Chatterbox who made friends all over the world

Holly was our first granddaughter and my husband, Ray, and i both adored her. She was lovable, affectionate and a chatterbox.

Ray would say: ‘can you be quiet for a minute, Holly?’ Never one to take offence, she’d reply: ‘oh i love you, Gramphy, you’re so funny!’

She and her sister, Megan, had a lovely childhood growing up in St Abbs, a village in Berwickshire, where their father, kevin (my son), was a ranger on a nature reserve. As a girl, she’d help out on the reserve and feed the lambs.

We lived in Bournemouth, but we holidayed there and they holidayed here, and we were all so close.

i loved watching Holly grow. She became a strong swimmer and loved to dance and act. Next came Aberdeen University, where she studied zoology and made so many friends. How proud we all were at her graduation.

Soon afterwards, she joined her family who had moved down to Bournemouth near us. Her life was so busy — working in a jeweller’s and holidays. She was always raising money for charity and loved to rope us all in to her adventures.

in her spare time, she became my computer tutor and theatre companion.

But what she really wanted was to travel. in late 2015, she set off for three-and-a-half months to Australia, New Zealand, Hong kong, Fiji and beyond. She travelled alone, so we all worried. But we needn’t have. Everywhere she went, she made friends. She did everything — skydiving, bungee-jumping, scuba diving, the lot.

on her return she worked on the Studland Nature Reserve in Dorset — sometimes with her dad — and started planning her next adventure. it wasn’t to be. it all fell apart in autumn 2016. After suffering headaches and blurred vision, she was diagnosed with a Grade 4 brain tumour. The prognosis was 12 months to five years, but she was incredibly courageous. i still can’t believe how brave that girl was.

The treatment — chemotherapy and radiotherapy — was tiring. But mostly, Holly was still smiling. She even insisted on a family trip to Paris.

They had a wonderful time, but Holly was tired and had started suffering back pain. The day after they returned, she was back in hospital where she was admitted to the Macmillan Unit. The cancer had spread to her spine and there was nothing more doctors could do.

Four weeks later, Holly died at home, with all her family around her. it felt so unfair — she was only 28. After she died, tributes arrived from all over the world. All had the same theme — what a wonderful young woman Holly was. But we already knew that. i will always love her and never forget her.

Holly rideout, born March 25, 1988, died March 14, 2017, aged 28.