A Christmas card that was bought for threepence more than 50 years ago has become a symbol of an enduring friendship for a Hastings man and one of his school friends.
Former Havelock North senior constable Ron Thorne first bought and sent the card to his friend Alex Shaw, who lived in Tokoroa at the time, in 1962, thus beginning a tradition where the pair have exchanged the card every Christmas.
The card features a kilted Scotty dog on the front playing the bagpipes, and inside it read: "My Christmas wish is yours to keep, but please return the card to me. It's so costly I'm just lending it."
Mr Thorne said they met in 1954 when Mr Shaw moved from Scotland to Opotiki and the pair buddied up at school.
While Mr Thorne subsquently moved to Te Puke then Hawke's Bay, Mr Shaw moved to Tokoroa and over the years the friends maintained contact in various ways, including through brief annual festive messages written in the card.