TENNIS was a game made for three according to the first Victorian rule book. Our ancestors started playing the game outdoors for the first time thanks to a Birmingham lawyer who experimented with the sport. Instead of the Wimbledon as we know it with strict singles and doubles teams with no mixing of the sexes the early Victorians were MORE liberal. In a version called the Unicorn one player could play against two opponents. And while ladies were discouraged from playing - they were permitted to battle against the men. This means if Wimbledon was played the Victorian way we could be looking at a big female name like Serena Williams playing the likes of Murray AND Djokovic. History buffs of the sport insist the 1874 'Lawn tennis or Pelota rules of the game' by Thomas Henry Gem was the first of its kind. Former PE teachers Sue Elks, 69, and Christopher Elks, 68, from Wythall in the West Midlands explained the difference the modern game has with the tennis of yesteryear.
THE THOUGHT OF BECOMING shipwrecked on a remote destination would fill most holidaymakers with dread .
Megan Brailsford, 32, from Cambridgeshire, met Daniel Dugdale, 29, in September 2020 .
From a floating jelly fish to a relaxed seal, Britain’s unappreciated beach life is captured above and below the water .
Families in an Indian slum put their lives on the line by living on top of an ACTIVE railway track .
THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS - 250 DRIVERS ARRESTED FOR STREET RACING IN BIRMINGHAM- In Pic - The start line on the Heartlands Parkway Nechels Birmingham .
A northern potoo shows it is a master of disguise as it perches on a tree stump and blends into the bark .
Struggling home entertainment chain Blockbuster has been slammed for advertising its workers' jobs while they are still in them in order to scare them into working harder .
A TEN-THOUSAND square foot wide Avatar-style grove is such a beauty it will leave you feeling VINE .
Say cheese! This cheeky chappy isn’t in the mood to live up to his scary reputation as he is pictured here cracking a killer smile as he goes about his daily business .
A tiny puppy who lost his front legs after being hit by a train has been given and new LEASH of life with a set of wheels .
A US firefighter has battled osteoarthritis and four hip replacements to break the world paddleboarding record .
