I'm back home again after our grand day out; here are a few first impressions of Wimbledon.
Centre Court: rather smaller than television pictures would have you believe, and quite intimate, despite the size of the crowd.
Ball boys and girls: phenomenal! So well-drilled, so efficient, so quick. An admirable display at all times.
Spectators: very noisy. Much chatting to friends - not quietly passing comment on the play between points but gassing about this and that, seemingly oblivious to what was going on on court; talking on mobiles, too. I'd expected a Dan Maskell-like air of hushed reverence.
Cheering on: marks to the Frenchman near us for an oft-uttered and full-throated "allez Tsonga!" - the last syllable on a long, rising note - to counterbalance the Murray support. The rather plaintive "come on Roger" cries in the previous match sadly had little effect.
Players' box: the players' families and friends appeared to clap only for their own man and weren't seen to applaud good play otherwise. Not fully sporting, surely.
Sandwiches: hm. Could do better.
Ice-cream: overpriced and served by the slowest ice-cream scooper in the world. It's a good thing the British are used to queuing.
Assistance: lots of pleasant, courteous, helpful staff to tell you where to go, etc.
Balls: you can buy used balls for £1 each. I don't think Mollie, champion canine tennis ball finder that she is, would have been particularly impressed if I'd brought her home something 'possibly struck by Federer'. Long queue for them nonetheless.
Getting there: two hours to travel from Heathrow airport to the All England Club on the Tube and a shuttle bus; we flew down from Edinburgh in just over an hour, little did we know that that was the easy bit! Oh, Londoners, how do you do it?
Most marked: the strength and skill of the players - even more impressive in the flesh than on the screen - and the sheer quality of the tennis we watched. Thankyou, gentlemen, for great entertainment.
Next time try the Heathrow motorcycle taxi service (helmet and leathers supplied). You'll get there in 20-30 exciting minutes.
Posted by: Mr Cornflower | 01 July 2010 at 05:40 PM
I have been on a motorbike, you know. Twice!
Posted by: Cornflower | 01 July 2010 at 05:42 PM
Dawn would be I'm sure happy to have you on pillion!
If you'd like, and I know I would too, that atmosphere of hushed reverence plus proper sporting applause for good play then may I suggest snooker?
How do those of us who live in London cope with commuting? By not trying the impossible journeys too often! If I lived closer to where I work, but not near the appropriate line, then I might easily spend nearly 2 hours per day each way commuting too. As it is I can get to work in about 70 minutes, of which about 40 is actually on the tube.
Posted by: Dark Puss | 02 July 2010 at 10:38 AM
Oh, I am so envious of you seeing both the Centre court matches, Karen! I watched both on TV. How lovely for your mother.
As for London travel, it never fails to stun me. It's been a shock to the system moving to London and having to condition myself to always adding at least 0.5 times the projected duration onto any journey to ensure I make it to my destination on time.
Posted by: Claire (Paperback Reader) | 02 July 2010 at 02:01 PM
Claire, you are of course correct, I can get to Birmingham from where I live (fairly Central London) faster than some places with a London postcode. However you should also marvel at the incredible density of travel on public transport which massively exceedes most other (all other?) UK cities where individual car journeys tend to dominate. Our carbon footprints, in that respect, are not too bad I think.
NOTE - this is an opinion, based on my memory of relevant statistical data, but which I have not had time to check.
Posted by: Dark Puss | 02 July 2010 at 08:10 PM
I'm glad you both enjoyed Wimbledon - no mention of strawberries I notice!
I lived near Bond St station for several years in the eighties, but when I go to London nowadays I can't believe I survived the noise, pollution and crowds. A sign of getting older I presume!!
Posted by: Carole | 02 July 2010 at 11:02 PM
Partly age, but you you are also seeing the effect of the greatly increased numbers of people using public transport (as I said to Claire. The tube and commuter trains are pretty much packed all the time which it certainly wasn't in the 1980's when I moved down to London to do my PhD. As to pollution, it is certainly an issue but as to whether it is worse now I'm not sure, I'll see if I can find some evidence.
Posted by: Dark Puss | 03 July 2010 at 08:47 AM