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13 July 2017


Wimbledon goes into second week

The UK was getting very excited about Wimbledon because we were doing very well in both the women's as well as the men's games. Johanna Konta is the first UK woman to get to the semi-finals since 1978 and people thought that defending champion Andy Murray would be in the semi-finals as well. But in a big shock, he crashed out in his quarter final match against US player Sam Querrey.

There have been lots of other stories about Wimbledon this year. Some players have complained about the state of the grass courts. They say the surface is slippery and not as good as last year. There have also been complaints that the men's matches are being put on better courts than the women's, meaning that they get more live TV coverage too.

And finally, there was one amazing story when US player Jack Sock threw his used towel to a young fan in the crowd. But the towel was snatched by a much older man, sitting in front of him.

There was an outcry on Twitter, including from Andy Murray's mother Judy. Jack Sock saw this and appealed on Twitter to find the young fan, who got in touch via Instagram. Now he is getting towels from Sock and other players.

New UK World Heritage Site

Have you ever heard of the Lake District? It is a very beautiful area in Northern England, which has lakes and mountains. It has inspired poets like Wordsworth, who wrote a poem about its flowers, painters and authors like Beatrix Potter, who set her children's books there.

It is also very popular with people who like to walk in the countryside, climb mountains, and sail on the lakes. It has England's highest mountain, Scafell Pike, and its largest lake, Windermere. Around 18m people visit every year.

Now the Lake District has been added to the United Nations' World Heritage sites with international places like the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China and the Grand Canyon.  The committee praised the area for its beauty, farming, and inspiring artists and writers.

UK goes mad for inflatables

People in the UK have gone crazy for silly inflatable toys to use in the pool. 

The trend has boosted sales in one of our chain stores, Primark, which sells inflatables from as little as GBP 1. There are even tiny inflatables for floating drinks in a pool.

Primark's inflatables range, which also includes a unicorn, have got almost 300,000 likes on Instagram. It suggests that people who take #inflatables on holiday (including the unicorn) will get lots of likes for their own holiday pictures. Inflatable giant pizza slices, avocado rubber rings and pink-iced doughnuts are also popular.

The world's favourite colour

The world's favourite colour has been found – and named after a woman from Scotland. But nobody can say it if is blue or green.

Marrs Green was named after Annie Marrs, a UNESCO worker form Dundee. She said the colour matched the rich blue, grey and green of the River Tay in her home town.

The colour was chosen after a survey of 30,000 people in 100 countries, who chose their favourite colour online. The competition was organised by Hull City of Culture, a UK event. The competition winner was announced in Hull, with lots of well-known British items on offer in Marrs Green.

 

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