A deaf girl from Altrincham has made a new friend through a “pioneering” pen pal scheme that’s currently running across the UK.
10-year-old Emma Groves said that she decided to join the Pen Pals Project – which was initially set up by the National Deaf Children’s Society as a response to the isolation deaf young people were experiencing during lockdown – because she wanted to make friends with other deaf children who were going through similar experiences as her.
Since being set up back in 2020, the Pen Pals Project has helped more than 200 deaf children to create new friendships, feel less isolated, develop their communication skills, and most-importantly, view their deafness with more positivity.
The “pioneering” scheme is free for all deaf children and young people between six and 18, and youngsters who take part are matched with another person of a similar age, interests, and communication preference to them – whether that be through British Sign Language (BSL), Signed Supported English, or even speech.
While many of the youngsters either email their letters or record videos in BSL for each other, plenty of others have chosen to go down the traditional pen pal route and handwrite messages or draw pictures to send to their new friends.
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And this is exactly what Emma chose to do.
Emma – who lives in Altrincham with her parents Andreina and Mike, and her seven-year-old brother Sammie – was born deaf, but has always enjoyed reading and writing and has aspirations to become a writer when she is older, so it’s easy to see why she jumped at the opportunity to write to her new friend through the scheme.
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The Pen Pals Project has helped more than 200 deaf children to create new friendships / Credit: djupress
The keen writer says she was very excited to let her pen pal know about her school, her likes and dislikes, and how she had been taking part in after school sport activities with her deaf friends.
Emma’s mum Adreina said having a pen pal was especially useful because her daughter was concerned about what to expect at high school, and luckily, her pen pal already attends high school, and was able to lend a hand in reassuring her that it was less stressful than she might have imagined.
“Emma loves meeting new people,” Andreina said.
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“This project was an opportunity for her to connect with someone facing similar challenges, and she enthusiastically replied to every message, and at the end of the project, she asked for the communication with her pen pal to continue.”
Emma added: “My teacher suggested I might like to take part as she knows I like reading and writing and I’m always happy to meet other people. It was amazing because the letters were about things we love doing, and we found out the subjects we like and don’t like at school, and how we both like video games.
“I carried on with her because I really like making new friends, and hopefully one day we can meet in person.”
As mentioned, the National Deaf Children’s Society set up the Pen Pals Project during lockdown to help connect deaf young people, and they hadn’t intended on keeping it running past then, but after the demand for the scheme was so high, the charity has decided to carry it on.
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Speaking on the success of the scheme, project coordinator Amy New said: “It’s really taken off and deaf children are already telling us they feel more connected and more positive about their deafness [so] it’s become a really important service for lots of deaf children and it’s made a real difference.
“We’ll provide it for as long as they need it.”
Featured Image – National Deaf Children’s Society
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Rúben Amorim’s Man United press conference interrupted by Old Trafford roof leaking – again
Danny Jones
Manchester United manager Rúben Amorim has been given plenty doses of reality since arriving at Old Trafford but surely there can’t be any more telling than the stadium’s roof leaking into his press conference?
Poetic irony timed to perfection.
Not only did the new head coach have to sit in front of journalists as he tried to wrap his head around another Premier League implosion following the 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth – a team now sat in fifth, it’s worth noting – but he also got to witness the condition the stadium first hand.
And when we say first hand, we mean literally right in front of his face.
In case you wanted a summary of how much work there is to be done at Man United, the roof started leaking during Ruben Amorim’s press conference. 💦
In this instance, not only was the leak internal but Amorim’s post-match press conference was actually briefly interrupted as drops of water fell on the desk in front of him.
You can hear reporters asking what it is (they knew full well) before United’s press officer can be heard off-camera asking them to quickly move on. Sports writer Sanny Rudravajhala quipped, “A new meaning to the leaks at #mufc”, in reference to dressing room talk and lineups still being fed to the media.
Make what you will of Amorim‘s expressions in this moment but let’s just say he can’t have been expecting to have to worry about things like this when he accepted the job.
A penny for the Portugueseman’s thoughts when he looked up and saw that leak coming from the ceiling:
The moment Ruben Amorim's press conference is interrupted by a leak at Old Trafford pic.twitter.com/gqc8fW20Om
Although many are deeply reticent to let the iconic Theatre of Dreams go after more than a century of history and sporting memories, scenes like this certainly go a long way to arguing the case for a whole new home ground rather than simply renovating as it appears to be in such a sorry state of disrepair.
But even with a brand-new state-of-the-art footballing arena, it doesn’t do anything to address improving performances on the pitch as even with eye-watering sums invested in the squad over recent years, they still look way off it and serious work needs to be done for them to catch up with the pack.
You can watch the highlights from Man United vs Bournemouth below:
The leaking roof wasn’t the only thing raining down on Amorim as the derby day high was followed by a frustrating festive low.
Featured Images — BeanymanSports (screenshot via YouTube)
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A new study has revealed the exact age that ‘hangovers from hell’ begin
Clementine Hall
Still nursing a Christmas hangover? There might be a reason for that.
That’s because a new study has officially revealed the exact age that “hangovers from hell” start and begin to ruin our lives.
Picture this, you’re a 20-something-year-old who’s woken up after a night of heavy drinking only to feel a faint headache and a craving for greasy food. One fry up and one lucozade later, you’re feeling right as rain by 3pm and ready to go again.
Fast forward a few years and a glass of red wine or two will knock you out for days as you reach for the paracetamol and hide away from any bright light whilst you swear to never ever drink again (until the next weekend).
Gone are the days where you could stay out all night and only feel a slight hangover the next morning.
But at what age does this drastic decline take place? When does our ability to handle alcohol slip through our sticky, tequila covered fingers? Well, a new study carried out by greeting-card company Thortful has found that the age of 34 is where it all starts to go downhill.
A new study has revealed the exact age that ‘hangovers from hell’ start / Credit: Kraken Images (via Unsplash)
A survey of 2,000 people aged from 18 to 65 found this to be the age where hangovers really start to sting and you begin to question whether that last gin and tonic was really worth it, and it doesn’t just stop there, as age 35 was found to be the year when hangovers last for two days which is the ultimate punishment.
We all know there’s nothing worse than rocking up to work on a Monday morning still feel hazy eyed and more dehydrated than a cactus.
Sadly, it’s not until age 37 when we finally learn from our mistakes (supposedly) and start to recognise our limits – with the consensus being that people feel ‘too old’ to go out at age 38, and subsequently start to feel more drunk after just two drinks at age 39.
At least it’ll be a cheap night out.
Long gone are the days when you would wake up feeling fresh as a daisy / Credit: Kinga Cichewicz (via Unsplash)
The science behind it is as follows – Dr. Deborah Lee of Dr Fox Online Pharmacy, said little research has been conducted on the severity of hangovers with regards to ageing, but explained they worsen due to ‘the breakdown of alcohol and the persisting presence of its toxic metabolite – acetaldehyde – in the body’, the Metro reports.
“Hangovers are likely to worsen with age because the activity of the key enzymes involved in alcohol breakdown becomes less efficient with age,” Dr Lee explained.
“Also, older people have less muscle and more fat, plus the distribution of water within the body alters as we age.
“The end result is higher levels of blood alcohol which take longer to metabolise.”
So, if you’re still in your 20s and deliberating whether or not to have that extra shot of tequila then use this information to your advantage and go for it, as sooner or later that extra sip might have you bed bound and out of action for a few days, so enjoy it whilst you can.
Emily Sergeant -
7th July 2022 
