Pregnant Pippa’s tennis tip for a perfect delivery

PIPPA MIDDLeTON has been extolling the benefits of playing tennis while pregnant.

‘It’s possible to play right up until the third trimester,’ trills the Duchess of Cambridge’s sister, whose first child with financier husband James Matthews is due in October.

‘Continuing to play has a positive influence — and can lead to improved placental growth, good weight management as well as reducing back pain, strengthening heart and blood vessels. Over the past two trimesters I’ve been playing regularly — mostly doubles, which requires less sideto-side movement and intensity. I haven’t been giving 100 per cent to every shot.

‘One tip: the opposition can get distracted if they know they’re matched against someone pregnant — showing good manners. So in the spirit of competition, now is the time to make the most of them holding back!’

HOW should smartly dressed men stay cool during the heatwave? Home Secretary Sajid Javid likes to think he’s a trendsetter. ‘When you’ve got no hair it’s a lot easier to stay cool. That’s my secret,’ he tells me. ‘Maybe men should shave their heads in summer instead of wearing short suits.’

A new order dawns at The Lady, once described by former editor Rachel Johnson as ‘a piddling little magazine that nobody even cares about’.

Publisher Ben Budworth, 54, whose forebear founded the publication in 1885, is letting out the basement, ground floor and first floor of the magazine’s HQ in Covent Garden. He suggests its high ceilings make it ideal for a restaurant.

when the late Debo, Duchess of Devonshire’s father, David Mitford, was the magazine’s general manager, he had to deploy his pet mongoose to deal with the rats in the basement.