It is great to see such warm and sunny weather as the covers come off this week and the grass courts of Wimbledon come alive with tennis. This morning though, rather than doning on their tennis gear, luminaries of the tennis world put on their best behaviour to greet
the Queen of England, who had gone to SW19 for the first time in 33 years (since 1977 - the year when British women's tennis star Virginia Wade won the women's title). Queen Elizabeth's greatest sporting passion has always been horse racing, and she never misses a day at Royal Ascot, parading down the course in an open landau every year.
But according to those who know, her father was a keen tennis player. Before his accession, King George VI competed in the men's doubles at the 1926 championships. He and Commander Greig were easily defeated in the first round. Queen Elizabeth will meet Andy Murray (Britain's no. 1 in professional tennis) today and see him in action on Centre Court, but her visit comes after Wimbledon history was made last night on Court 18. Nicolas Mahut and John Isner – unknown to the wider sporting world until yesterday and are now household names if you follow the news - as they will drag their weary bodies back on to court at Wimbledon this evening to resume the longest match in tennis history as the Queen makes her first visit since 1977. (Isner finally won this record-breaking match.)
If you are stuck for inspiration to wear to see the tennis matches in Wimbledon, you may be pleased to learn that a new shopping destination aimed at the modern woman,
WomenLikeUsClothing.com, is offering easy to wear tunics and shirts, and has just added some bright, cheery summer accessories, including colourful beaded bracelets and long necklaces, plus options to take to the beach if you are planning for holiday in a sunny spot, such as a statement beach bag, sarong and beach wrap.
As part of the new range of jewellery, there are beautiful beaded bracelets in a choice of chunky or more delicate shapes, and in monochrome blue, orange, deep purple or mixed colours. Long necklaces look great teamed with a summer dress, or a WomenLikeUsClothing.com tunic and are a great way to jazz up an outfit, creating an effortlessly stylish and fashionable look.
But if you're invited to summer garden parties, take cues from celebrities who recently attended one charity event hosted by Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Russian President. In honour of his late wife,
Gorbachev co-hosted the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation's fifth annual Midsummer Gala with Alexander and Evgeny Lebedev, owners of the Independent titles and the London Evening Standard newspapers, at their home, Stud House, in the grounds of the Hampton Court Palace, joined by leading figures from the worlds of art, fashion, music and film.
Picture above shows Mikhail Gorbachev with daughter Irina Virganskaya in a black and white number with oriental influences.
While Alexander Lebedev here wore a suit that appeared to have come from Dickens time, his wife Evgeny wore feathers and sheer in nude colour.
Actresses Angelica Huston Joely Richardson wore long gowns in black and white, or white with an empire line, looking elegant and cool.
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Unless you're living on another planet, there's no excuse for not noticing that football fever will soon be dominating our lives, especially if you live in any of the participating country teams, such as England, France, Brazil etc., playing in the FIFA World Cup 2010. There'll be many sleepless nights for those residing in different time zones, like many fans I know in Hong Kong , who will have red eyes for days to come. That's because, in less than a week, the beautiful game will be on our screens Big Time, unless you have trekked over to South Africa to watch the matches in person. I wish I could - not a big football fan, but a great admirer of the 'beautiful south'. I was in South Africa on holiday not too long ago. My husband and I arrived in Cape Town to see in the new year (2010) and in two weeks, we drove a thousand miles, from south of Cape Town to East Cape along the South African coast and were amazed by the breath-taking landscapes and beautiful scenery, not to mention abundance flora and fauna and wildlife. 
