Four fab friends

Let me introduce you to Judy and Frank Solomon, and Margaret and Trevor Bond: firm friends and a fab four!

They first met at Auckland Teachers Training College; fresh faced and keen to find their way in the world. As new friends, and eventual graduates, they commenced jobs at a range of South Auckland schools.

Fast forward three years to their weddings, yes ‘plural,’ and yes - timed just six months apart! Cast your eyes to the 1970’s wedding party photo, with Judy as Margaret’s bridesmaid, Trevor the groom with Frank alongside (and Margaret’s sister, Jeanette).

The couples’ life milestones continued to intertwine, with Judy and Margaret both ending up in the same maternity ward on the same week; Judy giving birth to their second daughter and Margaret to their son.

They haven’t always been in each other’s pockets. For Trevor and Margaret, there was a period of overseas living in Taiwan, which meant a few decades where the foursome was limited to keeping connected via phone calls and letter writing.

Just a few years ago, Margaret and Trevor decided to move into the brand-new village in East Auckland, ‘Fairway Gardens.’ Without a ‘friends-group announcement’ about their change of lifestyle choice, they picked out their favourite apartment and put a down payment on it. They then invited Judy and Frank for a casual coffee at the café across the road, which quickly morphed into a tour of their new digs.

You know what’s coming next? Lo and behold, Frank and Judy took the plunge too, picking a village apartment just 200 metres away. Close enough for G&Ts at sunset, with a great view of the golf course!

So, what’s the secret sauce to this lifelong foursome friendship? “We sing together, we have a very similar life outlook, and we sometimes say something stupid and laugh until we cry!”

Frank adds, “We also loved that when we moved into Fairway Gardens we already had two good friends, and now we have heaps more.” Judy says, “I claimed I was never going to move into a retirement village, but now I see the value of moving in early enough to enjoy the benefits. It’s taken all the mundane stuff off our hands, like fixing stuff around the house and all the bills that went with it.”

To round out this tale each volunteered a word to sum up their current life circumstances - Frank “hononga” (te reo for connections), Judy “whānau” (te reo for family), Margaret “destiny,” and Trevor “love!”