The goal is to raise £10,000 for brain tumour research By Victoria Munro
Viv (inset right), co-owner of Ye Olde Rose and Crown, was diagnosed last November
A huge group of swimmers will take a “big dip” this weekend to support the co-owner of a popular Walthamstow pub, diagnosed with a brain tumour last year.
Viv Barrett, 63, of the Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre Pub in Hoe Street, visited her GP last year complaining of a mild headache and tightening in her neck but had no idea anything was seriously wrong.
In November, she received the shocking news that she had a brain tumour and had to put plans to swim in all 100 lidos in the UK on hold.
As an alternative – and to raise awareness and funds for The Brain Tumour Charity – she and her friend Pauline Thomas decided to instead “do it with 100 people, at one lido, all in one go”.
The group will take the plunge at London Fields Lido in Hackney on 12th March and hope to raise £10,000 for vital research into brain tumours.
Viv, who described her diagnosis as “the worst experience of [her] life”, said she hopes to achieve some “positives to the heart-breaking negatives” of her situation.
She said: “Brain tumours rip through families, they damage dreams, and they scare the bejeebers out of everybody, me included!
“There is a lack of resources devoted to brain tumour research. Every penny and every bit of awareness we raise, [means] more understanding we and future generations will have.”
Organiser and friend Pauline Thomas added that London Fields Lido “have been brilliant”, allowing the group to use it for free, and that some staff had even decided to take part.
She said: “When Viv was diagnosed, it was a complete shock for her family and all who were close to her. I feel strongly that awareness of brain tumours needs to be highlighted much more.
“The first thing I did was research, and I couldn’t believe that there was nothing that could be done. We must work harder for a cure.”
Brain tumours kill more people under 40 than any other form of cancer and their survival rate has not improved over the last four decades.
Clare Howell, from The Brain Tumour Charity, said the charity “couldn’t be more grateful to Viv and her fellow fundraisers, for shining a light on brain tumours this brain tumour awareness month”.
She added: “It’s through the efforts of people like Viv and her friends and family that we can change these shocking statistics in the future and bring hope to the thousands of people who are diagnosed with a brain tumour every year.”
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