close by.’
Ally looked thoughtful. ‘Luck doesn’t come into it, Sara. Friendship is a two-way street and I’ve been there for my friends at times they needed me to be.’
I felt Ally was making a point about my prolonged absence, and it was fair enough. I deserved it. I looked her in the eye. ‘I’m sorry I wasn’t around more, I truly am,’ I told her. ‘I don’t know what I was thinking, and it was selfish of me but … I’d like to right that if you’ll let me.’
Ally reached over and put her hand over mine. ‘Of course, we go back a long way.’
I smiled. ‘We do and I really do value that – our history and our friendship. And all that’s happened recently has made me realize that I don’t want to be on my own when I’m old, I don’t want you to be alone either. I’m not talking about men. I don’t think I have it in me to have another long-term relationship.’
‘Me neither,’ said Ally. ‘No one could ever replace Michael.’
‘Of course not, and, at our age, no one comes without some baggage. Plus all that learning to be with someone, and getting to know their ways of doing things. I like my space. I like not having anyone to tell me what to do.’
‘Do you ever get lonely?’ Ally asked.
‘If I’m honest, I do, but I’m not sure a man is necessarily the answer. You can be lonely in a relationship, anyway, if it’s not right. Feeling lonely is what got me thinking about how important friends are, which led on to the idea about the series.’
‘It’s a good idea, Sara.’
‘It also made me think about Mitch. What was really going on in her life that she chose to cut herself off from us? I didn’t see it at the time but I have a feeling something happened. For me, it was losing Charles, Mum and Anita. My way of dealing with it was not to deal with it, if you know what I mean. I hid myself in work and made sure I was so busy that I wasn’t aware that I was lonely. I wonder now if Mitch had some sort of loss and that’s why she felt a need to escape from mainstream life.’
‘I’ve often wondered the same. Hopefully we can find her and ask.’
‘Do you think Katie and her friends would take part in the series? I can’t imagine that they haven’t been asked to do something like this before.’
‘They were asked before, but either the time wasn’t right or they were suspicious of how they would be represented but … it could be good for them now.’ For a moment, Ally looked sheepish.
‘What? I know that look, Ally. What are you up to?’
‘Well … Katie asked if I would help her put together a book of their correspondence.’
‘The Bonnets’ letters?’
‘Yes, their letters, and later their emails, plus a bit about them all in real life. The truth is, some of them need to earn some money – to travel, to do whatever it is they want to do, and to cover healthcare too, which is why I need the book to do well for them.’
‘Ah. I get it.’ I laughed. ‘You’re thinking that if The Bonnets featured on our TV programme, it would also help sales of their book.’
‘Exactly.’
‘Always the literary agent.’
Ally shrugged and laughed.
‘I’m pretty sure our producer Gary would go for it,’ I said. ‘We’d have a guaranteed audience because people already know of the group from the TV but, like me, most people thought the characters were pure fiction. But … the idea of our series is that the celebrity in each programme would be looking for an old friend they have lost touch with. If Katie was our chosen celebrity, who would she be looking for? Has she lost touch with one of the group?’
‘Yes, sort of. Rebecca. She took off to live in the Italian lakes and, as the rest of the group grew older and less inclined to travel, the
