Most of us were too busy cursing Cristiano Ronaldo to notice, but this year's Wimbledon saw the first ever Chinese victors—Yan Zi and Zheng Jie following up their Australian Open ladies' doubles triumph with a second grand slam title. Elsewhere at SW19 the argument continued over the gender disparity in prize money. But a little number-crunching provides support for the status quo—the men's champion, Roger Federer, played 202 games on his way to the title, meaning his £655,000 winnings worked out at £3,243 a game. But Amélie Mauresmo played 140 games to pocket her £625,000, thus earning £4,465 for each of them.
Premiership predictions
Prospect has acquired a spy at the heart of English football. These are his predictions for the 2006-07 premiership ( anyone with a more accurate prediction wins lunch with him—entries by the end of August toinfo@prospect-magazine.co.uk). 1st: Chelsea. Usual problem of squad rotation; expect a disappointing start from Ballack. 2nd: Liverpool. Benitez a class act, signings invariably top-notch. 3rd: Arsenal. Wenger always excellent. Rosicky is a good signing. Fabregas and Reyes will go on improving. 4th: Man Utd. Ferguson's last season, probably minus Van Nistelrooy and Ronaldo. Watch out for Giuseppe Rossi. 5th: Tottenham. More improvement, hard to beat at home. 6th: West Ham. Young ambitious side, Jonathan Spector good signing. 7th: Newcastle. Another quiet year all round in the northeast, no Owen for most of the season. 8th: Everton. Watch out for dodgy keepers. 9th: Blackburn. Will miss Bellamy. Not impressed with signings. 10th: Bolton. How long will Allardyce stay? 11th: Wigan. Nothing special but Jewell a good manager. 12th: Portsmouth. Expect some eye-catching signings. 13th: Middlesbrough. Depressingly for England, they are happy to see the back of Steve McLaren. 14th: Man City. Hamman good signing but will cost a fortune in wages. 15th: Charlton. Ian Dowie is good, but inherits odd signings. 16th: Fulham. Will miss Malbranque. 17th: Aston Villa. Already imploding.
Our spy backs none of the three newcomers to stay up. This is said almost every year, but this year it will be true. 18th: Reading. Have done nothing in the transfer market. 19th: Watford. Cannot see how they can survive. 20th: Sheffield United. Absolute top favourites for relegation.
Nuclear skills gap
"We have concluded that new nuclear power stations would make a significant contribution to meeting our energy policy goals," said the government in July, writes Philip Ball. New reactors can be cleaner and more efficient than the first-generation behemoths. But where will we find the scientists and engineers to construct, maintain and inspect them?
The last reactor to be built in Britain was completed in 1994, and there is no new generation of engineers to replace those who designed it. "Almost no universities are interested in the subject," says Ian Fells, emeritus professor of energy conversion at Newcastle University. "There is a real problem."
These days, a nuclear power station can be built within 45 months. But with the current skills gap, that's unlikely to happen in Britain. The nuclear industry expects it will be five to ten years before construction of new plants begins, by which time they hope to see graduates emerging from the new nuclear departments established at universities like Lancaster and Manchester. By that time, however, building for the Olympics will also be under way—which may make it hard to find even a concrete mixer, let alone a nuclear physicist.
BHL on Zidane
Who would have guessed the wisest commentary on the Zidane affair was to be found in the Wall Street Journal? Deploying his customary brevity, galáctico philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy wondered what made the "super-Achilles" shatter "his legend that is a mix of secret king, a Dostoevskian sweet man, the ideal Beur son-in-law and future mayor of Marseilles." Still, BHL reminds us, Zidane remains "more admired than the Pope, the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela put together."
Miliband
David Miliband, new environment supremo, may struggle to defend his credentials against the new green Tories if he is seen to be too chummy with the controversial lobbyist Alan Donnelly. Donnelly's firm Sovereign Strategy represents sinister American corporate nuclear operators such as Fluor. By an unhappy coincidence, Donnelly is also chair of the constituency Labour party in South Shields, Miliband's seat, and a close associate of Jack "Nuclear" Cunningham.
Think tank journo takeover
Pray that the reputation journalists have for being opinionated individualists with zero management skills turns out to be false, for journos are taking over in think tank land. John Lloyd is already the main man at the new Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism; Madeleine Bunting is taking over at Demos, and Edward Mortimer is a strong contender for Chatham House. One journalist who has shown he can run things is Ian Hargreaves. Might the British Council beckon?
