I was her nightmare neighbour — here’s how we became best friends

Jaque (L) and Trish (R) met in unusual circumstances (Picture: Supplied)

Amid a sea of streaming water and half-empty boxes, Trish Murray heard a loud thud on the front door, and her heart dropped.

Then a newly single mum to two girls, she’d just moved into a new apartment, and while moving day is always stressful, for Trish, the situation was about to go from bad to worse.

She tells Metro.co.uk: ‘It was a pretty hectic time, but I was excited to start a new chapter.

‘My daughters were joining a new school, and I’d found this fully furnished apartment for us, right on the beach.

‘When we finally moved in, there was stuff everywhere, and I didn’t know where anything was. I bought dinner, but couldn’t find the dinner plates!’

At 11pm, after her daughters, Jemma, then 10, and Imogen, nine, had gone to bed, Trish, who lives in Manly, Australia, put a load of washing on.

Jaque and Trish often have breaks away to the Australian wine regions (Picture: Supplied)

‘I thought I’d get ahead for the following day,’ she says. ‘How wrong I was!’

‘What I didn’t realise was that there was a part missing, so when the washing machine emptied, it did so all over the floor.

‘I didn’t notice until there was water gushing all over the kitchen. It was utter chaos!

‘And of course, I had no idea in which of my many boxes I’d packed all our towels and linen, so I didn’t even have anything to mop it up.’

And that’s when she heard the banging her front door. ‘I immediately knew it was going to be my downstairs neighbour,’ she says. ‘It wasn’t exactly how I wanted to introduce myself to them.

‘I flew open the door to find a man stood there, absolutely furious that water was coming through his ceiling – I was flooding his kitchen! Of course, I greeted him with a thousand apologies, but I was in a bit of a mess.

‘I later found out that a lot of work had been going on in the apartment I’d moved into – there had been tradespeople coming and going all hours of the day.

‘I think my neighbours expected to find a labourer inside – I wasn’t quite what they were expecting.’

So, rather than start an argument, her new neighbour leapt into action. ‘Next thing I knew, his top was off and he was off to get his own towels and sort the flood out,’ she says.

‘After that he disappeared, and I was left feeling pretty sheepish!’

The pair often party together (Picture: Supplied)

Hoping to put her mishap behind her, a few days later, it was the first day of school. ‘I’d got the girls ready in their brand new crispy uniforms,’ Trish says.

‘I stepped out of the building and there was a woman just in front of me, so I introduced myself.

‘That’s when she said: “I sent my husband up to you. He came back with no shirt on. I want my towels back!” She was laughing, but I was mortified!’

The woman in question was Jaque Bannerman, Trish’s downstairs neighbour and the wife of the man that had come to her rescue.

‘Not only had I ruined my neighbours’ kitchen, but she was a school mum too,’ remembers Trish. ‘Could it get any worse?’

But perhaps surprisingly, the women quickly hit it off.

‘She immediately took me under wing,’ says Trish. ‘She would keep me in the loop with all the goings on in the area, in the building and at the girls’ school.

‘Soon, we started going for coffees, and she introduced me to her other friends. Jaque very quickly became so much more than a neighbour.

‘Jaque’s Brazilian and doesn’t have any family here, while I also don’t have family in the area – she became my family.’

Fourteen years on from the washing machine disaster, Trish and Jaque are best friends.

Trish says: ‘Whenever Jaque is around, it’s a party. There’s music, dancing and the most delicious food. I feel sorry for anyone who hasn’t tried her Brazilian BBQ!

‘We’ve travelled across the world – our partners both ride motorbikes so every year we do a big trip – Jaque and I get driven around on the back of course!

‘We also go for weekends away in the wine regions in Australia, which is just an excuse to drink lots of wine.’

And no matter what’s going on in their lives, they always make time for each other. ‘Every Thursday, along with a group of other friends, we used to meet up at the same Thai restaurant.

‘The staff knew who we were and it was a great time to just catch up and connect. It’s lovely because our daughters became friends too.

‘Jaque and her husband always host a New Year’s party too, and we’ve spent Christmas morning together.’

And when it comes to a favourite memory, Trish has so many to choose from. ‘We always have so much fun,’ she laughs.

‘But I remember one year we’d gone to a music festival on the beach. It started to rain and the crowds scattered, but Jaque and I were just like: “We’re not leaving!”

‘We just kept dancing in the rain.’

Trish says there friendship involves food, fun and dancing (Picture: Supplied)

And, as well as happy times, Trish and Jaque, who are now in their early 50s, have been together for the tough times too. She says: ‘When my mum passed away last year, I just went into hibernation.

‘I didn’t want to see or speak to anybody. But she texted me to say that she’d sent me a box with a range of foods. It was so thoughtful of her. She literally fed me when I was at my lowest point. She’s the most generous, kind person.’

Now, while Trish has long since moved out of that apartment, the friends have always lived within walking distance of each other.

‘Every now and then, one of us might think about moving somewhere else, but I don’t think we’d ever want to leave! Our friendship anchors us.

‘I never expected to meet a best friend in the way that I did, but I hope our story teaches people to put yourself out there and grab opportunities life throws at you – you never know what might happen.’

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A flooding faux pas lead to 13 years of fun.