I first met Simone at a NTEU drinks event a couple of months ago. We started chatting and afterwards I walked her to the train station. I was thrilled to discover that we were both passionate feminists and that we had both read 'The Whole Woman' by Germaine Greer - a book that changed my life. I had a sense that we would be long-term friends because we were around the same age, worked in similar fields and virtually held the same politics and values. I caught up with her for coffee a couple of times over the following weeks and we had planned to go out for birthday drinks for another friend on Wednesday the 10th of August - what turned out to be the day of her funeral. It was wonderful getting to know Simone in the short time that I knew her and I will never forget her. She was truly a force to be reckoned with!