London Olympics diary: Quirky moments around the Games

Here's our collection of off-beat and fun Olympic moments so far on day seven.

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Our quote of the day

"The sport is very simple to understand. Ball over net; don't touch net; three hits each side; keep sand out of pants.

"That's what I've been doing for 20 years and I still haven't mastered it."

Veteran Australia beach volleyball player Nat Cook, mulling over the deceptively difficult fundamentals of her sport.

Baby love [all]

We bring you this exchange from Wimbledon, where Roger Federer, who has two-year-old twin daughters, will play for Olympic gold on Sunday.

Question: "I wonder what, if anything, has struck you about playing here and at Wimbledon itself, playing in the Olympics? Lack of ties in the Royal Box?"

Federer: "I was thinking of that for one second today. Not that many ties around. I don't know if that's a good thing.

"I mean, I do hear many babies scream from time to time. Makes me feel right at home.

"I don't think kids are allowed during Wimbledon into the Centre Court, what, under 10, 15.

"So I think that's what struck me the most over this last week or so, the kids screaming in the stands.

"It's actually been good for me (smiling)."

Chariots of fire

After the lighting of the Olympic cauldron provided the climax to last Friday's spectacular opening ceremony, people started to grumble that the Tom Heatherwick design was not on prominent display in the Olympic Park.

Those concerns have been laid to rest now as the cauldron has taken centre stage once more - well, not centre, exactly, otherwise how would the javelin competition work?

Team GB posted this stunning shot of the track shimmering in the flames during a women's 400m heat.

Shoot me

American tennis doubles pair Bob and Mike Bryan say they plan to continue playing for another four years until the Rio Olympics in 2016.

The identical twins, who will play for gold in the men's doubles final on Saturday, have won all four Grand Slams, the Davis Cup and a bronze medal at the 2008 Games in Beijing.

They are now guaranteed to win either a gold or silver medal by virtue of reaching the final, but the 34-year-olds also hope to make 2016.

Mike Bryan adds: "We said if we played a day past Rio we're going to shoot each other!"

Mind you, we've heard that line before.

Nailing a medal

It's claws out as female athletes vye to out-do each other in the patriotic nail department.

Reaching for the right words

The Olympics are a time for superlatives. The atmosphere at events so far has been "amazing", "awesome", "unreal"... and that's just the first six days.

So how to describe the vibe at the packed 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium on the first full day of athletics?

Spectator Aidan Hannon had a choice turn of phrase: "If there was a roof over the stadium, it would have been blown off by now."

Quick shout-out

Uzbekistan weightlifter Sherzodjon Yusupov has been getting the crowd's attention - with a piercing pre-lift scream at the ExCel Centre.

The distinctive yell endeared Yusupov to British fans so much that when it came to his last lift in the clean and jerk - 195kg (429.9 pounds) - his scream was met by a screaming response from the stands.

A successful heave prompted a standing ovation from his new-found fans, to which Yusupov responded by blowing kisses.

"I like the atmosphere, it is very warm," he told reporters. "Everyone is shouting 'Yeah! Yeah!' when you lift."

Including you...