Stay-at-home rugby star pitches in for charity
WALES rugby star and Ospreys favourite Justin Tipuric may not be in New Zealand with his Wales team-mates at the moment, but he will be keeping busy – volunteering with a charity based in Swansea.
Tipuric was ruled out of Wales’ tour of New Zealand after he suffered concussion in the final Six Nations game against Italy.
The Ospreys openside flanker is scheduled for a three-month recovery period after taking specialist advice over his symptoms.
Tipuric fell heavily on his head after falling to the floor from height at a lineout during the first half of the Principality Stadium clash with the Italians in March.
So, instead, he will be doing his part to pitch in with the Golau Cancer Foundation.
The player has volunteered to be an ambassador for the charity, which supports the work of the South West Wales Cancer Centre at Swansea’s Singleton Hospital.
Justin, who is from Trebanos, said he was keen to get involved in helping such a worthy cause.
He visited the centre this week and spent several hours with staff and patients after being given a tour of the facilities.
Michelle Barrett, from Golau, said: “We are really pleased to welcome Justin to our Golau team.
“He wants to support us at events when his schedule allows and provide signed prizes for our raffles and auctions. He is even hoping to get some Ospreys colleagues on board!” T ELEVISION star Kate Humble was told by her publisher she was “not pretty enough” to appear on the cover of her new book.
The former Springwatch host, who lives in Monmouthshire, said neither she nor her Welsh sheepdog, Teg, were good-looking enough to “flog” the tome, about dogs and people.
The Telegraph reported that someone else’s Labrador was put on the cover of the book, called Friend For Life, instead.
Speaking at the Hay Festival, she told parents children must be encouraged to climb trees and be adventurous.
They should “fend off” social services if youngsters get cuts and bruises.
She warned that too many parents were afraid to let their children play outdoors because they feared being investigated or facing criticism from other parents.
“‘I’m not a parent, but I have friends who I suspect think the same way as a lot of us – that kids should be given the freedom, they should be given the opportunities to go and test the boundaries, they should end up with a Band-Aid on their knees,” the 47-year-old said.
“Parents are almost more wor- ried about the criticism they will get if their children end up in hospital, or in trouble or lost.
“My parents were visited by social services because me and my brother were always getting bashed and scraped.
“I was very little, but my mum just thinks it’s hilarious.
“We had a proper childhood and somebody came and checked up.”
The Daily Mail reported that Kate claimed it was a “great sadness” that modern children’s play areas had to be risk assessed and that parents were scared to let their children climb trees and graze their knees.
“I think it’s really important that you do bash yourself about a bit,” she said.
Kate, who lives with television producer husband Ludo Graham in Trellech, praised a “brilliant” playground built in trees near her home.
“There isn’t a swing and a slide,” she said.
“Kids can feel natural materials, get a bit of a scrape, know ‘I don’t want to do that – it’s a little bit scary’.
“It’s encouraging kids to play in a natural way and give them that ink- ling of what it’s like to do something a bit edgy. “They find their own boundaries. “It’s a great sadness that everything has to be risk assessed.”
The star’s comments came as figures revealed one in five preschool kids were being referred to social services.
Researchers said scandals involving youngsters had led to a “climate of fear” among midwives, health visitors, nursery workers and the public.
They were passing concerns on to social workers who checked almost all the warnings because of fears a child might die on their watch.
A University of Central Lancashire investigation found that of more than half a million children born from 2009-10 in 114 council areas, 115,735 were referred to social services last year. That’s one in five youngsters. Naturalist Kate also called puppy farms to be banned.
She urged people not to buy dogs from pet shops or dealers, and to make sure they see the puppy’s mother.
“We shouldn’t have dogs in rescue centres,” she said.
“We do because people have made bad choices and haven’t done their research.” for