Leeds grandmother with terminal cancer models in fashion show as she ticks off her bucket list

More than two years later, the Leeds grandmother has strutted down a runway wearing vibrant African clothes in celebration of women. While her diagnosis hasn’t changed, Julia – also known as Precious Jewels by her loved ones – is determined to make the most of her time left, working through a bucket list.

Morley-born Julia discovered a love for dancing as a teenager and joined a dance group.She said: “We didn’t really have a name – it was just ‘the best dancers’ and so we would just use to go to all events in Manchester, Birmingham, London, everywhere, and win the dance competitions. I was a dancer on roller skates.”

Leaving her skates behind, Julia worked with youth offenders and as a counsellor, before moving to London with a man she met on the dance floor in the 80s. She stayed there for 26 years and worked for the Ministry of Justice for almost a decade. Julia added: “It was a lot different than being in Leeds; there were guns, drugs, serious gangs – but I loved it.”

She returned to Leeds to support her eldest son, who had become involved with a gang himself. While her children grew up, Julia was getting ill but not in the way she had imagined. She mistook her symptoms of nights sweats and relentless itching for menopause before she was diagnosed with a type of blood cancer. After trying all possible treatments, Julia was told there is nothing more than could be done. She has since set out on a mission to complete things she has always desired to do.

Julia said: “It makes you think, ‘oh, I haven’t done this with my life, I haven’t done that’. I have done a lot with my life, don’t get me wrong, I have travelled and everything. You can call it a bucket list, but I call it the f*** it list.”

She has ticked a few things off her list, including a trip to Manchester to see Chris Brown in concert and a visit to the London Eye, which had her scared but remains a fond memory. Earlier this month, Julia modelled in a wrap-around vibrant dress and matching head-wrap at a fashion show and fundraiser for inclusive dance organisation RJC Dance in Moortown Social Club. She said: “I've never done anything like this before but I don't know how long I’ve got.”

The fashion show was hosted by Ebony Milestone, a fashion retailer selling ethically-sourced African print garments and home wear, owned by Beverley Brown. Beverley designed the show to celebrate women – particularly black women and female traders – on International Women’s Day but had to postpone due to the weather.

Beverley said: “We're just getting that message out there about self-help and healing ourselves, that spiritual mindset, because that's what brought Precious Jewels through this. It's all about positive vibration that we're bringing in about life being great. It’s a celebration of togetherness. It's multi-generational, all different ages, all different women from all walks of lives.”

Julia is currently awaiting an up-to-date CT scan and a flight assessment to hopefully show her children and grandchildren the Caribbean.