'Agony aunt' with months to live tackles bucket list

A shopkeeper given months to live after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer said "unbelievable" support from her community had allowed her to tick off almost all the items on her bucket list.

Claire Bailey, who runs the Sun newsagents in Shepshed, Leicestershire, was told in April she had six to nine months to live.

A fundraising appeal - launched to help Claire make memories with her husband, Rob Lord - raised £3,000 and has since reached nearly £6,000.

Since then, Bailey has enjoyed train journeys, hotel stays and visits to places she had always wanted to see.

Of receiving her diagnosis, Claire said: "For a split second it was like 'wow'.

"But after that I thought there's no point being depressed about it. It's not going to make me better.

"Just carry on as normal. It is what it is."

Claire, who has worked in the shop for almost three decades, said she was overwhelmed by the response from customers.

"I thought I'd get about £50 or £60," she said. "Within a week, I'd got about £2,500 and it was unbelievable."

Claire said people had also come into the shop with cards containing money, while others had given her cash for meals when they met her around Shepshed.

"Honestly, I've never known anything like it. You just do your job and don't think anything of it, but it's humbling," she said.

The fundraising page was originally set up by one of her regular customers, Tereza Lingard.

Lingard described Bailey as an "agony aunt" for the town, someone who "listened to everyone's problems" but rarely took time away from the shop.

The fundraising efforts have paid for many of Claire's trips and stays, with the 52-year-old able to enjoy the experiences with her family and friends.

Claire said one of the items she was most keen to tick off was a visit to nearby East Midlands Airport.

A lifelong aviation enthusiast, she said she had always wanted to visit the airport's air traffic control tower, and described the experience as one of the highlights of her bucket list.

"The last two flights of stairs were up a spiral staircase," she said.

"Whether I had to climb up on my hands and knees... I was getting to the top of that control tower."

After supporters contacted the airport, Claire was given a tour of the tower before travelling the length of the runway and staying overnight in a hotel room overlooking the airfield.

"I've always been obsessed with planes," she added.

"That was amazing. Money can't buy it."

Claire has also travelled on the world-famous Flying Scotsman train twice with her husband.

"We went down to Portsmouth the first time," she said.

"And the second time, I went on it to Eastbourne to watch the air show, which they have over the sea on the beach."

She said one week, the couple had so many trips planned, they did not bother unpacking their suitcase.

Claire added: "It was like 'right, we're here for two days, then there for three days, then somewhere else for another night'.

"It was like a whirlwind."

She said another memorable moment was when she was strapped up with firefighters and went up a 131ft (40m) ladder, thanks to an invitation from the local fire service after lobbying from her friends.

She said her husband did not go up, and instead "stood at the bottom filming" during the summer.

One of Claire's favourite places is a converted railway carriage near Ely in Cambridgeshire, which she has visited three times. The accommodation has a Jacuzzi hot tub.

Claire described it as her "little piece of heaven".

She said since her terminal diagnosis, the owner had planted a rose - named Claire - in the garden.

"A little piece of me is always going to be at that carriage," she said.

"That's coming from somebody who was a stranger and who I've only met three times. That's what nice people are."

Claire said only two items from her bucket list remained: A two-night stay at the Burleigh House hotel in Loughborough, and afternoon tea at Belvoir Castle.

Despite her diagnosis, Claire said she remained determined to enjoy life.

"I'm still all right, touch wood," she said. "I'm just struggling to walk a little bit more, but I can cope with that."

Her message to others facing similarly difficult circumstances was "never, ever give up".

"Even if they tell you devastating news that can smash people's lives into smithereens, you're still here, you're still breathing," Claire said.

"There is always someone worse off than you.

"Just keep smiling. That's what I'm known for in Shepshed."

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