It’s that time of year again when strawberries and cream are back on the menu, we’re digging out our dusty tennis rackets and scrambling around under the stairs for those tennis balls. Well, that is if you’re like us and you get excited by the beginning of The Wimbledon Tennis Championships, starting today in London and across our TVs and radios. We’ve spotted some fun facts and figures on the Lawn Tennis Association’s website and bring them to you here, along with our top ‘day out’ gadgets, in case you’re venturing along to the Wimbledon queue, or any other summer day out soon.
Our Top 5 Wimbledon Facts –
- Most aces of all time – Men: 212 – Goran Ivanisevic (CRO) 2001. Ladies: 102 – Serena Williams (USA) 2012
- Wimbledon is the largest single annual sporting catering operation (2200 staff) carried out in Europe – Average quantities supplied by Championships’ caterers FMC include 320,000 glasses of Pimms, 29,000 bottles of champagne, 28,000 kg (140,000 servings) of English strawberries, 10,000 litres of dairy cream.
- Fastest serve of all time – Men: 148mph – Taylor Dent – 2010. Women – 129mph – Venus Williams – 2008
- The real hawk – Rufus, a Harris Hawk, trained by Imogen Davis of Avian Control, visits the Club most weeks in the year to provide a deterrent to local pigeons. He flies for one hour (9.00am) most mornings of The Championships before the gates open.
- Hawk-Eye – The electronic line calling system was introduced on Centre and No.1 Courts in 2006, by 2016 it also covered No.2 Court, No.3 Court, Court 12 and Court 18.
Have fun if you’re watching your favourite players on TV over the next two weeks, or if you’re lucky enough to be attending.
Our Top 3 ‘Day Out’ Gadget Picks –
The Denver DAB-39 grey portable DAB+ FM digital radio with alarm clock and 2.8″ LCD display, at £29.99 +P&P is a handy portable radio to listen in to the tennis, at home or in the queue. It comes in a stylish rubberised matt finish, with rounded edges, retro volume and tuning dials and impressive audio quality with 4 watt speakers. Switch between DAB and FM radio, and select the station you need, which is clearly displayed on the 2.8” LCD screen. The alarm clock gives you the option to wake up by radio or buzzer, depending on your mood and it also features a snooze button, sleep function, headphone jack and battery back-up.
The Denver BTS-200 silver bluetooth speaker with USB and built-in rechargeable battery, above at £35.99 +P&P, is a very stylish vintage speaker, so you can listen in to the action from your phone. Coming with a smart leather handle for easy transportation, you can play your music from your smartphone, MP3 player or PC either wirelessly via Bluetooth or through USB or aux-in connection. The 2 x 5W RMS speakers, the Bluetooth range of 8-10 metres, 6 hours playing time on the built-in battery make it a handy travel gadget for summer.
The Denver GSP-120 big button senior mobile phone is on offer at £18.99 +P&P, is easy to use and gives all the basic functionality needed from a mobile phone, especialy for a senior citizen. It comes with standard voice calls, SMS texts, speed dial, SOS button and number read out as you dial. It comes unlocked (except for the Three network) and with a built in torch, FM radio, alarm clock, calculator, micro SD for photos and rubberised grip for ease of use. It’s small, handy and a great little phone to stay safely in touch when out and about in crowds this summer.
Enjoy the tennis, or your other July day out!
From the team at 3wisemonkeys
(Cover photo : BBC News website)