Bad bad Ray Ray Brown

I have been tap tapping away on here for the last two months, and it has suddenly dawned on me that I haven't told you about my other, other half. I have a boyfriend, as I'm sure you will have all have guessed by now, but I also have a girlfriend, who has been in my life since I was 17 and probably knows me better than anyone.

I may have mentioned her once or twice before, but I thought it was about time I shared with you all the joys of having her around. Her name is Ray, she is 20, and she is a 2nd year Media and Communications student at Birmingham City University, specialising in PR. We met way back at Sixth Form, and I haven't been able to get rid of her since!

When I first met Ray, she was a nice, quiet girl, a bit of a geek perhaps, but sweet enough all the same. Then I got her a job as a glass collector at the pub I used to work at in Coleshill, and lets just say it went downhill from there! I think her mother has always believed I corrupted her or something, but I like to think that she was always just waiting for someone to corrupt her.

Ray is loud, vibrant, a laugh-a-minute and a truly loyal friend. She is hard working, career driven and a great shoulder to cry on in hard times. Yes, she is also somewhat temperamental, demanding, a tad ditsy to say the least and she really does have bad taste in men, but when you've known each other like we have, all those little misdemeanors seem to be somehow irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

We have been through everything together; break ups, make ups, fallings out, drunken nights, brilliant nights, whirlwind romances, long term relationships, trips away, trips to the shops, tears, laughter and all the other stuff in between.

We are the founders of the best night out around, otherwise known as Cheeky Thursdays (which several of the images on this page have come from), and we love nothing more than getting all dolled up and heading out for a few swift glasses of wine. She is my partner in crime, but she has much better morals than me, if I'm honest!

We have that kind of friendship where we only have to look at each other to know what the other one is thinking. We're brutally honest with each other, sometimes to the point of being down right rude, but that's just how things are with us - and we both appreciate the fact that this is definitely a no-holes-barred relationship.

When I needed her this year, she really came through for me, and has stuck it out through all the hardship we've encountered this past 12 months. I wouldn't call her my rock, as I like to think of myself as a boulder on my own any way, but she's certainly the best thing I have ever worked for in all my years. So here's a New Years toast to you Ray, the best friend I have ever had. May 2011 be as enjoyable for you, as you are for me.