Watching my wonderful, plain-speaking Aunty Joyce pass away after a stroke was heartbreaking – Hayley Matthews

She was as strong as an ox but had become quite unwell recently. She'd taken a massively stroke leaving her only a few days with us and how awful it was to watch her suffer.

Unable to drink, eat, swallow or even close her mouth, I have to say it's one of the most distressing things I've seen.

Despite getting wonderful care from the staff at Eagle Lodge on Ferry Road, there was little anyone could do to ease her suffering other than moisten her mouth and offer morphine for the discomfort.

Unable to communicate apart from a squeeze of the hand, I gave her a lot of kisses, cuddles and words of support.

I felt so useless but if I'm honest it's more than I ever thought I could do because of the Covid restrictions. I'm so grateful to the staff in Eagle lodge for being patient and caring with her and for the rapid Covid test, which gave a result in 30 minutes, that allowed me to go in and spend some time with her.

I'm also grateful to the I Love Leith Facebook page where I managed to get a message to Ian May, her minister from South Leith Church. His wife saw the message and he rang to say he was on his way.

She was a huge part of the Leith community, involved in organising the Leith Festival, helping others at the church lunch club, collecting items for Fresh Start to help those in need of essentials and dedicating much of her time to the church and her friends who she met there.

I always loved going to Ocean Terminal with her when she had her portrait hanging up for a project they did on people at the heart of Leith. Her picture hung beside Mary Moriarty's and she would beam from ear to ear when we walked past it.

I also have fond memories of walking through the Kirk Gate with her and never getting very far because she knew everyone! And she liked a chat. Sunny days when I was a tiny tot in the Starbank Park, cocoa in the living room looking at her photos and slides as well as eating banana rolls on a Saturday afternoon, will always be amongst my fondest memories of her.

She could be a bit blunt at times and one of her funniest comments (or roasts as the kids call them) was when I saw her after two weeks in Florida shovelling "all you can eat breakfasts" in my gub.

As I was walking up the stairwell to give her the Swarovski cherry broach I bought her back she looked at me as her jaw dropped and shouted down the stairwell "good grief Hayley look at the size of your thighs! What were you eating over there?" A simple "how was your holiday?" would have done.

I love her to bits and will miss her hugely and I'll tell you something, they don't make them like her nowadays. She just about cycled all over Scotland hosteling in her younger days with nothing more than a kilt, a woolly jumper and a backpack.

I'll miss her WWII evacuation stories, curly hair and love of tartan skirts. Sleep tight Aunty Joyce, and don't be too blunt to them up there or the big man might not let you in!

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