‘Found her at the bus stop by Lipton’s, I did,’ said Gareth, with a hero’s grin. ‘Bit hit and miss gettin’ here, like. Probably got a few points on my licence, but it’ll be worth it.’

‘Well, good God!’ declared Huw.

‘Cheers, Gareth,’ said Judith quietly, standing there in awkward gratitude as Lana planted a massive kiss on Gareth’s beaming face.

‘Haven’t I just got the best boyfriend in the world?’ she said.

‘Gate Twenty-Three!’ shouted Liz hysterically, who’d been watching the departures board like a hawk. ‘Gate Twenty-Three! Come on! Go you!’

Judith and Lana screamed with excitement and grabbed their bags. Catrin, seemingly stunned that they were actually, finally leaving, hurriedly hugged her parents and followed her two best friends as they made their way towards the gates. They’d not gone far when Catrin stopped in her tracks. Lana and Judith had gone several steps before they noticed. ‘What’s up?’ Lana called back.

‘I can’t do it,’ whispered Catrin, her voice drowned out by the airport noise.

‘What you on about?’ asked Judith, ducking out of the way of oncoming passengers.

‘I just … I’m homesick already. You two are braver than me.’

‘Bollocks we are,’ said Lana. ‘You’re much better travelled than me an’ her. You’ve been to Majorca!’

‘And Yugoslavia,’ added Judith, who’d made no secret of the fact that she’d always envied Catrin’s family holidays.

‘Furthest us two have been is that crappy youth-club trip to Belgium,’ said Lana.

‘And Bristol Zoo, to be fair,’ said Judith with a wry smile, and Catrin managed to smile back.

Final Call for passengers Harris, Kelly and Lloyd booked on to flight AF369 to Athens, came a tinny, nasal announcement over the PA system. Please make your way immediately to Gate Twenty-Three, where boarding is about to close.

All three ignored it.

‘Aw Cat! Come here,’ said Judith. ‘Lana! Group hug, come on!’ And the three of them huddled together amidst the throng of holidaymakers. ‘We are going to have the best time, OK?’

‘Yes, she’s right,’ said Lana.

‘Sorry,’ sniffled Catrin. ‘I’m being silly, I know …’ and a sob caught in her throat; she felt like a tired four-year-old.

‘OK, so you know what we need to do?’ asked Lana, a wicked smile in her eyes.

‘No, Lana,’ said Judith, laughing. ‘We are not singing the song. Not here!’

Catrin started laughing through her teariness. ‘We’ve got to get on the plane!’

‘Not before we sing the song. You know you want to,’ said Lana. ‘It always works!’

Back in 1973, when the girls first met in Mrs John’s class, Catrin’s father had invented a silly song, which he’d sing to the tune of ‘She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain’. Ever since then it had been their anthem. And as they stood, arms around each other’s shoulders in a group hug, the trio of best friends – two of them reluctantly at first – launched into their well-worn theme tune.

Catrin Kelly, Judith Harris, Lana Lloyd!

Fell into a muddy ditch and got annoyed

All their clothes they were a-smellin’

So they went back to Coed Celyn

Catrin Kelly, Judith Harris, Lana Lloyd!