In and out of Africa: a tale of two NI women’s friendship

The Belfast woman spent three years in Johannesburg and played a big part in helping an old school friend move south of the equator.

Having returned home to NI, it is through her friendship with Laura Greer that Lilian has never lost touch with the country close to her heart.

Lilian said the women are better friends now, living more than 8,000 miles apart, than they were at school together at all girls school Ashleigh House, now Hunterhouse College.

She explained how she came to be reunited with Laura after leaving school: “We’d lost touch and years later I ended up working with someone who also knew Laura.

“This mutual friend Sharon had said that Laura was thinking of emigrating to South Africa.

“I’d already been out in 1991, so I met up with Laura and put her mind at ease, telling her she’d have such a big adventure if she does decide to go. She went out then (in 1993) and has been living there ever since.”

Lilian returned to South Africa herself in 1995 to make the most of a three-year career break: “That had been my lifelong dream from when I was in primary school. I always wanted to see what it was like to live in a hot country.”

Lilian, who is a single parent, moved to Johannesburg with her daughter Angela: “That’s when my friendship with Laura really solidified. She was always there for me. I’d my family as well (Lilian had relatives who lived in Roodepoort and Klerksdorp) but it was nice to have a friend to rely on, to have a chat with.”

She commented: “I lived there from 1995 to 1998. It was a career break so I was always going to come home.

“Things weren’t as good as they could have been out in South Africa. I had the opportunity to come back to a job after a career break so it made sense to come home.”

Referring to paramilitary ceasefires in the lead up to the Good Friday Agreement, Lilian said: “Big changes were happening in Northern Ireland when I was away. We saw all that on the TV.

“When I went out to South Africa it was changing too. Nelson Mandela had become president – that was all new and exciting times for South Africa, but I knew things would get worse before they got better.

“It’s a beautiful country, but not without its problems.”

That hasn’t stopped Lilian from returning regularly. Her most recent visit in January last year was with her daughter, son-in-law Stevie, and five grandchildren.

She said: “It was a big family dream trip. The kids loved it, even a couple of them want to go and live there.

“We went on safari and to Gold Reef city, it’s the South African version of Disneyland.

“Whenever I go over I always meet up with Laura. She would have the eight of us staying over.

“We stay in touch on Whatsapp and now and again we’d do facetime.

“It’s nice to keep up to date with Laura and also keeps me close to South Africa.”

The story of Lilian and Laura’s friendship across two continents has featured on RTE food and travel show Tastes Like Home with Catherine Fulvio.

The pair first appeared on the show back in 2017 with presenter Catherine visiting Lilian in Belfast and Laura in Johannesburg.

Then during lockdown the programme, which looks at the foods people most miss when the move away from home, caught up with the friends via Zoom for an update during which Lilian cooked up Laura’s favourite taste of home – lamb shanks with colcannon.

The episode is available on the RTE Player.

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