Freshers Blog Tour - Best Friends

I am so happy to be hosting Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison for today's stop on the Fresher's blog tour. This book has meant so much to me, even though it is a very different look at University Life than I had, because it brought back so many memories of my own experience during Fresher's Week.

I had the best experience in Fresher's week and the memories are still strong even though it's getting to be quite some years ago now. But Fresher's week was the time when I met my best friend Katrina. She was alone and I was spending most of my time that week inviting people who looked lonely to join our group so they weren't left out.

Kat was the only friend who really stuck with me, but we spent the rest of our time at Uni stuck at the hip and I still see her all the time. I really know how my life would have gone if I didn't have Kat for a best friend.

Because of this, I've asked Tom and Lucy to talk about their fabulous friendship for their piece and how they've kept it so strong for so many years, especially after dating for a time(which is often the end of friendships, no matter how firm).

Probably the question we get the asked the most, regardless of what book we are promoting or who we are talking to, is ‘isn’t it weird to write a book with your ex?’ For everyone else it is definitely weird, it must be or we wouldn’t get asked about it so much. But it to us it doesn’t feel strange at all. We have known each other for almost twenty years. We’ve been to school together, been to uni together, lived through our twenties side by side and now into our thirties. In Freshers, there is a line where Phoebe says that she doesn’t have that many memories before she knew Luke Taylor, and in a way, that is true of us too. We were once interviewed by some young people in Holland and one of them asked Lucy what she thought of Tom. Lucy just stayed (quite awkwardly) quiet for a bit and then said she had ‘no idea’. The blogger thought it was a simple question – and it is. But the thing is in the same way you don’t consciously think about your elbow, we just don’t really think about each other that way. Your elbow is just always there and always has been and that is kind of how we are with each other. Sometimes we row, especially about timekeeping and Tom being miserable and Lucy not understanding the basic principles of English grammar and sometimes we laugh for ages but we are such a constant in each other’s lives that it just isn’t something to note. A lot of the time when we go for walks to think about plot or things about a book we are struggling with, we don’t really talk at all, sometimes for ages. 

We were friends before we went out – proper, actual mates. And when we decided to get together, we almost didn’t because we were so nervous about ruining our friendship. So we made a solemn vow in Tom’s parent’s kitchen that whatever happened between us, we would stay friends. And we have. Just because you realise that you aren’t right together in a relationship, doesn’t mean that you aren’t right to be loyal and supportive and there for each other for the rest of your lives. When you have shared as much as we have, it seems ridiculous to do anything else…

Before I go, I'd like to thank Tom and Lucy for writing such a lovely piece for me, Nina Douglas for inviting me to be a stop on the tour and you guys for reading. I hope you enjoy the rest of the tour!