‘And you’re perfect, are you?’ Jenny asked.
‘Yes. Always right, too,’ said Katie with a grin.
I glanced over at Jo and Ally. Jo raised an eyebrow back at me in recognition.
‘Jenny has a huge family,’ said Bridget.
‘Eighteen when we’re all together,’ said Jenny. ‘That was never going to work if we’d bought a house together and I had family over.’
‘And Bridget’s a mad cat-lady whereas I like dogs,’ said Gabrielle.
‘So yes, we had our differences, but we wanted to be close, there to support each other,’ said Katie.
‘Have company if we were feeling lonely,’ added Gabrielle.
‘So we came up with the idea of buying in the same village,’ said Katie. ‘It took a while, a number of years while we waited for the right properties to come up, and then we had to sell our previous places …’
‘This village was perfect, close to a city but far enough away to be quiet,’ said Jenny. ‘We were on a local walk about eight years ago when Katie spotted this house. She was first to move, then I came the following year.’
‘I sold my house in Wales but nothing came up here so I moved in with Bridget,’ said Gabrielle, ‘and we waited until something we liked near here came on to the market. It took over a year.’
‘Year of hell,’ said Bridget.
‘And voilà, here we all are, within five minutes’ walk of each other. Independence maintained, company when we need it. And the village has everything we need – a pub, a vet, a local shop …’
‘A doctor’s surgery, a good bus service into Bath,’ said Katie.
‘A field full of llamas down the road,’ said Bridget. ‘Not ours, but we do like to go and look at them.’
‘It’s peaceful,’ said Jenny. ‘Wonderful views and walks.’
‘What about at night?’ Ally asked. ‘Don’t you miss someone being in the house then?’
‘Part of the reason we chose this village is that the houses aren’t isolated, the neighbours are a call away,’ said Gabrielle. ‘And I have my dog.’
‘Who sleeps on the bed with her,’ said Jenny and pulled a face. ‘Ew.’
‘We all have pets for extra company and friendship,’ said Bridget. ‘You’ll meet them all later.’
‘And we keep our phones close to our bed,’ said Katie. ‘If any one of us feared an intruder, one call and The Bonnets would be here en masse armed with—’
‘Spades and baseball bats,’ said Bridget, ‘and actually Gabrielle and I live right next door to each other and we have one interconnecting door upstairs.’
‘We see each other pretty well every day. Monday, we do a cookery class at Jenny’s – she has the biggest kitchen – then eat what we’ve made for lunch. Tuesday we walk – there are so many lovely places near here.’
‘Wednesday morning we do art,’ said Gabrielle. ‘Katie and Jenny are quite good. Bridget and I are rubbish.’
‘Thursday is Pilates,’ said Jenny. ‘Saturday we do yoga and once a month we have a film night.
‘And a book club once a month,’ Bridget added.
‘Wine tasting most nights,’ said Katie. ‘At least, that’s what I call it.’
‘I call it hitting the bottle,’ said Bridget.
‘And we plan theatre outings, garden visits, attend lectures and tours. We get together once a month with all the “what’s on” magazines and book up what we want to see or where we want to go.’
‘Sounds idyllic,’ said Ally.
‘It is,’ said Katie. ‘I couldn’t ask for more, like our own tailored retirement community where we get to choose the other residents.’
‘And Rebecca? Why did she leave?’
‘She’s always loved the sunnier climates,’ said Katie, ‘so after a few years here, she chose to move away, but she still has a cottage here. She rented it out so that she didn’t burn her bridges in case she ever wants to come back.’
‘Which I am sure she will in time,’ said Jenny. ‘You need friends around you as you get older. We’re throwing her a huge party – of course she couldn’t resist and was persuaded to travel back for it. Our parties are legendary.’
‘Yes, we’re planning a humdinger this time. Anyhow, would you like a tour?’ asked Gabrielle.
Ajay nodded, and soon we were being escorted around the various houses. Gabrielle’s cottage was like her, elegant and tastefully decorated in pale pastels. Even her dog was elegant – a silver-grey whippet called Lola. Bridget’s home was similar to Jo’s, a colourful, cosy space with riot of artifacts and artwork on every wall. There we met Maisie, a tabby Maine Coon and a silver-grey Norwegian Forest cat called Barney. Both big animals that were clearly adored by their owner.
Jenny lived in a lovely manor house around the corner. Her pet was a moggie called Sam. ‘He just appeared at the back door one day about four years ago, looking thin and hungry, and he’s stayed ever since. I bought this place because as well as being near my friends, I needed spare rooms for when the family descends – which is often,’ she said as she showed us around what appeared to be the perfect country residence, with ancient flagstone tiles and wood panelling in the hall leading to a light sitting room with French doors opening onto a courtyard garden.
‘I know the feeling,’ said Jo. ‘My lot moved away, then years later, they all came back.’
*
Seeing The Bonnets’ homes and animals gave me an idea. Once Ally and Jo were settled back at the hotel where we were staying for the night, I went back with Ajay to talk to The Bonnets about their pets as friends. We could use their comments and enthusiasm about their cats and dogs as part of the programme about pets.
Overall, their living situation was inspirational and gave me food for thought. It was obvious that they all looked out for each other and lived full and happy lives. Maybe not yet, but sometime, Ally and Jo might be up for something similar. Like The Bonnets, it was clear that it wouldn’t work if we lived under one roof, but several
