Connie let's go and dances

Jan 4 2013 by Lorraine Howard, Irvine Herald

This is a picture my friend Connie Degnan in the States emailed to me.

Connie is one of the coolest women on the planet and spends her retirement travelling the world with husband John, equally cool, following band Pearl Jam.

I love this photo as she is clearly just enjoying letting herself go and I smile at the people who have cleared her space to do so, she’s a star.

And I love the way the people round about her have cleared a space to let her shake her thang.

She is genuinely one of the kindest and coolest women I have ever met.

We met two years ago in a queue in Belfast waiting to get into a Pearl Jam gig.

We clicked instantly and Connie and her husband John who have seen the band over 50 times, were true veteran gig-goers.

We were reunited in Wulheide, Germany and ourfriendship grew, both Connie and myself are vertically challenged so we made sure we made it to the barriers at the gigs to see singer Eddie Vedder up close.

And last year, when I went to New York to see Eddie Vedder play, I made a special visit to their home to spend a few hours catching up and eating some of her fantastic cooking.

I saw them in Berlin this year and it makes my heart sing every time I receive an email from this couple.

They truly are the coolest people on the planet and as much as I love the music, being reunited with friends like Connie and John make the travelleing and the queuing worthwhile.