Wimbledon
12 July 2009
England seems to have 'big' things going
on all the time. If it's not football, it's rugby,
Ascot horse races, Henley boat races on the Thames, Wimbledon
Tennis and now 'The Ashes' -- the ultimate Cricket Test between
England and Australia. June 22nd through July 5th marked the 2009 version of
the Wimbledon tennis tournament.
So, Here's a little
report:
Mom and
I decided to make the effort and try to
see some tennis. We went on the second day -- left
work about 4:30pm and caught the tube to Wimbledon. We got off the underground
and walked with lots of other people for some reason toward
the Wimbledon Tennis Centre. As we neared the grounds we were directed to
a large grassy area where we we attended a 'Queing' class.
Here's a picture of the Queing class.
Some of the class camps out in tents to attend. It was so fun
and no trouble at all. All we had to do was stand in the sun,
read the Queing Instruction Manual,
watch the other Quer's and wait
--- and... it only took about and hour and a
half.
Upon graduation from Queing class 101 we were
given a diploma (shown at left) We were told that we must go
in in order and the manual says que-jumping is frowned
upon. I wondered what the number meant - 15812. I think
that was my place in the Que. The number '2' meant that we
were in Que 2 on the large grassy field.
When we finally made
it into the grounds about 6:30pm, each of us 14 pounds lighter
(and I don't mean weight) we found our way to Henman hill, found a
vacant patch of grass and sat down to watch Andy Murray play on the
really big screen (at left). The match was great and we could
hear every whack and grunt.
Following Andy's
match, we quickly walked (as you can see at the left) to another of
the outside courts to watch Taylor Dent play singles. Our
seats weren't too good.....I meant our standing room only wasn't too
good and we could only see half the court at a time.
Interesting to watch half a tennis match. Makes you wonder
what the other guy is doing before the ball either comes back .....
or doesn't.
The stop in the
Wimbeldon Shop was less crowded. We bought a couple of things
and left having thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere and the experience
of having gone to Wimbledon 2009.
Oh, and by the way, I
lost my Swiss Army pocket knife to the entry guards at the security
check.
HOWEVER!!! A week later, Brian and family
were in London, and 'the boys' of the family and I made the trek
again to Wimbledon. Unfortunately, this time, we missed out on
the the Queing class, the Que and all the fun people and had to walk
right straight in without any delay.
We went to Stadium 2
and watched a doubles match with Pat Cash, who was the Wimbledon
Mens Singles champ in 1987. It was entertaining and fun.
After a lunch break
followed by Strawberries and Cream (Joseph eating Strawberries and
Cream with his feet in a cool stream) we then went to
Court 18 and watched a Boys Singles match from the second row.
No crowds, no que's, lots of tennis -- what could be better.
We saw some great tennis.
We too, spent some
time in the Wimbledon Shop. Great atmosphere, great tennnis,
great fun with family. See the pictures at Wimbledon
We love you...... Mom and
Dad
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