A Sutton Coldfield community music festival raising funds for Molly Ollys was a fitting event in memory of Ben Sharratt, who devastatingly died from a brain tumour aged 13 in 2023, just six months after being diagnosed with a Diffused Thalamic Glioma, an aggressive and untreatable brain cancer.
Ben’s mum Hayley recalls: “Ben was a fit and healthy boy and one day he just started complaining of headaches and his tiredness was increasing, he started being sick, and he just didn’t recover really. The hospital noticed his blood pressure was quite low and did every test going, but everything came back normal. Out of the blue, he had a seizure and that’s when they decided to do a CT scan and found a lesion. Then we got blue-lighted over to Birmingham Children’s Hospital where he had an emergency operation to remove fluid from around his brain, and they did a biopsy. When they told us what he had and there was nothing that could be done, I was numb.”
Visitors to the charity event, at The Plough and Harrow in Sutton Coldfield, heard sets from a line-up of local musicians – Neil Williams, The Bob Dylan Experience, Banners Gate, Michael Dell and CJ and the Storm.
Other entertainment on the day included a bouncy castle and face painting for the kids, as well as stalls, a barbecue and fundraising raffle and tombola. A special balloon release was also arranged in Ben’s honour, which was a lovely moment.
Molly Ollys had granted Lego-mad Ben his wish to enjoy an overnight visit to Legoland Windsor, memories from a day Hayley and husband Adrian will always treasure.
“Without the charities that helped us I don’t know where we would have been”, Hayley said.
“It’s a very lonely journey when you’ve been told your child has a life-limiting illness. But they help take the pressure off families, emotionally and financially. We will be doing the festival every year for different charities. It’s our way of trying to give back and help other families, because every day there’s always going to be a family being given that devastating news. And it keeps Ben’s memory alive, which is the most important thing to us as a family. When we do these events, Ben is at the forefront.”
Molly Ollys co-founder Rachel Ollerenshaw said: “Benfest was a very poignant day and special and lovely to see so many people who came to support Ben’s family. Hayley and Ade worked hard and along with the support of a great team at The Plough & Harrow, the day was a big success. Losing a child leaves an incomprehensible void, being able to honour them, to speak their name and do things in their memory can be really important for a family. It was a privilege to be there for Ben and all the money raised will enable Molly Ollys to help more families.”
