Catriona Yuill's Memorial Page

Remembering Catriona

Remembering Catriona is a phrase I never wanted to write. It is, in fact, the kind of phrase you’d expect as the title of a film. But this page is in honour of a life that was deeply intertwined with the enchantment of cinema, it’s creators and performers in general. Anyone of us lucky enough to sit next to Catriona at the movies or as the theatre lights dipped for the start of a show, will bear witness to how much wonder our Wonder Woman brought to proceedings. She embraced the act with an unwavering love, allowing the magic of storytelling to captivate her soul and ignite her imagination. She would laugh, cry, be angered or in love with the characters on screen and allowed waves of emotion to sweep her away  (well for the good ones at any rate, bad movies elicited a whole other set of expressions! ). You couldn’t help but become more immersed in what you were watching because of her.

MediCinema is an intimate, cosy, and happy sanctuary of a screening room, situated in the mammoth and impersonally brutalist structure of Guy’s hospital. The team mooted to Catriona the possibility of a private screening the week before. It couldn’t have been more perfect that they were able to get permission to show ‘Barbie -the movie’. The build-up to the treat proved to be a particularly arduous and brutal one for Catriona, who hadn’t been at all well for most of the day. And whilst the Drs were keen for her to forgo the experience for an x-ray… the ‘TREATment’ of the movies won through and was prioritised. With staff working over their shift times, it is a late afternoon that will be forever locked in the memory banks. Because of MediCinema, Catriona and her posse were able, for 114 minutes, to lose themselves in the magic and allow cancer to evaporate. It will remain one of the most glorious and treasured times spent with my dear friend.

As we say ‘bye’ to our cherished Catriona, let us carry forward her legacy of embracing the magic of cinema and celebrating the art of performance. Please give generously, and as much as you are able, to this Jewel in the Crown at Guy’s Hospital. Your support will help ensure it’s there for all the others who need the medicine of escape. Catriona reminded me that beauty can be found even in the most difficult of circumstances. She demonstrated that day how to seek out the stories that move us and cherish the moments that transport us, just as she did throughout her life. 

G.Corke 12.10.2023