All England Lawn Tennis Club At Last

The magical day is finally here(Monday). I have taken the tube out here once before, to my total and utter dismay, on one fine September morn. The All England Lawn Tennis Club has grown considerably since 1972. It is one of the world's premier sporting events, and a major happening here in the United Kingdom. It is surpassed only by football, cricket and pub crawling, not necessarily in that order.

Sitting and standing in line is a curious process. I have often stood in lines here in London for music concerts. It is mostly young people, who have nothing but time on their hands. I have time, and nowhere else to go. I met many interesting people while in line.

We form the queue in a park across the street from Wimbledon itself. They use the golf course to park cars. It must be heresy! The line is fairly neat and orderly. But as you can imagine, kids are playing hacky sack,cards, Wii, video games, listening to iPods, sleeping, eating, and nagging their parents.

I was able to meet the nicest ex-pats from Houston. They are here for a two year stint with IBM. Their two kids go to the International School here. Another Indian lady is an ex-pat from Chicago, along with her son. They all know each other, kids to same school, and hang out together in London. They were so nice to me, and it really helped pass the time.

I also met some crazy Italian men, who I told you have done the tennis Grand Slam. Pretty impressive. We had a somewhat limited, but spirited conversation about world wide sports, like World Cup Soccer, Olympics, but not much about U.S. events. I think they just hung around because on the ex-pat women was wearing a rather revealing sun dress.

Alex and Susan's kids, two boys, were well behaved. They preferred to read books rather than play Wii or horse around. I thought that was pretty neat. He said they had grown closer as a family in their two years here. They went on many European vacations to expose the boys to more culture and geography.

But they miss things like American football, baseball, and pro basketball. They also miss good old American food. But they have really made their two years here a great experience. I admire them for that.

On my way back last night, in my sleepless stupor, I took a slight wrong turn, and ended up about two blocks away from my hotel. As I circled, I got closer, until I finally decided to ask. It was on the next corner!

This room, shall we call it rather loosely, a hotel room, is about the size of either Pandora's Box or a dressing closet back in the U.S. It has a single bed, small desk, small closet, and a mini sized bathroom. Pity you big people out there, as it would not work for the big guys. But it is very clean, quiet, and enough for me while I am here. Bit it has a just right sized flat screen TV on the wall, AC, and a hot water machine.

The English have been extremely friendly and helpful in my first day here. The stereotype of an Englishman or woman does not seem to fit. They smile and appear much more friendly than in my previous trips here. I will head out for my fist real meal this morning, skipping the 5 pound breakfast here at the hotel. Yesterday, I spaced out about three sandwiches between about 8am and 7pm. Someone told me the food out at Wimbledon is very good. We shall see.

I also plan on my first strawberries and cream, glass of champagne, and maybe a Pimm's. And my Oyster card, for transport on the Tube and buses was fantastic. It is a must for all U.S. travelers here.

I may take Wednesday off from tennis, and head out to Stonehenge. The latest publicity over the Solstice out there has everyone talking about it. So, maybe I should go out there before the weekend crowds.

Also, the neighborhood here is very interesting, with lots of small hotels, and many neighborhood pubs and restaurants. I may try a little pub or an Italian place tonight. Bottom line, it is safe, and clean. I guess I got lucky when I chose this place to stay.

I had to really talk my way onto Center Court today (day 2) to see Andy Roddick play. I found a very sympathetic Royal Navy guy who was handling the usher job at Wimbledon today. It brought goose bumps, knowing that Federer, Sampras, Laver, McEnroe, Connors, and Agassi were standing a few feet from me, once upon a time.

I got to Wimbledon very early, about 7am, but still had to wait in line. I was with two Paki guys from London. One had a Japanese girlfriend, and he was jabbering in Japanese. The other fellow's girlfriend is an actress here in the city. We had a good time joking about the Williams sisters being from Compton.

They also told me that the best play in London right now is Sister Act. So if I ever have time, or energy one evening, I may go. Several theatres are walking distance, including Wicked.

Today, I was the resident expert out at Wimbledon. Many of the locals I met have not been there recently. I was number 2000 today, versus 7000 yesterday. Some kids camp out overnight and are able to get Center Court and show court tickets. Not me.

I also got to try the famous English Fish and Chips, very good. The fish was haddock, and the fries were also superb. A little malted vinegar on top, and I was eating like a local. About two hours later, I had my first Strawberries and Cream. No offense, but California strawberries are much better. But I had to try it.

Then I topped off lunch with a Pimm's Cup #1. It has a wickedly delicious ginger flavor that hides the alcohol rather completely. Needless to say, I was ready for a nap on Henman Hill.

I got a big kick out of Serena Williams' press conference. She said most of the female players are tall, blonde Russians, and their names end in "ova". So, she is thinking that her name should be Williamsova. Everywhere I turned, I saw 6 foot tall Russian female players who grunt and groan like Meg Ryan in "When Harry Met Sally".

I also sneaked into Court 1, also famous for hosting several upsets over he years. Today is also the 2009 debut of local hero, Andy Murray, hoping to be the first Brit to win since Virginia Wade. The locals are quite charged up about this.

Some of the courts out in the boondocks are quite cozy. I could work my way into the first row. Not only could I hear the grunting, I could also see the sweat pouring down like a river running wild.

By the way, the most obnoxious fans here are the Japanese and Chinese tourists, not the Germans or the Slavs. Close behind are the young, pre-teen English boys. I guess their only role models are Prince Charles, and Elton John.

But, Wimbledon is everything I thought it would be, and more. It has a classy vibe, much like the Masters Golf in Augusta, or George Costanza eating his Snickers with a fork and knife. Another nice tradition are the well dressed English women. Who would have thought to wear dresses, high heels, and big hat to the matches. It looked almost like the kentucky Derby, but no horse pucky.

I need a break tomorrow. I may go to Stonehenge or tour around London. Also, I may take a easyJet flight somewhere fun, like Greece or Amsterdam, if the mood strikes.

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