‘Life is a bit like a patchwork quilt. You have to make the best quilt you can with the fabrics you have, not the ones you might have wished for.’

Danny McBride knew full well he would one day marry a Catholic girl and was troubled by his father’s hostility to his friendship with Jane, the Protestant girl who lived next door. Where was the harm in a few games of tennis? The local priest assured Danny the Church was happy for him to be neighbourly with Jane but cautioned him to be careful – people’s attitudes towards one another can change. The priest was correct, but no one could have foreseen the extent of the changes to the lives of Danny and Jane which would be wrought by the fall of a marble in the National Service ballot of 1965.