Today at Wimbledon: Day 2. Wimbo-Chic

Today I would like to talk to you about what people wear to Wimbledon. There are definitely two distinct styles. On one side we have those who have probably been given the tickets from work, freebies from the All England Club or go because they love to tell everyone they know that they have 'Centre tickets dahhhling' before rushing off in their Land Rover to pick up Tarquin and Jemima from school. These are the Wimbledon-ers who wear pashminas and blazers, straw hats with purple and green on and pearls. On the other side of the fashion net we have the die-hards, the tennis fans and the Henman-hillers. This group consists of a bunch of red, white and blue-wearing, union jack clutching, deely bopper-wearing nutters and they are what makes Wimbledon amazing. It's this group who the average Wimbledon watcher at home can identify with. We love the people who have gone to the effort of painting their faces, writing 'GO MURRAY!' on their best white shirt and  get jolly pissed on Pimms. These are the people who queue for days to get a coveted ticket for Centre Court to shout 'COME ON TIM' at Andy Murray.

In other news and as an addition to yesterday's 'Today at Wimbledon' feature 'The World's Greatest Name' I would like to introduce you to Kaia Kanepi. A name that makes her sound like a mini smoked salmon bagel served with a glass of bubbly. Amazing. Stay tuned for more tennis player's amazing names.

Today at Wimbledon: Day 1. The World's Greatest Name, NEW BALLS PLEASE and Sue Barker's Set.

So, as established in today's earlier post, I love Wimbledon fortnight and not just because of the brilliant tennis. Wimbledon is a brilliant chance for a right laugh too. Over the next two weeks I will be showcasing the lighter side of Wimbledon, (I feel it is best if you read the rest of this like Tony Blackburn reading the chart rundown).

*Wimbledon theme tune plays*

In at number 5 on today's Wimbledon countdown is Sue Barker's hair in Game, brilliant set Mr Hairdresser and match. For me Sue Barker has the most iconic haircut of the 20th and 21st centuries. Thatcher schmatcher, 'The Rachel'...please. Sue has found a style that works and for a woman of her ripening age that is hard. Well done Sue and a commendation to the person who follows you round SW19 with a can of Elnett.

At number 4 it is the greatest name I have ever heard. Coco Candeweghe.
Today dear old Candeweghe was pitted against Petra Kvitova, unfortunately she lost so I will have to wait another while to hear a BBC commentator struggling with the complexities of an (unbelievably) American name. Maybe she's like Lisa Vanderpump from the Real Housewives, with less sass (obviously). Nobody serves, albeit a glass of wine in someone's face, quite like Vanderpump.

Serving for the match at number 3 is the lack of cream for my strawberries tonight.
We had the strawberries but no cream. Somewhere along the line someone forgot to buy some and I didn't feel to keen about using the stuff that went off last week. I couldn't even find any proper sugar, only cubes, so ended up having to grind them up in a makeshift pestle and mortar. Not the classiest start to the Championships.

At number 2 is the re-introduction of the phrase 'New balls please' into my life.
It's always funny, but I see these two weeks as a chance to use 'new balls please' as a response for anything, regardless of situation. Someone drops a plate: NEW BALLS PLEASE! I holler. My Dad says something silly: NEW BALLS PLEASE. It's so versatile.

And finally at number 1 is Murray winning and a shock for Rafa. In an unprecedented move this countdown actually features something to do with tennis. Murray won, hurrah for Britain! And Nadal lost, so again, hurrah for Britain. It's got to that point after the first day where people start to murmur, 'could he do it, really?'

Wimbledon, Weather and Come on Tim.

We all secretly love the British Summer. Moaning about the weather is so ingrained into our national psyche I am pretty sure it is written up as a law somewhere, along with the ones about being able to drive sheep over London Bridge if you are a Lord. As Brits we also love an underdog. You just have to look at Strictly each year. Admittedly it is either our love of an underdog or rather a sadistic part of us that enjoys Anne Widdecome being dragged round a dancefloor, in front of millions, every Saturday night. Let's say underdog. It sounds much more, well, British. 

Naturally then the last week in June and the first in July fill this country with something it only gets once a year (because not many of us worry about the weather forecast for Strictly), the chance to root for the underdog and two blissful weeks when we can moan about the weather to our hearts content. Wimbledon. Yes, that great staple of the British Summer. It's two weeks where each and every one of us realises that we are the next Maria Sharapova, Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and takes to our local tennis court with such gusto that it requires an ice bath, a glass of Pimms and the rest of the fortnight spent camped out on the sofa. These are the best two weeks of the whole Summer. I'm just going to say it. 

Even if you hate sport you can love Wimbledon. We can eat strawberries and cream, get afternoon drunk on Pimms, moan that it is too rainy or too hot, cheer Andy Murray and then collectively sigh with relief when he doesn't quite make it because we have already forgotten how to treat a winner, even after last Summer. This next fortnight brings with it the best of the British Summer in one handy two week-sized package so that by the end of it we can pack up the bunting and the Pimms and look forward to a Winter being able to moan, naturally, about the weather. So go forth and enjoy the next two weeks of sitting down, watching other people exercise and remember....COME ON TIM. 

Marathon Day.

If I had to choose one day a year that was my favourite in London it would have to be Marathon Day. If you've ever been in London on that day or if you were in town for the Olympics you will know why I would choose that one. Every year tens of thousands of participants run (some more elegantly than others) the nearly 26 miles, 365 yards long (I can imagine that after 26 miles those few yards feel like a lot more) course which takes in some of London's greatest landmarks.

There is an air of solidarity that engulfs London on Marathon Day. The thousands of runners are united in one goal: making it to the end and the spectators are also united in a massive game of 'shout a random name and see who turns round'. (Or maybe that's just me a my little brother.) London changes on that day. It's the world's longest street party. For almost 27 miles the route is lined with bands, cheering fans, families and charities all out to make their voices shout the loudest, to get their banner on TV and aim towards the ultimate goal of being interviewed by Sue Barker. (She still eludes me). It provides some iconic images of London. The runners rounding the Cutty Sark in Greenwich, waiting to start along the avenue in Greenwich park, running past Big Ben and finishing against the Backdrop of Buckingham Palace on the Mall.
The marathon has always been close to our family's heart. The family home is in Lewisham, not far from Blackheath where the Marathon starts so nearly every year we would go up to see the thousands of runners start their trek round the city.
This year it will be even more special. On Saturday the 21st of April my Auntie Susan will

be running this very marathon, after saying she wanted to when she was taken my my Grandparents to watch the start of the very first one. Some say she is crazy but we as a family are all immensely proud of her. We will all be out to support her and join in the party with Macmillan Cancer Care, who she is running it for. I'd love it if you could sponsor her, even just a few pound. Surely running 27 miles around London is worth a bit of change? It's also for such a brilliant cause. We all know someone affected by cancer, and Macmillan work tirelessly to make the experience bearable. Even if you can't sponsor her I urge you, if you are in London, to go and watch the marathon, it passes a lot of places in London so there really isn't any excuse. It's a brilliant day and I guarantee you will come away feeling inspired.

Thank you.

SPONSOR SUSAN HERE


Addition 17/04/13

Since I first published this post the events at the Boston Marathon have unfolded and developed. The London Marathon this weekend will go ahead but in the memory of the 3 who died and with the hundreds injured in the hearts and minds of the runners and spectators. It is testament to the unifying bond that sport has across the world that runners are organising to wear black ribbons, hold their hands to their hearts as they cross the finishing line and there will be a silence at the start line. It is small but significant gestures like these that restore your faith in humanity.