Sunday/Rātapu
We left for Chesterfield station to train back to London. Alex gave us a run down on Chesterfield. It is famous for its couches - this is a Chesterfield . . .
. . . and for it's crooked church spire.
The spire was made from lead. This from from Wikipedia: "It is now believed that the twisting of the spire was caused by the lead that covers the spire. The lead causes this twisting phenomenon, because when the sun shines during the day the south side of the tower heats up, causing the lead there to expand at a greater rate than that of the north side of the tower, resulting in unequal expansion and contraction. This was compounded by the weight of the lead (approximately 33 tonnes) which the spire's bracing was not originally designed to bear. Also, it was common practice to use unseasoned timber at the time the spire was built, as when the wood was seasoned it was too hard to work with. When unseasoned wood was used, the craftsmen normally would have made adjustments as it was seasoning in place."
In London we watched Wimbledon on TV - Cori (Coco) Gauff the talk of the town.
SOCIAL, BY DANIELLE ROSSINGH
In little over a week, Cori Gauff has gone from a virtual unknown outside tennis circles, to becoming a hugely popular star who has transcended her sport. Gauff’s opening day victory over Venus Williams, and her dramatic third round escape, from two match points down, against Polona Hercog, triggered an avalanche of messages on social media, not only from other athletes such as former US basketball star Magic Johnson, but also from former US First Lady Michelle Obama and actor Samuel L. Jackson.
Her defeat in the last 16 by Simona Halep will do nothing to diminish the interest in her. So, with the world now watching, just how do you manage such a tidal wave of interest in this hugely talented 15-year-old from Delray Beach, Florida?
CORI GAUFF'S PARENTS CHEER HER ON
Tony Godsick, Gauff’s agent, told wimbledon.com he has been “completely” inundated with media requests for Gauff, who is the youngest qualifer in the Open era.
“Sixty-five to seventy per cent of the requests are media, but big media,” said Godsick, president and chief executive officer of Team8, which has managed 20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer since 2005.
“Before, when we did do a few things in having her speak to a few key members of the press in the last year, we did it just to sort of educate people that there is this very young talent - she’s got a long way to go, but you should follow this name,” said Godsick, who started working with Gauff when she was 13.
“So you’ve got all of that, plus you’ve got the companies that want to take advantage of what’s going on right now.”
