Friends reunited after 60 years apart

A TRADITIONAL tea party served up a special surprise with the shock reunion of two childhood friends who lost contact more than 60 years ago.

In a further twist, Edith Richards from Ely Court in South Kilburn and Alice Rolfe from Clement Close in Brondesbury Park, discovered they lived just a mile away from each other, at the event organised by Brent Housing Partnership (BHP).

The pair grew up in Denmark Road, Kilburn, but lost contact in adulthood.

After more than six decades apart they bumped into each other at the event held for residents who have lived in BHP and council properties for more than 50 years.

A delighted Mrs Richards said: “I was so happy to be reunited with my old friend; it was unbelievable that we should bump into each other after all this time.

“When I saw her, all the memories of those years came flooding back to me. We had a nice chat about old times and will stay in touch this time”.

Mrs Rolfe said she recognised her fold friend immediately, she added: “I was overjoyed to see Edith, she still looks the same.

“We had a good catch up about all those years we hadn’t seen each other.

“It was a lovely occasion and so nice to meet lots of other residents who shared the same memories of the area and times gone by.”

The tea party was the brainchild of Kathy Ellison, chair of BHP’s Board, which came about after conducting weekly drop-in surgeries with residents across Brent.

The Mayor of Brent, Councillor Harbhajan Singh, also attended the party and spent the afternoon talking to all the residents and listening to their tales.

He said: “It has been an honour to be invited to this lovely occasion and I have also been living in Brent for a number of years.”