Amy and Inge 25 years of friends: “Because of her relationship with my cousin, we are also related”

By putting a word in the Wurdian word game every day, Amy De Vriend and Inge Rutgers know that the other is doing well. Once a week they drive together to their cabaret group where they practice for their performances. “Because of our chatter during the car ride, we sometimes miss the Sassenheim exit.”

Inge is a teacher at IKC Noordeinde, Amy is a remedial educationalist and incapacitated for work due to her health. Every day they text and keep each other informed. “If my Whatsapp messages don’t get a blue check mark quickly enough, I call immediately to ask if everything is going well,” says Inge.

From singing to cabaret

The two friends met at barbershop choir The Sweet Lake Harmony Singers in Zoetermeer. They sometimes met in a restaurant or cinema. When Inge signed up for a cabaret group, Amy decided to go with her. “We sing and write all the lyrics together,” says Amy. “Together with five friends we form the group 7eVen cabaret in Sassenheim. We travel all over the country with our performances and laugh a lot.”

We are family

A few years after her divorce in 2000, Amy saw a picture of Inge’s cousin Marc on Inge’s Facebook page. “A nice man with whom I agreed to have dinner on his boat in Scheveningen,” Amy explains. “My car wouldn’t start and then Marc came to pick me up. It was a pleasant evening and we got into a relationship.” Amy continues: “Inge found it a bit difficult at first, because in addition to our friendship, we suddenly ran into each other during family weekends. But it turned out all right: our men are now friends with each other. “

Our men are also friends with each other

Birthday and marriage

Inge’s sixtieth birthday was not only a reason for a birthday party, but also for a real wedding. “Only Amy and my children knew about it,” says Inge. “I invited family and friends for my birthday, when no one knew I was also getting married. It was a surprise to everyone.” Amy adds: “And it was so incredibly exciting to help with this because nobody knew about it.”

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‘I can call Inge in the middle of the night’

Inge checks on her friend every day to see if she is doing well. Amy has rheumatism and, according to Inge, she does not always indicate when things are not going well. “Inge sees it immediately when things go badly and she is always there for me. I can call her in the middle of the night and she’ll be at my door within ten minutes. It’s nice to have someone like that in your life.”

After Inge’s divorce, Amy in turn was there for her friend. “Amy is very sweet and she can honestly and honestly give her opinion and advice. In addition, we just have a lot of fun together. We think the same way and we share the same humor. We had decided that we wanted to look young for a very long time, so I made Amy dye her hair gray. We have now let go of that, but we had a good laugh about it.”

Who also has a special friendship?

Do you also have a special, Zoetermeer friendship? Or do you know or are you a Zoetermeer that we really need to interview? Let us know at [email protected]