LONG LOST FRIEND

In the late 1960's I was working as a young trainee stockbroker in the City. One day I wandered over to a colleague's office to suggest we went to lunch together. He was talking on the telephone to a client about Marks & Spencer shares. When he finished he casually remarked that his mother had worked in the Chairman's office of M&S. I told him that my mother had worked in the Managing Director's office as well. Not expecting any positive result we swapped our mothers maiden names. When I got home I asked my mother whether she ever knew somebody called Valerie ....... when she worked for M&S. My mother told me that Valerie had been her bridesmaid and a good friend with whom she had lost touch. After my father had died in 1958 she had tried to contact Valerie but she had married, moved away and she could find no trace of her, although she had tried on a number of occasions over the intervening years. As a result of a chance remark by a colleague of mine my mother was able to contact Valerie and, as far as I am aware, they remained in contact until my mother died a few years ago. I even went with my mother to visit Valerie at her home in Haywards Heath.