Ruth Kaye: Leeds based, Bradford raised natural healer

Bradford raised, Leeds based Natural Healer Ruth Kaye has dedicated the last twenty four years  to  pioneering service in the Leeds Teaching Hospitals, running cancer support groups and teaching meditation.  She  is based at the Oncology Day Ward on Bexley Wing at St James’s University Hospital. Through her work she uses her techniques to help cancer patients, their families, friends and the bereaved. The work she does is non-denominational and she is a member of the National Federation of Spiritual Healers.

Here she recollects the Bradford she knew growing up. She was raised in Bradford, having lived in Frizinghall. Her parents and uncles were all shop keepers in different areas of the city.  She has three sons, the eldest  of which is the Daily Mail astrologer Jonathan Cainer. Her other sons are twins Adam who is very orthodox and takes the services in Boreham Wood Orthodox synagogue, and his brother Daniel Cainer who is a multi-talented songwriter, producer, broadcaster, composer…

On places and people: I used to go to Belle Vue Grammar School. I remember a lovely shop near school that sold hot herbal drinks and further into Bradford centre a Cadbury’s Chocolate House where we got the most incredible chocolate drinks…those were the days…now its all MacDonalds and Costa coffee, all the coffee places look alike and Bradford had the most incredible department stores ..Brown Muffs …a posh restaurant upstairs ..all long gone.

Brown Muffs department store, Market Street, Bradford

My two uncles had sweet shops ..one on Manningham Lane and another in Manchester Road
and my mum and dad had grocery shops called The Family Supply Stores…my mother’s on the
Saltaire parade and my dad’s opposite the then Glen Royal Picture House in Shipley….Before
the war they had seven different shops but times grew hard and my dad died suddenly of a brain
tumour leaving my mother struggling financially to bring up my sister and myself …I was fourteen
and witnessed a year of him having epileptic fits which were not diagnosed as a brain tumour as
they didn’t have scans in those days and he was treated for heart….Never would I dream that
all these years later I would witness my husband dying in a similar way like a repeat nightmare.

So out of me you will glean yet another picture of life in Bradford as you may draw out so much
more of memories.    My grandparents were Maurice and Dora Green who moved to Frizinghall
as my grandfather had a clothing factory.   Originally they lived in Leeds and every day I drive
past their house on Roundhay Road remembering that they had a pony and trap and I struggle
through all the traffic in a CRZ Honda hybrid car….another time another world.

I remember the Bradford Jewish Social club and wish there was a place like this today but I was
in my teens and watched all these  people at the bar, dancing and playing billiards and
snooker…all gone….every one of them up at the Jewish cemetery so how quickly does life pass by?

Friend of Ruths grandfather, Montague Burton

On past historic ties to Bradford:  There is the story he (Ruth’s son Daniel Cainer) sings about my grandfather who was a friend of Montague Burton …they were tailors together when they first came to Leeds as young men…must have been back in the last part of the last century and my grandfather missed the opportunity to go into partnership with him and then came to Bradford and had his own factory making suits and raincoats or whatever in Drewton St, I think it was called. They apparently fell out and my family moved to Bradford.