In an earlier post, I explained why I often use enigmas and lateral thinking problems in training (see http://petersanderson-dykes.over-blog.com/enigmas-to-solve)

Here is the first one; enjoy!

WIMBLEDON RAIN

People often think that it rains all the time in Britain, and in London in particular; in fact, there is more annual rainfall in Bordeaux than in London! In spite of this elevating statistic, it does seem to rain frequently in the summer, especially during Wimbledon fortnight, and many matches have to be postponed.

A few years ago, during one unusually heavy rainstorm, the players had to leave the court and the covers were pulled over to protect the already yellowing grass, proof, if needed, of regular sunshine. The popular English singer Sir Cliff Richard happened to be sitting at the Centre Court that day, and after a little encouragement, he entertained the crowd by singing an a cappella version of some of his hits, including “Congratulations” and the rather ironic “Summer Holiday.”

A number of journalists started to leave; they knew this was not a light shower and that it would probably rain all day. One of the photographers was Albert Dock; he did not know a thing about tennis and much preferred spending a day at the Oval or Old Trafford watching a Test Match. In fact, he had won a major award a few months previously for a rather amusing picture of Nasser Hussain juggling with the bails after a rare win in the Ashes. Still, tennis was better than waiting in front of a Knightsbridge department store for a so-called pop star to come out with her new clothes, he thought to himself.

As Albert started to walk to the nearest Tube station, wishing he had brought along his umbrella, he looked at the people around him, making a mental note of how they were dressed and the latest fashions he might need to recognise. A few yards in front of him, he saw a group of young people in fancy dress waiting for the traffic to stop at a zebra crossing. One of them, dressed like Data from Star Trek, called out to his friends, “Hey look! There’s that Romanian tennis player Ilie Nastase, crossing the road”.

Quick as a flash, Albert spun round, camera at the ready, and noticed a group of 50-year-old men on the pavement; in spite of his lack of tennis knowledge, he knew exactly which one was the former star, and managed to get half a dozen good snaps before they crossed to the other side of the street.

HOW DID HE KNOW?