14MMERCURY June 13, 2008
email: mercury@hertsessexnews.co.ukThree young people
who just love to careWITH national carers8217 week being
celebrated across the country,
Mercury
reporter SARABLACK looks
at the achievements of three young
carers in Hertfordshire.
TEENAGER
Ben Albany
pulls out
all the stops for his elder sister,
who has epilepsy and hydro-
cephalus 8211 which means there is
too much fluid in the cavities ofthe
brain.Ben, 14, ofCromwell Road, Ware,
reads and writes for Lindy, who is 20,
but has a mental age of4.
Ben, who attends Richard Hale
School in Hertford, said: 8220I find it
tough at times and it can be a bit frus-
trating, but I do it because I love her.8221
Becca James, 14, ofTolmers Road,
Cuffley, is always on hand to help
with her 8-year-old brother Jack, who
has Down8217s Syndrome, cerebral palsy,
epilepsy, a leaky heart valve and can-
not walk or talk.
A pupil ofCheshunt8217s Goffs
School, Becca prepares food and med-
icine for her brother, assists him
with personal care and is learning
sign language to better communicate
with him.
She said: 8220I enjoy caring for my lit-
tle brother, Jack, because my mum
and dad don8217t get much help caring
for him, so I like to help make it easi-
er for them, and because I love him.
8220He8217s been through so much and I
look up to him as a person.8221
Royston teenager Sophie Lane
takes care ofher 5-year-old sister,
Georgiana, when their mother is ill.
Mum Angela Lane has Crohn8217s dis-
ease, an inflammation ofthe intes-
tine, and was bedridden in 2006, but
is now in better health.
Sophie, 15, who attends The
Meridian School in Royston, said: 8220I
have looked after Georgi and made
lunch and stuff. I don8217t mind because
I still have time to do the things I
want to do.
8220I8217m glad mum is feeling better and
she can do things again, but I still try
to help out as much as I can.8221
All three children have won prizes
in Hertfordshire8217s Young People of
the Year (YOPEY) competitions.
YOPEY aims to reveal young
unsung heroes who are a positive
role model to their peers.qFor further information and to nom-
inate youths for an award, visit
www.yopey.org
or call 0845 8382640.LOVINGSISTER:Becca James, 14, third from left, with brother Jack and mum and dad, Tracy and Steve (s)CARINGBROTHER:Ben Albany, 14,
right, helps his elder sister
Lindy with her reading and writing (s)YOUNGHELPER:Sophie Lane, 15,
was a Young Person of the Year winnerOld Ware
apple gets
Royal seal
of approvalA LONG-lost species ofapple
which originated in Ware is to be
revived by Prince Charles.
The Fairie Queen dessert apple,
which was first recorded in 1937,
was originally grown by R
Staward in Ware Park Gardens.
The Prince ofWales, who is
spearheading a new initiative to
bring back apples which lost
their appeal over time, has
bought 1,000 rare apple trees,
including the Ware variety, to be
part ofhis Duchy organic food
range.
As part ofthe range, he would be
free to turn the apple 8211 described
as having a 8216tender flesh with a
sweet sub-acid slightly aromatic
flavour8217 8211 into a juice or for sale
in supermarkets.
Another company buying 1,000 of
the forgotten treats is the Co-
operative, which plans to create
its own-brand heritage juice for
sale in stores.
Ware mayor Cllr Phyllis Ballam
said: 8220I used to go to the gardens
with my father in the days when
it was the grounds ofa
sanatorium.
8220My father was a friend ofMr
Staward, who I remember as an
elderly, friendly Scottish gent.
8220I remember the gardens being
full ofdifferent types oftrees. I
think reviving the apple is a
wonderful idea.8221Black cat stolen
from rooftopA CONCRETEblack cat statue
was stolen from the garden ofa
house in Ware Road, Ware.
The ornament was taken from
on top ofa gabled roofbetween
7.30pm on Thursday last week
and 6.45am the following
morning.Sat-nav system
goes missingA SAT-NAVsystem, Bluetooth
headset and power lead were
stolen from a car in Chadwell,
Ware.
Thieves forced their way into the
brown 55-reg Volkswagen Passat
to steal the Navman N20 sat nav
and its power cable between 4pm
on Thursday last week and
7.30am the following morning.Invitation to test
your lungsLUNG tests will be carried out at
Hertford County Hospital next
week to raise awareness of
respiratory problems.
Breathe Easy Hertford, which is
part ofthe British Lung
Foundation, will be checking if
people have big breaths at the
North Road hospital on
Wednesday from 10am.
Deputy town mayor Cllr Peter
Ruffles (Con, Kingsmead) will be
attending at 11am.
The group meets on the last
Wednesday ofeach month.qFor details, call chairman
Janice Norfolk on (01992) 466190.Midwife who delivered star footballers8217 babiesA HERTFORD midwife who was post-
ed by the Red Cross to Malaysia in
the 1950s has died.
Betty Ghani, 83, worked at
Hertford County Hospital for many
years and delivered many babies,
including the children ofseveral
Tottenham Hotspurs players such as
goalkeeper Pat Jennings.
She was born Florence Daisy
Morris in Hartham Lane in
November 1924 8211 but she disliked her
first names and was always known as
Betty.
She went to school in Port Vale and
during the Second World War she
served for the Navy, Army and Air
Force Institutes.
After the war, she trained as a
nurse and joined the Red Cross. She
was posted to Malaysia, where
remote jungle villages had no health-
care.
It was there that she met her future
husband, YusofGhani, who helped
translate for her and drive her to sick
patients in far away villages.
He said: 8220She had a driver, but he
worked to time. She would call me up
during emergencies when the other
driver would say 8216no8217.8221
The couple8217s relationship flour-
ished and they came to Hertford
together in 1957 and were married at
the register office in Wallfields.
They lived for a while with Betty8217s
mother in Windsor Drive before a
councillor, who, because ofillness,
Betty was caring for, suggested they
apply for a council house.
Yusofand Betty were placed in a
house, also in Windsor Drive, where
they settled down and remained.
Betty worked in the maternity unit
at Hertford County Hospital until its
closure in 1983.
She then transferred to the Queen
Elizabeth II Hospital in Welwyn
Garden City until her retirement just
a year later. She worked in the
National Health Service for 37 years.
She was a keen traveller and gar-
dener, and she remained active right
up to her death from a heart attack
on Friday.
She is survived by husband Yusof,
sons David and Guy and granddaugh-
ters Lola, Lauren, Ayesha, Isobel and
Alicia.qA funeral service will be held at
Hertford Methodist Church on
Tuesday June 24, donations to Isabel
Hospice.BETTYGHANI (s)
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