Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes

A writer with a passion for bonsai. Image courtesy of Jaye Marie

I have never had many friends. Well, not until now, that is.

I moved around a lot as I was growing up, never staying in one place for long and I suppose I got into the habit of always being alone. Most of the time I preferred it to the company of the people I met.

This sounds awful I know, but not something I could do much about really. You tend to develop a thick skin when thrown headlong into the welfare system, something that did its best to render me unapproachable.

Consequently, as an adult, I always found it hard to cultivate any lasting relationships. Not one, but two marriages failed spectacularly, mainly because I was a poor judge of character. I always thought this was because my disastrous childhood had damaged me, but maybe it…