Tig Gray is a true Bathonian. She was born in Larkhall in 1942 - one of 7 children - still lives there now and has at least 30 to 40 relatives in the Bath area. Christened Marlene, she quickly became known as Tig as she was a bit of a Tiger when she was young ! She has lived up to her name in the sense of being lively and capable all her life together with displaying a wicked sense of humour.

At 68, she's suffering from terminal ovarian cancer with only months to live. Having spent most of her life being physically active this has come as a great blow to Tig as she is now very breathless and weak and unable to be the independent person she has been up until now.

She started her working life as a drawing office assistant at the MOD at the age of 15 and then progressed onto running her own photographic business in Bath for 15 years. Whilst running the business she also managed to renovate three houses in Bath, doing most of the hard work herself with the help of friends. Since retiring, she has been happy to share her knowledge and energy with anyone who needs help with any DIY jobs around the house - like painting the ceiling or moving the greenhouse. A self proclaimed Jack-of-all-trades, no job was a problem for her.

To help keep herself fit during retirement, she took up swimming at Monkton Junior School, regularly doing 20 lengths very early in the morning. She loved the discipline, the exercise and particularly all the friends she made there. With her characteristic humour, she made the event fun for everyone and even brought scales to encourage those on a diet !

Since her diagnosis, Tig has had wonderful support from Dorothy House Hospice and, together with her friends, would like to raise some money to show her appreciation. Whilst unable to actually swim, Tig is determined give help and vocal encouragement to all those involved !