Name: Lesley Addlem
When and where: Saturday, February 13th, 2016 at Pasta Beach, Newport, RI
Beverage: wine
Last time we met in person: we went out for breakfast in January
Friends on Facebook: since September 2009
Friends in real life: since I moved to Newport in July 2001.

Lesley was one of my first friends in Newport. A couple of years before we met, Chris bought our boat Folly from her late husband Mark, and they became good friends as they worked on the boat together. Lesley moved to Newport from Australia, so she was the one person I met early on who really understood how it felt to leave your home thousands of miles behind. One Sunday, just a couple of weeks after I’d moved here from England, I was feeling especially homesick. Chris and I had yet to find a place to live: we’d been housesitting but that house had just been put on the market, so we were staying back at his parents’ house while they were away on vacation. Chris was working on the harbor, and so I was all alone for the afternoon in this strange town. I think I’d walked down to the harbor to visit Chris at work, and I trudged back to the empty house feeling very lonely and rather sorry for myself. I opened the door to find a note from Lesley and a little bag containing some English chocolate bars she’d got me from the international aisle at Stop & Shop. This little act of kindness couldn’t have come at a better time, and I’ll never forget it.

We used to go out on regular shopping expeditions (like me, she loves a bargain) but haven’t seen so much of each other in recent years. We’ve attended a few concerts together lately and actually got together for breakfast last month, which would have totally counted for this project had I remembered to take a photo. (I’ve missed quite a few opportunities this way.) On this particularly cold evening, we met for dinner  at Pasta Beach before going to see the Slambovian Circus of Dreams at Channing Church. Conversation covered many topics, including the ridiculously cold temperatures that night, cross-country skiing, flights, the laws regarding the trade of ivory, and international tax regulations.