Stonehouse school pool reopens after community fundraising effort
"I feel really lucky because it's really nice to come in the pool and have a nice time," said eight-year-old Evie. "It will be a really happy place to go. We can learn how to swim at school and it can make us really happy."
Fellow pupil Nevin, 8, added: "It's great, it's fun, we can swim three times a week and learn."It's all fun. I'm glad the school got it." The new pool was built as a result of a fundraising effort amongst staff, parents and the surrounding community - with every penny raised through non-uniform days and sponsored walks going towards the total. School office manager Lisa Williams, who was one of the first children to swim in the pool as a pupil in the early 1970s, was one of five skydivers who raised more than half the total with their efforts.
"I didn't hesitate," she said. "I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2022 and I thought - why not give something back, try and do some good?"As for seeing the pool finally reopen, she described the moment as "quite emotional"."This is what it's all about, teaching the next generation to swim, and opening it up to the community as well."It's something very close to my heart," she said.
Headteacher Andrew Milner added: "It's a massive life skill for children to learn how to swim, particularly around here where there is water."It really enriches the curriculum and their wellbeing. To get them swimming here three times a week as part of PE will really enhance their learning."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
10 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Lidl recalls chicken product due to concerns of unlabelled allergens
Lidl has urgently recalled a popular chicken product due to concerns they contain an unlabelled allergen. The product, Red Hen 4 Tempura Chicken Steaks, was pulled from shelves because it may contain milk which is not correctly named on the ingredients label. If you have bought the product, and have an allergy or intolerance to milk, do not eat it and return it to the nearest Lidl store where a full refund will be given. The products affected are the pack size 380g with the best before dates 11/12/2026, 16/12/2026, 22/12/2026, 30/12/2026 and 16/01/2027. In a written statement, allergy charity anaphylaxis UK said they have been informed by the supermarket of the urgent recall . 'We have been alerted by Lidl that it is recalling its Red Hen 4 Tempura Chicken Steaks from sale because they contain milk which is not correctly declared on the ingredient label,' it read. So, they went on to explain: 'The product is therefore unsuitable for and should be avoided by anyone with an allergy or intolerance to milk.' When a supermarket is urgently recalling a product that contains an ingredient not named on a label, they often contact allergy charities. These charities can help inform the people with the relevant allergies of the product that may put them in danger. The item affected was the Waitrose and Partners Egg and Spinach Protein Pot, which comes in a 90g plastic tub and is sold in stores nationwide. Two batches were involved in the alert—those with use-by dates of July 31 and August 1, 2025. The supermarket has pulled the product from shelves and urged customers who have already bought it to not eat it. Instead, they should return it to a store for a full refund, with no receipt necessary. Point-of-sale notices have been displayed in affected stores warning shoppers of the risk. These explain the reason for the recall and what steps customers should take if they have purchased the item. A spokesperson for the Food Standards Agency (FSA), which issued the alert, said: 'The presence of salmonella in this product poses a risk to human health... and can be particularly dangerous for the elderly, young children, and those with weakened immune systems.' Salmonella infection—known as salmonellosis—typically develops within six to 72 hours of consuming contaminated food.
Telegraph
11 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Are people's lives really more stressful than they were 30 years ago?
It may be, as recently reported in this paper, that many feel the current (alleged) mental health crisis to be 'overblown', but there must be something seriously amiss when, as the latest figures reveal, 8.6 million adults in England now take antidepressants. Almost more extraordinary still, this is twice as many as a decade ago and eight times more than back in the 1990s. Certainly much has changed over the past 30 years, not necessarily for the better, but people's lives can scarcely have become so much more stressful as to trigger an epidemic of gloom and despondency. This leaves two possible explanations for that eightfold rise in numbers. Either doctors have become much more diligent in seeking out and treating those suffering from depression, who were previously overlooked. Or more probably, this is yet a further instance of the phenomenon of medicalisation – in this case attaching a psychiatric label to the emotional state of unhappiness which is indeed common enough. The most commonly prescribed class of antidepressants, the SSRIs (such as Prozac) are, as many will know, psycho-stimulants boosting the levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain. While they are certainly effective in improving the mood of the truly depressed and the legions of the unhappy alike, they will also inevitably be exposed to the hazards of their potential adverse effects, highlighted by the current, acrimonious controversy over their prevalence and severity. Put (very) simply, serotonin serves multifarious functions besides its role in influencing mood. In the brain it is involved in memory, pain perception and sexual pleasure, as well as propagating the nerve impulses controlling the rate and contractility of the heart muscle and the motility of the gut. Prolonged stimulation of those serotonin receptors with SSRIs necessarily alters their sensitivity, predisposing, when the time comes to discontinue them, to a withdrawal syndrome referred to by the mnemonic FINISH – flu-like symptoms, insomnia, nausea, imbalance, sensory disturbance and hyper-arousal. Or as one woman described it more bluntly, 'physical and emotional turmoil, dizziness, exhaustion, electric shock sensations and suicidal thoughts'. Organisations such as the Royal College of Psychiatrists maintained this withdrawal syndrome to be 'usually mild, resolving within a couple of weeks'. This complacency was challenged successfully back in 2019 when it emerged that, on the contrary, more than half deemed their symptoms 'severe' persisting in some for three months or more. Not so, according to researchers at King's College London last month who maintained their interpretation of the relevant evidence suggest the symptoms 'cannot be judged as significant' – a claim that critics argue 'could cause considerable harm'. And so the dispute rumbles on though the current state of uncertainty only emphasises the folly of that upward spiral in prescribing these potent drugs so insouciantly to so many. The best remedy for nosebleeds The nuisance of a nosebleed is usually readily terminated by pinching the nose between finger and thumb for 15 minutes. Simpler still, for those in whom they are recurrent is a swimmer's nose clip that can be kept in place for as long as is necessary 'does not cause the finger aching associated with manual compression and is equally effective in children and adults,' suggests Phillip Turner, a casualty doctor. Better certainly than the traditional 'home remedy' of dangling a set of cold keys down the back of the neck – though a correspondent to The New Scientist some time ago suggested this might terminate the bleeding by inducing a reflex constriction of the blood vessels of the nasal lining. Improbable, one might think but subsequently confirmed by researchers at the University of Dresden. Investigating the effect of applying an ice pack to the back of the neck they found, sure enough, this resulted in a marked diminution in blood flow through the nasal blood vessels most susceptible to spontaneous bleeding.
BBC News
11 minutes ago
- BBC News
Cambridgeshire man died after fake deworming drug cancer claims
A man died after taking a deworming drug for animals after he saw fake claims online about it having anti-cancer properties, an inquest Redpath, 45, died nearly two weeks after being admitted to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge with liver problems in April last had bought the drug fenbendazole - which is not licensed for human consumption - online from a supplier in partner told the inquest she believed a "warning should be made" about the danger of the drug. The inquest at Lawrence Court in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, was told Mr Redpath had a history of drug and excess alcohol use and was admitted to hospital complaining of jaundice and coroner, Caroline Jones, said Mr Redpath told the doctors that he had seen "videos on social media sites about [fenbendazole's] supposed anti-cancer properties". "Fenbendazole is not licensed for human consumption and is more commonly used in animals for the treatment of worms and parasitic infections," she said. Online falsehoods Dr Gwilym Webb, a consultant hepatologist at Addenbrooke's, told the court he believed Mr Redpath "had been taking [fenbendazole] for around three-and-a-half weeks prior to coming to hospital".He said it was his understanding there was "no proven benefit for taking fenbendazole for treating cancer in humans".Ms Jones said tests on Mr Redpath "showed that he was suffering from an acute liver injury on a background of cirrhosis due to his previous alcohol excess."She said it was "thought likely that the fenbendazole used over a prolonged period in high doses was the primary cause of the acute injury".The court heard his condition deteriorated but he was not suitable for a liver Webb said to be considered for a transplant excess alcohol use must have ceased for at least three months - in this case it was a few weeks - and "uncontrolled addiction to other substances is considered a barrier".Mr Redpath died on 29 April and his cause of death was determined as liver and renal failure due to fenbendazole-induced liver injury on a background of alcohol-related Jones recorded his death was as a result of misadventure, adding she was concerned that false claims of fenbendazole having anti-cancer properties could "be so widely available online" and would write to the local public health for more data about the issue. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
