A little site about friendship
Here's to your mates
The ones who know your tea order, answer at 2am and still bring up that thing you did in 2009. This is a site all about them: how to spot a good one, how to be one, and how to keep them when life gets busy.
What mates do for each other
From lending a jumper to lending a sofa for three weeks: the everyday, unglamorous things that make a friendship.
Have a look →Signs of true friendship
How to tell a proper friend from a fair-weather one, plus a few gentle red flags worth noticing.
Have a look →Things only a best mate would do
Knowing your "I'm fine" isn't fine. Holding your hair back. Our listicle of funny and heartfelt best-mate behaviour.
Have a look →How well do you know your best mate?
Fill in the answers about your mate, send them the link, and let them mark you. No pressure. Well, a bit of pressure.
Have a look →Keeping friendships alive
Jobs, kids, moving away, loneliness. Practical ways to stay close as an adult, and where to find support in the UK.
Have a look →Friendship ideas
Days out, gifts, gestures and tiny thoughtful things for when you want to show a mate they matter.
Have a look →Why friendship deserves a whole website
We make a lot of fuss about romance. There are films, songs, a whole day in February and an industry of cards. Friendship tends to get less airtime, even though for most of us our mates are there for longer than almost anyone else. They were there before the partner, they will probably outlast the job, and they are often the first people we text when something good, bad or ridiculous happens.
Friendship is also a bit of a skill. Nobody hands you a manual when you leave school and your friends are no longer sat next to you every day. Suddenly keeping a mate means effort: remembering to text, organising the thing, turning up. Some friendships drift, and that is normal. Others are worth fighting for, and a surprising number can be rescued with one slightly awkward "been thinking about you, fancy a pint?"
A good mate won't remember every word you said. They'll remember how you made them feel, and whether you turned up.
So this site is part celebration, part gentle nudge. Have a laugh at the things only a best mate would know, test yourself with the best mate quiz, and then maybe do one small thing from our ideas page this week.
Take the best mate quiz
Twelve questions about your mate. You answer, then send them a link so they can mark you. Find out if you are a "proper best mate" or merely "someone who's met them at a barbecue".
Five-minute friendship wins
- Send a photo that reminded you of them, with no other agenda.
- Put a date in the diary now, rather than saying "we must catch up" for the fourth time.
- Reply to that voice note you have been "saving for when you have time".
- Tell them one specific thing you appreciate about them. It feels cheesy. Do it anyway.
- Ask a real question: "how are you actually doing?" and leave space for the answer.