[Sundae]

I've seen it too, Ali.
When Breda died, Mum was there with a lot of practical support. There were other people Mum had never met who came to weep and wail.
I'm not including the family - she'd met all those based in England, and she acknowledged that those coming over from Ireland were further inside the circle than she was.

But she saw Breda at least once a week when she was well and happy.
They were ex-neighbours for years, went to the same church and did live in eachother's pockets. Breda was my niece's Godmother.
Some of the "old" friends who came from London had never even featured in conversation.
I think Mum would have been more accepting if they'd also offered practical help. Instead she used to come home very cross, because of all the people "crowding her and tiring her out", not one of them had thought to take a cloth to the kitchen sink or hoover the stairs.

Perhaps it was her familiarity with the house; but it's probably just Mum.
She thinks nothing of bringing other people's houses up to what she considers a bearable standard.