Latest news with #Waterstone
The Herald Scotland
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Just what he didn't need: to be insulted by passing traffic
Unsurprisingly Rhona wanted to broadcast her good news to the world, or at least tell her chums that she was going to the shimmering shindig. Rhona tells the Diary: 'My best friend was suitably impressed when I told her I was going… until she discovered that I would be one of 800 guests.' 'Oh,' said the chum, struggling to hide her disappointment. 'I thought it would just be you and the King, plus a slice of sponge cake.' Fake Frenchman Well-travelled Aberdonian Tony Marshall has lived in many of the great cities of the world, and is currently based in London, which isn't too far from Scotia. Even so, he finds that the locals of that great city don't know much about his home country. 'You're from Scotland?' one of his work colleagues said, 'so you must be well knowledgeable in everything garlic.' 'Garlic?' said Tony, who could only imagine that the colleague mistook him for a sophisticated Parisian, for the French nation is famous for using garlic to season their flavoursome scoff. 'Yes, yes,' continued the colleague. 'Garlic. Do you speak garlic?' The chap was talking about Gaelic, which is a language, of course, and one that is seldom used in the preparation of frogs legs. Flight of fancy Confused Martin Simpson asks: 'Why are so many new TV shows about pilots?' No can do Nostalgic reader Linda Mumford was telling her seven-year-old grandson about the games she played with her pals as a young child. At one point she mentioned how much she loved a popular pastime of the era called Kick the Can. 'Kick the can?' repeated her outraged grandson, before adding: 'What did the can ever do to you?' Cutting comment Deciding to smarten up his appearance, reader Dan Buckley took himself to the local barbers. On returning home his wife scrutinised him, then suspiciously said: 'You had a haircut?' Dan conceded that this was, indeed, the case, leading his wife to say: 'Very… um… very n… very neat.' This was not the response Dan was looking for. 'When she got to the letter 'n',' he tells us, 'I was sort of hoping it would be followed by '…ice', as in 'nice'. Alas, this was not to be.' Brought to book Bibliophile Doreen Williams told a Waterstone's assistant she wanted Hugh Laurie's autobiography. "Certainly,' he replied. 'Would you like Fry's with that?'
The Citizen
02-07-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Teams shine at Waterstone Super Cup
Top-performing U13 and U19 boys' and girls' football teams from across Gauteng gathered at the Waterstone College Super Cup for three days of action-packed football from June 28 to 30. Hosted at Waterstone College in Kibler Park, Johannesburg, the tournament delivered thrilling matches, competitive energy and standout performances. Participating schools included Curro Soshanguve, Thatchfield, Wilgeheuwel and Aurora, and Meridian Cosmo City. Last year's champions, Waterstone College, Wilgeheuwel Academy, and Northern Academy, returned to defend their titles against strong contenders, including several affiliates of the Pitso Mosimane Soccer Schools. Former Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane attended the tournament and emphasised the importance of school-level development. 'Football development starts when a player is young. They develop skills through practice. If that practice starts at school, it can only help a player grow even further,' he said. More than 850 footballers competed in the tournament held on Waterstone's top-tier facilities, including a FIFA-designated pitch. Executive head JC Engelbrecht highlighted the broader purpose of the event. 'Waterstone is committed to sports development. We want our school to produce top players. This event gives students the opportunity to express their sporting talent. The Super Cup is a festival of football, where passion, positivity, and respect shine the brightest,' he said. Engelbrecht added that the Super Cup is about more than football. 'It's about building community and promoting holistic education. We focus on a strong connection between academics and sport, helping students develop perseverance and emotional intelligence.' At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Irish Examiner
20-06-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Half of those interested in starting a family are worried about their fertility — or their partner's
The National Women's Health Survey — commissioned by the Irish Examiner and carried out by market researchers Ipsos B&A — has found that, among women who have had a child or who are currently pregnant, one in five experienced fertility difficulties. Four in five of these women sought medical advice in relation to their or their partner's infertility, while 52% had fertility treatment such as IVF. About half of those interested in starting a family say they are worried or concerned about their fertility — or their partner's. Of these, about one-fifth say they've already taken steps to assess their fertility — and two in three of the women who intend on starting a family would undergo fertility treatment such as IVF if they needed. John Waterstone, medical director at Waterstone Clinic, is surprised that one in five women have pre-emptively taken steps to check out their fertility: 'I'm surprised, because these women haven't yet started their journey. They're just aware they might have difficulties. I'm quite encouraged that 20% have taken steps to investigate their fertility.' It is in stark contrast to the lack of proactiveness he sees in men: 'We rarely see men who aren't currently trying for a baby wanting to check out their fertility. Once in a blue moon, a man with no children will ask: 'Can I have a sperm analysis test just to see if I'm OK?'' John Waterstone, medical director at Waterstone Clinic, is surprised that one in five women have pre-emptively taken steps to check out their fertility. Waterstone says that as time passes, women are becoming more aware of fertility and fertility difficulties: 'Because of social media, these matters are discussed more than they used to be.' But with just one in three survey respondents describing themselves as 'well-informed' about fertility, Waterstone confirms a rise in the number of women without children who present for the first time to his clinic when they are aged 40 and over. 'The percentage of women who come for a first visit when they're 40 or older is far higher now than it was 10 years ago,' he says. 'And as every year passes, we're seeing more of these women — it's distinctly worrying. Sometimes it works — with treatment, they manage to have a baby. Other times it doesn't, and sometimes donor eggs are the only way. 'The fundamental thing women need to know is they have a limited window of opportunity for having children compared to men. Men can dilly dally — they can still have children when they're 40 or 60. Once women get into their late 30s and 40s, their eggs are ageing. Opportunity for having children drops away sharply.' One in three survey respondents say they would consider egg freezing — as opposed to one-fifth who disagree. Waterstone Clinic is seeing 'significant demand' for egg freezing, with Waterstone adding: 'It now comprises something like 20% of all the treatments we do.' How viable an option is it? 'That's the million dollar question,' says Waterstone, explaining that although technological advances have meant more reproducible success in egg freezing in recent years, it is still a difficult procedure to do successfully: 'It's technically challenging. You have to be very meticulous.' It is difficult for clinics to know just how successful they are because of the time lag between freezing eggs and eventually thawing them out: 'Though we freeze hundreds of eggs every year, only a handful of women have thawed them out — probably less than 10. And more than half of those women [whose eggs we thawed out] are pregnant, or have had a baby.' Caitríona Fitzpatrick, National Infertility Support and Information Group chairperson Awareness of available options Caitríona Fitzpatrick, National Infertility Support and Information Group, chairperson, says people are more aware today that options exist if they're experiencing fertility difficulties: 'We get a really broad mix contacting us — people considering IVF, right up to those looking at donor conception and surrogacy, the full gamut, They generally have done some research themselves — they come to us because they don't know anyone who has gone through it. We offer peer-to-peer support — speaking to someone who has already gone through a fertility journey.' Fitzpatrick sees a lack of fertility education in Ireland: 'We're very good here on educating about contraception, which we weren't before. We don't really educate about fertility — despite at a very young age a lot of people knowing they'd someday like to be a parent.' She says many who approach the group do not realise the age at which female fertility starts to decline, the length of time it can take to become pregnant, or what they and their partner can do to enhance their prospects: 'A lot of people say if they'd known fertility starts to decline at 35, they'd have started earlier, or been prepared for a longer journey.' Fitzpatrick also finds that people still don't talk openly about fertility. 'We talk openly about having a baby but when issues come up with fertility — [despite] the amazing help available, the high number of successes every year — a huge number of people getting fertility treatment only tell one or two people.' While 82% said they were positive about the use of fertility treatments to start a family, Fitzpatrick says the overall findings suggest a continuing measure of social taboo surrounding fertility: 'There's still a stigma about all of it.' Click here to read our National Women's Health Survey. The Irish Examiner Women's Health Survey 2025 Ipsos B&A designed and implemented a research project for the Irish Examiner involving a nationally representative sample of n=1,078 women over the age of 16 years. The study was undertaken online with fieldwork conducted between April 30 and May 15, 2025. The sample was quota controlled by age, socio-economic class, region and area of residence to reflect the known profile of women in Ireland based on the census of population and industry agreed guidelines. Ipsos B&A has strict quality control measures in place to ensure robust and reliable findings; results based on the full sample carry a margin of error of +/-2.8%. In other words, if the research was repeated identically results would be expected to lie within this range on 19 occasions out of 20. A variety of aspects were assessed in relation to women's health including fertility, birth, menopause, mental health, health behaviour, and alcohol consumption.
The Citizen
12-05-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
College's golf team shines at Sun City festival
The Waterstone College golf team recently participated in the Sun City Golf Festival on May 5. They competed on the iconic Gary Player Country Club and Lost City Golf Course. Over four days, the golfers showed determination, growth and school spirit. Manav Mohanlal stood out with an impressive seventh-place finish. Personal bests, unforgettable moments on the fairways and valuable experience at a world-class event marked the team's performance. The tournament was a platform for the young golfers to showcase their skills and learn from the experience. The team's participation in the festival was a testament to their dedication and passion for the sport, and their achievement reflected their hard work and commitment to excellence. With such talent and determination, the future of golf is bright at the college. Deirdre Martin, the sports co-ordinator at Waterstone, expressed pride, 'The school is proud of our golf team and wishes them all the best,' said Martin. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
