We knew the day that Janine was born - June 5, 1975 - that we had a very special young lady in our family.

She was born on Referendum Day - for those who remember - whether we should be in the European circle or not! I was determined to vote but by the time Jim had returned from work, Janine was well on the way to being born - she never could wait patiently!

I marched up to the voting station and a policeman informed us that we couldn't park outside the door. Jim asked him if he knew how to deliver babies as I was in labour but determined to vote.

He very quickly gave us an escort into the voting booth and then to the hospital we went.

Janine was born about two hours later. When her brother saw her, he just cuddled her and said: "Ah, baby..." He was 15 months old and this bond has remained with them ever since.

From an early age, Janine was into everything - with the help of her big brother - and at the age of just six months, had her first taste of mouse - yes, mouse! Our cat, Tigger, had brought her a little pressie and with the help of her brother, she was chewing away merrily on its head, leaving me to find two teeth in her mouth. Ugh! The doctor said it wouldn't harm her and to give her salted water to make her sick. So we did and with the determination that has always shown in Janine, she drank it down like a good 'un and wasn't sick at all. We knew then that this little girl of ours had the determination to go far.

Another incident was when Janine and her brother were playing in the garden - they must have been about four and five years old - and the wind blew berries up their noses. Guess what - they were stuck up their noses! Even to this day, they have never changed their stories and still say that the wind blew the berries up their noses. Fortunately, we managed to remove Janine's berries but it took a full medical team and an anaesthetic to remove James's. What imaginative thinking that mum and dad would actually believe that the wind could do such a thing!

School was a trial for her and she hated most of her days there, spending most of her younger school days on the teacher's knee, hugging her teddy. Senior school wasn't much different and she didn't really start enjoying it until the latter years (later GCSE days and A-level days), but her determination to be a teacher and help children was always there.

She spent a lot of her spare time babysitting. In fact, one of her bridesmaids is one of the children who she babysat for and promised if she ever got married that she could be her bridesmaid.

Her first teaching job was at Holly Primary School in Forest Town, Mansfield, and she loved every minute of her time there. For the first year, she lived at home and we soon realised that the travel from East Leake to Mansfield was telling on her. She soon found the journey extremely arduous.

By this time, Tim was a very permanent person in her life and it was now that they decided to set up home together in Belper. At first, we were quite upset that she was going to live so far away from us (45 minutes) but as time has gone on, we found that we see more of her now than we ever have. Now Janine and Tim have bought their own home in Belper and life seems pretty good for them both.

Like most girls, Janine had one or two boyfriends - one or two we liked and one or two we were indifferent about! The day we met Tim, we knew there was something different about him.

Not wanting to miss the opportunity of embarrassing her, we decided to hang around and see this Tim. She tried her hardest to get rid of us, but to no avail. Anyone who knows us will know that we are terrible for tormenting!

Tim was taking a slow stride down the road that Janine was living on when James spotted him. Never having met Tim, he hung his body out of the car window and shouted: "Yo Tim! Are you going on a date with my sister?"Poor Tim and poor Janine, because the more she tried to stop her bro embarrassing her, the more he did it!

Anyway, this obviously didn't put Tim off the family because he has now joined us as a permanent feature. We are all very pleased to have him as part of our family and I know that Jim in particular enjoys the fact that he can go trekking with Tim on holiday. Jim also joins Janine and Tim for their main holidays for one of their two weeks' holiday (I am afraid I don't fly!), but is quite put out that Tim hasn't invited him on their second week of their honeymoon!

Those who know Wales will know how mountainous it is - especially around the coastal paths. Some days when I picked them up from the finishing point for the day, Janine looked as if she wanted to give up - aching feet and legs, very, very tired, always so hungry and just wanting to enjoy a relaxing holiday on the beach. But her will and determination made her continue and in doing so, she raised almost £2,000 for the school. They managed to build a classroom with the money and have named it in her honour.

She still strives to collect more money for the school and has even spoken of visiting the country one day, but unfortunately the area is a very dangerous part of the country with rival factions always fighting and foreigners often being taken as hostages, as were the children of the headmaster of the school, although safe and sound now! Again, this is a part of Janine that we know and love.

This article isn't meant to be the life story of Janine but just a little insight into our daughter and how we knew that when she grew up, she would be someone of whom we would be very proud, and we are!

We are very proud of our daughter and know that through hard work, determination and a will to make things happen that she is what she has become today - a very kind, caring and selfless young lady who just wants to give all she can to everyone!

Jim and Kitty Ledger,
Janine's parents.