My neighbour, Aislynn.
A tale of how I became friends with the myth, the legend, the woman herself.
Aislynn is many things to many people. Like many 84-year-old women, she’s a loving mother and grandmother. To me, she’s a trusted advisor, confidant and dear friend, but she’s also my neighbour.
Ais and I met one week after I moved into Dover Road in July 2021. We introduced ourselves in the hallway and exchanged the usual new neighbour pleasantries. Later that evening, however, I opened my door to find a gift bag with a box of brownies, a block of chocolate and a handwritten card from Ais welcoming me to Dover Road. This was the beginning of our friendship.
Aislynn’s welcome note to me
Our front doors (not sure we could get much closer)
What proceeded was a series of back-and-forth notes. I baked the brownies and dropped some at her door. She thanked me and told me how yum they were. I told her to knock on my door if she ever needed anything. She knocked a few days later and invited me for a margarita in the garden. I, of course, accepted.
At the time, Sydney had just begun its four-month lockdown, I was going through a break-up and both Aislynn and I couldn’t see our families or have friends over. Because we live alone, however, we decided to become lockdown buddies!
Margaritas in the garden soon evolved into Friday night fancy dress dinner parties, movie nights and afternoons listening to jazz together. Ais would show me old photos, tell stories and cook amazing traditional Indian and Israeli meals. We’d play scrabble, drink wine and try different homemade cocktails together. She was the ultimate cure to a freshly broken-hearted girl and a godsend during lockdown.
Our friendship only blossomed further when lockdown finished. Since then I’ve met a large number of her friends, we go out for dinners, go to the beach and of course, we still love a drink in the garden from time to time. We drop avocados, blueberries or tomatoes at each other’s door when we find a good deal and she lets me borrow earrings from her exquisite collection. As I am writing this, I’ve just come home from having a cup of chai tea with her.
At 84 years old, Ais is living life to the absolute fullest. She does pilates four times a week, she has such a positive outlook on life, she has a beautiful family who she speaks to every day either on the phone or in their WhatsApp group and she has more friends than you and I combined.
She listens to jazz on her Spotify account and blasts it through her UE Boom speaker and she’s also full of great Netflix recommendations. She’s unlike any other 84-year-old woman I’ve ever met and I’ve not even come close to listing all of the wonderful things about her.
Knowing Ais is honestly a gift, and I’m so grateful that she walked into my life. Now, let me write her into yours!
TBC x
