Is Britain really ready for a 'Queen Camilla'?

Almost two decades after Diana's tragic death, it surely wouldn't be a betrayal of her memory to give the Duchess of Cornwall her own chance to secure a place in the nation's heart, writes Cathy Newman

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Andy Murray gets Great Britain off to a smooth start against USA in the Davis Cup

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Andy Murray played hardball in the baseball stadium on Friday night, as he got Great Britain off to the smoothest of starts in this intriguing Davis Cup tie.

At Petco Park, the home of the San Diego Padres, Murray demolished Donald Young of the USA in just 98 minutes: 6-1, 6-2, 6-3.

Murray had lost to Young before, in one of his spring slumps after the Australian Open, but there was little chance of a repeat here once he had found his feet on a slippery but slow-paced clay court.

The match was competitive for around five minutes, which was about as long as it took Murray to survive a tense opening service game that featured two deuces. After that, he cranked up his forehand and started playing some high-level tennis.

For a man who has never been comfortable on clay courts in the past, it was an encouraging display. Realistically, Great Britain's prospects of winning this tie depend on Murray being able to deliver three points – one of them with the help of Colin Fleming in today's doubles.

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It is thus crucial for Britain's greatest asset to conserve energy over the weekend, and yesterday he was magnificently economical. Young could not handle Murray's accuracy and authority, despite enthusiastic support from the 4,000-odd fans at Petco Park and pep talks from his team captain Jim Courier, whose natty grey suit made him resemble one of the Premier League's more elegant continental managers.

A left-hander ranked No. 79 in the world, Young is perhaps not best suited to playing on a surface as slow as this one. The USA have not hosted a home tie on clay for more than 20 years, but they had hoped to have John Isner – the world No. 13 and a proficient dirtballer – to lead their team.

Unfortunately Isner was ruled out by an ankle injury and they have ended up with Sam Querrey – who was due to face British No. 2 James Ward in the second match yesterday – plus the erratic and unpredictable Young. As a man who likes to come forward, and has more touch in his hands than power in his groundstrokes, Young would surely have preferred a slick hard court.

It is possible that Young could end up playing a decisive anchor leg in this tie on Sunday afternoon, when it will be his turn to face Ward. The Briton is ranked 96 places below him but he will have observed Young's tendency to throw in a duff game amid some bold stroke play. It took the

American until midway through the third set to even earn a break point, and then he was unable to convert.

Despite Murray's fine start, he and the British team have not been delighted with the quality of a court that was laid only a couple of weeks ago. Clay courts normally take at least a year to bed down, so creating one from scratch is never quite the same as going out to play at Monte Carlo or Roland Garros.

The top layer of granules is so loose that the ballboys were struggling to keep their footing. Murray and Young were much steadier, having spent the past week getting the hang of it, and indeed Murray moved – and slid – with impressive control and speed. But he did call the chair umpire, Henrik Molina, down to look at a dicey patch late in the first set.

Meanwhile, Roger Federer's surprise decision to play in Switzerland's first-round tie in Novi Sad, Serbia's second city, was rewarded yesterday with a straight-sets victory over Ilija Bozoljac. The only shame is that he will not be playing Novak Djokovic on Sunday, for the world No. 2 has opted for a skiing trip to his childhood home of Kopaonik instead.

It is not common to see Federer involved in the Davis Cup at this early stage of the season. Normally he leaves his old mate Stan Wawrinka in charge and rides in at the last gasp to head off relegation in the

September play-off. But Wawrinka's recent flowering must have encouraged him to think that Switzerland could lift the Cup this year for the first time in their history.

Andy Murray

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Andy Murray aims to deliver for Great Britain in Davis Cup

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When Andy Murray goes out to face the USA's Donald Young tonight, in the opening rubber of a fascinating Davis Cup tie, he will be playing at the most quintessentially American venue you could imagine: a 40,000-seater baseball ground entitled Petco Park.

Murray – who caused a short-lived media storm on Wednesday with a fake wedding announcement – is often described as left-field, but has never actually played there before. Mind you, the whole experience of contesting a world group match will be a novelty for a British team who have not scored a victory at this elite level for almost 30 years.

Murray's match against Young is due to start at 7pm GMT at this stadium within a stadium. Temporary stands have been set up to the west of the court, reducing capacity to a cosy 8,000, while the east side is overlooked by the soaring bleachers frequented by fans of the San Diego Padres. It might sound like a dog's breakfast, but the US Tennis Association should actually be commended for creating a dramatic and unusual venue.

So what of the tennis? The British team's prospects are certainly stronger than they were 24 hours ago, given that John Isner, the world No 13, has been ruled out with an ankle injury.

"We've got a chance of winning this match even though the US probably go in as strong favourites," said Murray admitted yesterday, after attending the draw ceremony at Balboa Park, adjacent to San Diego's world-famous zoo.

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In all probability, Murray will still have to win both his singles matches – as well as tomorrow's doubles encounter with the world-leading Bryan brothers – if Great Britain are to progress to the quarter-final stage of the competition in April.

On the face of things, though, the absence of Isner would seem to lighten his load. The biggest concern for Britain's team captain Leon Smith was that Murray would become embroiled in a series of exhausting four- or five-set matches – a particular worry in the light of his painstaking return from back surgery in September.

Of course, Murray could still find it difficult against Young – a left-hander ranked No. 79 – in tonight's opening match, especially on the slippery clay court that seems to have been specifically prepared to make him uncomfortable. But at least it is easier to return serve against Young – a relatively diminutive tennis player at under 6ft tall – than it would have been against the 6ft 9in Isner.

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Human rights laws allowed 600 foreign criminals to dodge deportation and remain in Britain last year

1EmailRecord numbers of convicted villains claim their right to a home life would be breached if they were sent home while others say they would be killed

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Worst storm for 60 years leaves trail of destruction across Britain

Tony Evans, senior watch manager at Dover Coastguard, said: “With one of the worst tidal surges we’ve seen in recent years, we would urge members of the public to take extra care when walking along our coastline.”

The tidal surge brought a pod of porpoises swimming up the Thames to central London yesterday.

The Metropolitan Police Marine Policing Unit initially thought they were dolphins but later revealed them to be harbour porpoises which usually live around estuaries.

Marine conservationist Stephen Mowat said: “They follow prey up the river so with the high tides they get more fish further up the Thames.”

Winds are due to die down today although plunging temperatures will bring the risk of ice across the North.

The Met Office said temperatures will be in single figures in the South.

Forecaster Laura Young said another area of low pressure was expected to move towards the UK next week although it will not cause a repeat of the extreme weather of the past two days.

Related articles Travel chaos looms as Arctic blast hits Scotland Scotland weather: Lorry driver killed in storms and 130,000 homes have no power Storm scare for jet passengers as landings aborted at Glasgow and Edinburgh Britain is swamped as killer storm triggers massive tidal surges Flood alerts remain after worst coastal surges since the 1950s Tweet Share this Print Email 6Comments Add Your Comment Your Name: Comment: 1000 characters remaining Post Comment Comments (6) MaryDKir214 11:16am on Saturday, 7th December 2013 Report This Comment

I quit working at shoprite and now I make $35h - $80h...how? I’m working online! My work didn’t exactly make me happy so I decided to take a chance on something new

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UK weather: Live storm updates as Britain hit by gale-force winds, travel chaos

Off12:00 am

Residents continue to fill sandbags in Great Yarmouth.

Much of the east coast of England is now under water as thousands have been evacuated.

The clean up is likely to be a huge operation.

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Britain was ready for war a week before Germany invaded Poland

A staged photograph of George VI, whose real name was Albert, announcing the declaration of war to the nation in September 1939 Photo: Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS By Hayley Dixon

7:18AM GMT 25 Nov 2013

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An early draft of the King's Speech reveals Britain was ready to declare war on Germany a week before Hitler invaded Poland.

The draft of the King George VI first wartime radio broadcast, which has come to light for the first time 74 years after it was written, is dated August 25, 1939 – seven days before Germany crossed the border into Poland

The speech – depicted in the 2010 movie The King's Speech starring Colin Firth as the stammering monarch – opened with the line “In this grave hour, perhaps the gravest in our history ...”

The three page document, entitled 'Draft King's Speech', accused Germany of being a bully that wanted to dominate the world by brute force, stressing that “we are fighting for the principles of freedom and justice.”

The typed document is an edited version of the first draft which had been written by civil servant Harold Vale Rhodes.

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He kept held of the copy of his amended speech and in a pencilled note in the left hand margin criticised the length of some of the sentences, hinting that his copy should be used.

It would appear his advice was followed as the final speech read out live to the nation and the Commonwealth by the King on September 3 contained short, concise sentences.

Although the tone remained the same, some of the content was significantly different as the draft did not mention Germany or Hitler by name but merely “our enemies.”

The intermediate, rejected draft was acquired by the unnamed owner in a load of paperwork from Mr Rhodes' estate following his death in 1970.

It has now been put up for sale at auction with a pre-sale estimate of £4,000.

Hindsight tells us that Britain had been expecting war with Germany since Hitler broke various conditions of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, such as the rebuilding the armed forces in 1935.

In 1938 he annexed Austria into Nazi Germany and invaded Czechoslovakia.

But it was after Hitler invaded Poland that Britain officially declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939.

In the Oscar winning film, Colin Firth's royal character was given little time to prepare for his defining address to the nation but in reality it appears the speech was being readied over a week beforehand.

Dr Gabriel Heaton, of auctioneers Sotheby's which is selling the speech, said: "This is a fascinating document for a number of reasons.

"It brings to life not just the speech but a pivotal moment in British history.

"It was written before Poland had been invaded but at a time when it was clear we were moving towards war with Germany.

"It shows that something was being prepared days in advance of the declaration of war so that the monarch had a speech ready in order to speak to the nation and the Commonwealth.

"You get a sense of the preparations for the speech and the struggle to find the right words to prepare the nation for the terrible fight that lay ahead.

"There would have been a group of people writing this speech and Rhodes was one of them.

"He had provided a first draft and was sent this revised version. His note in the margin is saying that his original is better than this one and that the wording should be shorter.

"The final version was a lot clearer. The sentences were shorter and the structure was simpler and that is what you want for public speaking, especially when the speaker has a speech impediment."

Nigel Steel, a historian at the Imperial War Museum, said: "When it happened, war wasn't out of the blue.

"There had been a number of political crises involving Germany going on for over a year before.

"The idea that this speech was prepared in advance of war is not a huge surprise, especially as the King had difficulties in delivering speeches."

The auction takes place at Sotheby's in London on December 10.

 Britain at WarNews »The Royal Family »UK News »World War Two »Hayley Dixon »

In Britain at War

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UK Weather: Live updates as snow hits Britain and temperatures begin to dramatically drop

19 Nov 2013 21:21Parts of Scotland and north east England have already been hit by a heavy frost and snow - and this is expected to move south overnight

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Boost for Chancellor George Osborne as booming Britain sees growth prospects upgraded

A DAY AND STOPPING FREE-LOADING MIGRANTS/IMMIGRANTS FROM COSTING US MILLIONS IN BENEFITS.

SIGN THE EXPRESSES CRUSADE AND VOTE UKIP.

supersix 1:33pm on Tuesday, 19th November 2013 Report This Comment

Gordon Brown did the same prior to 2005 election and look what followed 30 months on. NO MORE BOOM and BUST but they for got to tell Gordon.

MancTom 1:15pm on Tuesday, 19th November 2013 Report This Comment

Only for it all tobe undone by all the immigrants coming here to take yet more benefits....

UKIPNEWMEMBER 12:59pm on Tuesday, 19th November 2013 Report This Comment

Now is the time to remove ourselves from the EU before they take total control of our finance industry.

Getting_Too_Old_For_This 12:50pm on Tuesday, 19th November 2013 Report This Comment

Good news.

Now, stop pumping money in with QE.

Keep cutting the budget defecit and when you balance the budget so that expenditure is the same as tax receipts, DO NOT STOP.

Reduce expenditure further - we have one of the most ludicrously generous benefits systems in THE WORLD and we are far to free with money (and housing!) for immigrants, economic migrants, 17 year old pregnant teenagers and male teens who just no longer want to live at home.

Get expenditure BELOW tax receipts, build up a rainy day fund and then start paying off the structural defecit.

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Sudden Cold Snap Set To Bite Britain

Parts of the UK are expected to start shivering today as temperatures plummet, bringing the threat of hail, snow and ice. 7:11am UK, Monday 18 November 2013

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More than £300m of art being stolen in Britain each year

A new taskforce is established to crack down on art theft as it emerges that the crime is now the second most lucrative criminal enterprise behind drug dealing

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More than £300m of art being stolen in Britain each year

A new taskforce is established to crack down on art theft as it emerges that the crime is now the second most lucrative criminal enterprise behind drug dealing

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Backing for fracking: George Osborne would "love" shale gas drilling to start in Britain

"http://i1.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article2189398.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/Caroline-Lucas-centre-joins-activists-to-sit-at-the-main-entrance-to-the-Cuadrilla-exploratory-drilling-site-2189398.jpg"width

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Britain warms up for the great 'storm of the century'

We could be looking at the storm of the century

Leon Brown, forecaster for The Weather Channel

Forecaster Mark Sidaway said: “The rain is a specific concern over the next few days, especially in the South-west, with winds pretty much across the whole country.

“Some of these will be strong, while the rain could bring the problem of flooding in localised areas.” He said some parts of the ­country were already at near-­saturation point with rivers “starting to fill up”. Vantage Weather Services forecaster Jonathan Powell said the extreme conditions were due to low ­pressure systems sweeping into the UK.

He added: “Thursday night and into Friday it is going to turn very wet and windy, but the real threat comes at the weekend.

“Sunday could see gusts exceeding 80mph and very heavy rain. We could be looking at the storm of the century.

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