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Armida had advanced lung cancer. This conversation was recorded at her house in Aberdeen. Armida got short of breath now and again, so the sound you can sometimes hear in the background is her oxygen supply. Despite being very ill, she really wanted to share this conversation with Bernice as a testament to their long friendship. Bernice and Armida met at Foresterhill hospital in Aberdeen in 1987 where they both worked as nurses. This led to almost 30-years of shared interests, ideals and adventures.

They shared similar ideas about nursing and psychology and were both quite outward-looking. They had lots of discussions about how to improve the patient experience in hospital (professionally at first, then, more recently, based on Armida’s personal experience). They’d often go on ‘jollies’ where Bernice might be giving a lecture at a conference and they’d explore the area. They also had a shared lifelong love of gardening and would go searching for plants. Armida remembered a trip to St Andrews on the hunt for a particular brand of hyacinth. Bernice talked poignantly about trying to grow plants ahead of season so that Armida would be able to see them.

Armida’s illness was the focus of this conversation. She says Bernice was been a tremendous support, and she had many examples of positive times they’ve had throughout her illness. She took up crocheting and was never sure if she’d finish a jumper/blanket. Bernice says she now has 4 jumpers and that at Size 22 that’s a lot of crocheting!

Armida passed away on March 16th, 2016.

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