Victoria celebrated her recent birthday at Black Walnut Farm with two other July babies, Barbara and Laura Grignano. Sharing the same birth month was one of many coincidences we discovered since we first met Victoria over five years ago. Our daily contact with her during her battle with cancer provided us with even more remarkable concurrences. The once casual relationship quickly developed into a full blown love affair and gave the Grignano Family a second daughter, a miracle for a couple in their seventies.
This is a picture from Victoria's Edinburgh University days. As a proud Yorkshire woman from the North of England, she lived the values for which they are known: saying it like it is, acting with warmth and compassion, being loyal and honourable, embracing the facts, and never backing down from doing the right thing, even when it is hard and bruising. A great example, that we all wished she hadn't needed to face, was the way she reacted to the utterly devastating cancer diagnosis when she swept aside self pity and misery in favour of building a rational and positive way to tackle it. She always had an eye out for those that might appreciate some support and she has helped and mentored many over the years. I fondly recall her counsel on making big choices "if you were to be sitting on a bench in old age with a drink in your hand reflecting back over your life, make sure this would be something that would make you smile when you reminisce". Lovely words to guide us even when she is wretchedly and prematurely gone.
This takes me back. I was an undergrad student of both Professor Braithwaite's and Professor Reed's at Edinburgh during this time. Her zoology course on animal orientation in the Ashworth Building was easily the best class I took during my four years there and her thesis advice and support was invaluable. Very saddening to learn of this news. Rest in Peace Professor.
This is the last G&T I shared with Victoria, back in June. Now I'm raising another to honor an amazing friend who will be sadly, sadly missed by me and many others. She worked and fought hard for everything she believed in, and for her life this last year. She gave the fight against cancer everything she had and she was still giving to her family and her friends in her last week. May we all manage to leave with such self awareness and so much grace. Cheers, Victoria xx
Victoria, I've experienced a depth of friendship discovered in the rare intimacy we shared in these last weeks as your remarkable life came to an end. Together we were braver than we believed, stronger than we seemed and smarter than we thought. You are my hero and my inspiration. You've set yourself free to swim with your fishies. I'm relieved and heartbroken. Love you always, Lizzie xx
