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Organisers stress that it is not a bereavement support group or a stand-up comedy course but a safe and welcoming space where participants can explore storytelling, humour, poetry, and spoken word.

Open to anyone affected by bereavement, relationship breakdown, illness, redundancy, or another major life change, the sessions aim to help people build confidence, learn new skills, and connect with others who have shared similar experiences.

Participants will also hear from guest comedians who will share their own experiences of loss and wellbeing challenges and will end with an informal showcase for family and friends.

Workshops will take place on Wednesday mornings at Markland Hill Racquets Club from September 23 to November 4 with limited places.

To apply, email maura@thefeatherfixer.co.uk or talk to anyone at The Bereavement Cafe.

“Concentrate!” A stern face, intense look and arms across the chest. A one-word order for primary-aged daughters. It’s the start of a tennis lesson, and the children have already clocked two hours of practice with their dad beforehand.

It doesn’t stop there. The stories of unkind adult behaviour at youth sport events are endless, and alarmingly persistent. As a tennis coach and an academic researching sport, I’ve heard of – or witnessed myself – shouting, belittling, blaming, name calling and cheating. Even full-blown fist fights at under-eight events.

Youth sport can grant many health benefits. It can contribute to physical fitness, social development and mental wellbeing. But it’s essential that young players thrive in environments that emphasise play, autonomy and creativity, rather than rigid structures designed and controlled by adults.

So often, youth sports sell a dream. Don’t you want to be the next Novak Djoković or Serena Williams? The next Jude Bellingham or Simone Biles? But this can lead to a toxic culture of relentless training, high-stakes pressure and demanding competition focused on young children, with little evidence of its value.

Hobbies can bring joy, wellbeing and focus to our busy lives, but so many of us don’t have one. If you’re ready to replace scrolling with stitching, or hustle with horticulture, The Hobby Starter Kit (a new series from Quarter Life) will help you get going.

Children are dependent on their parents, with a natural desire to please out of a need for attachment and acceptance. This can become problematic, keeping children in situations and circumstances that harms them, especially when children believe or feel that their worth is closely related to their sporting performance and training compliance. If acceptance and love are conditional, a child’s mental health can be negatively affected.

Young people are particularly driven by internal rewards of enjoyment, curiosity and personal satisfaction during an activity absent from adult control. This means that they are likely to get most enjoyment – and feel most motivated – when they have autonomy over what they’re doing, rather than trying to please a parent.

Youth sport can bring children joy, connection and satisfaction. If you’re a parent of a child who takes part in youth sports, here are some tips to bear in mind.

1. Prioritise mental health

Honour your child’s boundaries. If children don’t want to attend a competition, train multiple times a week or continue with a sport at all, they should be able to say so without fearing negative consequences. No is not a bad word or a problem that needs fixing. On the contrary – no is healthy, and learning to say no is an essential part of growing up.

Validating children’s emotions, feelings and experiences is essential. Comparisons and delusional views are not. Externally imposed targets – when a child’s value seems to be tied to their athletic performance – strip them of their authentic self, undermining their development. Children and adolescents need deliverance from judgment and stress. Released from the worry of not being good enough. Instead, the goal should be consciously raising resilient children.

Research insists on a systemic and a cultural shift in youth sport to focus on children’s mental health. As parents, this means acknowledging, openly communicating and consistently prioritising children’s welfare. Children’s self-worth should not be based on their sporting performance.

2. Always have fun first

Believe in your child’s own path to success. There is a loud, distorted understanding of what guarantees greatness in youth sport.

Monica Seles, a renowned figure in tennis history, won the under-18 Junior Orange Bowl competition at the age of 11. At 16 she became the youngest player to win the French Open and was the world’s number one player by 18. She won a total of eight Grand Slam titles before the age of 20.

Seles started to play tennis at the age of five in unconventional spaces such as parking lots, hitting tennis balls against buildings. Her dad would draw cartoon characters of Tom and Jerry on tennis balls for Monica to hit. She simply wanted to play, not caring or fully understanding how the scoring worked – she was just having fun with her dad.

3. Connect in meaningful ways

Commit to quality time together. Youth sport can improve communication, bonding and overall closeness within families. Involved parents who prioritise fun can help build community around youth sport.

Make taking part in competitive sport a family bonding experience. This could mean choosing music together on the way to a competition, having a snack together afterwards – and conversation during the car ride home that focuses on support, not coaching or criticism.

Focus on creating an environment that values joy, laughter and curiosity. This positive association can encourage a lifelong love for sport. As golfer Padraig Harrington has said, “Whatever they want to do, let them do … and bring them home before they get tired”.

Argentina and Spain are one game away from winning the World Cup but on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, the victorious captain will be forced to wait longer than normal to lift the trophy.

Because, for the first time in history, FIFA has controversially decided to add a halftime show to the biggest game in global soccer.

Billions of fans will tune into Sunday’s game as Lionel Messi and Co bid to secure a second successive World Cup triumph. This year, however, Messi will be forced to share the stage with the likes of Madonna, Shakira and Justin Bieber as soccer is given a slice of the Super Bowl treatment.

As well as a halftime show, the World Cup final will also include a closing ceremony that will feature performances and appearances from Post Malone, Tom Cruise, Nicole Scherzinger, influencer IShowSpeed, Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson, Robbie Williams and Italian singer Laura Pausini.

Cruise’s specific role is unclear, with FIFA describing it only as a ‘special appearance.’ But soccer chiefs say the ceremony will pay tribute to all 48 nations from the tournament.

Here, the Daily Mail explains what viewers can expect at halftime.

Madonna is also among the headliners for the controversial show at MetLife Stadium

Donald Trump is set to attend the final and hand over the trophy with Gianni Infantino

WHO IS PERFORMING?

FIFA enlisted the help of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin to curate the show and back in May it emerged that Madonna, Shakira and K-pop band BTS would perform. 

Bieber was recently added to the lineup, while Burna Boy will join Shakira on stage and Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel is also down to perform.

Coldplay will have their moment in the spotlight, too. Martin and Co will perform alongside the PS22 Chorus, an award-winning group of fifth graders from an elementary school in New York. Also among the lineup? Characters from Sesame Street and The Muppets.

‘For the first time ever, football, music and social impact will come together as the greatest show on Earth reaches its pinnacle,’ FIFA said.

‘[The] Halftime Show will support the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, an initiative aiming to raise $100million to expand access to quality education and football opportunities for children worldwide.’

FIFA provided a glimpse of what to expect at last year’s Club World Cup Final, when Martin put together another halftime show for Chelsea’s win over Paris Saint-Germain.

That took place up in the stands of MetLife Stadium but, 12 months on, Madonna and Co are expected to perform on the field.

Nicole Scherzinger and Tom Cruise will headline the World Cup closing ceremony on Sunday

Twelve months ago, FIFA hosted a halftime show during the Club World Cup final at MetLife

HOW LONG WILL IT LAST?

We shall see. The performance is expected to be wrapped up in 11 minutes but there has yet to be official confirmation about how long the entire circus will take.

Recently, however, reports claimed that soccer chiefs are hoping the show will last around 20 minutes. That is despite the sport’s lawmakers stating that halftime should not ‘exceed 15 minutes’ – unless ‘altered… with the referee’s permission.’

On Sunday, Messi and Co look set to spend longer than normal in the locker room before returning for the second half. 

That has raised concerns over injuries, while questions remain about how the process of erecting and dismantling the stage will affect the field.

Twelve months ago, at the Club World Cup final, halftime lasted nearly 25 minutes – despite the performance taking just 10 minutes.

Unlike last year, however, a stage will need to be put up and taken down on the field of MetLife Stadium. FIFA is also more squeezed for time than the NFL.

At the Super Bowl, halftime is typically extended to around half an hour – from 13 minutes in the regular season – to make room for the musical performance.

BTS, seen here in Mexico City, became the first K-pop group to receive a Grammy nomination

Bad Bunny performed the halftime show at Super Bowl LX between the Patriots and Seahawks

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CONMEBOL put on a halftime show for the final of the 2024 Copa America in Miami. That performance, which also featured Shakira, saw Argentina and Colombia players wait 26 minutes before starting the second half. 

World Cup games are already longer than normal thanks to FIFA’s controversial hydration breaks in each half.

WHAT ARE PEOPLE SAYING ABOUT IT?

Well, it is fair to say that Infantino’s decision to introduce a halftime show has been divisive and controversial.

The show’s executive producer, Guy Carrington, recently told The Hollywood Reporter: ‘We’ve spent months and months preparing this, developing it and working with all of the artists… it’s a carefully-curated performance that’s going to be spectacular.’

The FIFA president, meanwhile, said the artists will ‘play a key role in conveying a powerful message of unity and hope to billions of people worldwide.’

Infantino added: ‘As the world unites for the most significant football match in history… this groundbreaking spectacle, curated by Chris Martin of Coldplay, will celebrate football, music and our shared values, ensuring a legacy that transcends the final whistle.’

But the verdict of Robert Smith of The Cure was rather less effusive. ‘Please just f*** off,’ he said about the halftime show.

It’s one of Cambridge’s most beautiful places to walk amongst greenery and wildlife

Cambridgeshire is a county full of beauty spots that its residents can experience first hand. There are lots of nature reserves with flowers, greenery and wildlife bursting at the seams.

And with the beautiful weather we have so far had in summer, these make for the perfect places to walk. One beauty spot in Cambridge with “crystal clear waters” and where a famous poet once bathed is a must-visit.

This is Byron’s Pool Nature Reserve. There is a local legend that the famous English poet Lord Byron, where the reserve gets its namesake from, bathed in a weir pool in the reserve. This was during his university days at Trinity College during the 1800s.

It seemed to be the place for poets to go, as it’s also believed Rupert Brooke, another poet that studied in Cambridge, also bathed in the reserve waters.

The site is set over 4.5 hectares. It was once part of the Trumpington Hall estate, until Cambridge City Council acquired the nature reserve in 1949. It was officially declared a nature reserve in 2005.

The reserve is mainly a wooded area, but there are still a number of small ponds to discover and it also runs along the riverbank. It’s also home to lots of wildlife.

At this time of year, there will be purple and white-letter hairstreak butterflies fluttering around. The reserve is an easy place to walk around, with the paths being flat and also accessible for wheelchair users.

There are also platforms if people wish to canoe or fish. If anyone wishes to head to Byron’s Pool, it’s around an hour walk from Cambridge city centre.

To get there quicker, people can catch the A bus towards Trumpington for seven stops, and then walk 13 minutes.

Argentina, the reigning world champions, came from behind to beat England in the semi-final, keeping alive the dream of becoming only the third nation ever to win back-to-back World Cups, following the Italy team of 1934 and 1938, and their fierce South America rivals Brazil who achieved the feat in 1958 and 1962.

By HARRY BAMFORTH, LIVE SPORTS COVERAGE REPORTER

Updated: 18:21 BST, 19 July 2026

Emergency crews were called out to the river close to the city centre shorly before 4am on Sunday.

A man’s body has been pulled from the River Clyde in Glasgow.

Emergency crews raced to the Jamaica Street area after being alerted to a report of a man having entered the water shortly after 3.45am on Sunday.

Police confirmed that the body of a 40-year-old man was recovered a short time later by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death and the force will submit a report to the Procurator Fiscal.

A spokesperson said: “We were made aware of a man having entered the River Clyde near to Jamaica Street in Glasgow shortly after 3.45am on Sunday, July 19, 2026.

“The body of the 40-year-old was recovered nearby a short time later by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

“There are no suspicious circumstances and a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.”

Get Daily Record Premium for just £1 per month in exclusive offer to celebrate the world cup. Click HERE.

By KRISTINA WEMYSS, GENERAL NEWS REPORTER

Published: 17:52 BST, 19 July 2026 | Updated: 18:01 BST, 19 July 2026