Ah, a sight to gladden the heart. Well, two actually if we are counting the sumptuously lovely Maria Sharapova, of whom more later. But more important, the walk to Wimbledon was ditched this morning for a ride on a Routemaster bus. Yes, a wonderful old Routemaster has been pressed into service to transport the crowds to Wimbers for the duration of the tournament.

Remember the Routemaster? Think Cliff Richard and Summer Holiday, or the Spice Girls and whatever their rubbishy movie was, or indeed any movie from the 1960s featuring Michael Caine. London and Routemaster buses go together like Andy Murray and bad hair, strawberries and cream, McEnroe and Borg.

It had a proper clippie, so none of that "Have your exact change ready" palaver that has you dashing to the newsagent to get some coins together. And none of those electronic doors that lock you in; you can just hop on and off the platform at the back. Absolutely marvellous. Boris Johnson is quite right and as Mayor of London we expect him to bring back the lovely Routemaster asap.

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So, second sight to gladden the heart was Miss Sharapova. When you have only seen the touched-up magazine pictures, it is always difficult to know whether the real thing will live up to the hype. The good news is that she is absolutely, completely and utterly gorgeous and sweet and quite funny. I noticed a strange medical condition overwhelming me as I listened to her press conference in her native Russian, a definite weakening of the knees while my face loocked into a perma-smile. Think I have got it bad. In fact, if she asks, I am prepared to have Maria's babies.

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But then she is only 21 and unfettered by the chores of family life, unlike Lindsay Davenport, here with baby Jagger (yes, I know, we thought that, too) in tow. The 1999 Wimbledon champion has been finding it tricky to balance baby, just a year old, and life as a tennis pro. Davenport was saying she left Jagger behind at their rented house at noon yesterday as she went off to play her first round match and didn't get home until late. Constantly on the move, Davenport reckons that it is difficult finding chums for little Jagger on the tour but the mix of competitors at Wimbledon and its family atmosphere provides a little relief.

Davenport gave short shrift to suggestions that tennis dads have just as tough a time of it, though. "It is probably easier for a guy to come back after having a child than a woman," she said with her tongue firmly in her cheek. "But I think it's great. We don't have a lot of playmates for Jagger on the women's tour, so it's nice when we go to some of the mixed events because he seems to meet more friends, more people."

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Lord only knows what Venus Williams would make of a baby. She certainly isn't up to speed on wildlife, judging by yesterday's performance against Naomi Cavaday. Williams started the match as though she had forgotten what she was supposed to do with her racquet, swishing it everywhere but at the ball. But now we know why? A bumble bee.

Yes, the defending champion was stressed out by a big bee. "I felt something on my leg," she says, "and it was a bee, a big old bumble bee. I was trying to get it to go off. I don't know if they sting or not. Do they? The big bumble bees, do they? I didn't want it to sting me and I was trying to get it off without getting stung. You know how they fly back at you? Then I ended up losing that service game, so I guess the bumble bee got me off to a bad start."

Do Wimbledon rules include bee stops play? Must check for Venus's sake.

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But then Venus should stick to the old showbiz maxim of never working with children and animals. And bees. And peregrine falcons. Just ask Alec Stevens, one of Wimbledon's press officers, who was was responsible for introducing Socrates, the tournament's resident pigeon deterrent, to the press. Clearly the stress of appearing on the BBC and flapping his wings for the national press got to poor old Socrates and he relieved himself spectacularly onto young Alec's shoes. New footwear was being sought - otherwise Alec would not be a welcome passenger on the Wimbledon Routemaster.