Alison Taylor on relationships: I was rescued... by a purple-flowered pot plant-wielding pal

Contrary to the romantic-comedy cliché, most of Alison's crisis moments have been saved by a mate

Sometimes you just need to be rescued. When I saw her, it was one of those moments. I immediately dissolved into great, wet sobs. She gave me a demented grin, right up close to the glass of my front door, while in her hand she was holding a purple-flowered pot plant that she thrust into my hands as soon as I opened the door.

"It's not the healthiest of specimens but then neither are we." If I was crying before, I wasn't now. I had a mini epiphany – a split second of pure grade happiness. It felt like one of those profound life moments that come along only rarely – my friend had taken the time to turn up on my doorstep with a dying plant to save me from my sadness.

Contrary to the romantic-comedy cliché, most of my crisis moments have been saved by a mate; in my experience, friends tend to stick around in a way that romantic partners don't. Tough times bolster and define friendships. The friend rescue is often so much more original than the romantic alternative. I'd take Em's plant line over Richard Gere lurching out of the sunroof of a limo any day. It's one to add to the back catalogue.

Soon after Em arrived we went to the pub for a ritualistic pint and fag to talk through my problem, which is, of course, only part of the operation. The rescue mission is twofold: there's the initial dropping everything to turn up at your needy friend's front door, and then there's the "therapy" session that follows. I have a handful of friends who are my second, more rational, brain at times such as this. And I am lucky to have them.

It's been a while since Em has been in this situation with me. We've had a few ups and downs of our own over the past year, which is probably why it felt particularly good to lean on her again. And for her to step up, unflinchingly.

I'm pleased to think that I can still rely on her, even at age 37. Well, sort of pleased. If we all have to make mistakes, then let us at least have a friend to mount the rescue mission. It's actually romantic, if you think about it.

@lovefoolforever