London 2012 Olympic Games: Days 5 and 6

Breakfast time at the All England Club

Wimbledon + 5 and 6

Wednesday was Sock Monkey’s day off.  Unfortunately Sock Monkey’s jacket is no longer attached to Sock Monkey’s bag.  Sock Monkey’s jacket is somewhere between Clapham Junction and Gipsy Hill.  Or, more likely, eBay.

So I had to schlep over to Canning Town, to the big warehouse where they keep all the uniforms to collect another one.  I thought it would be deserted and although it was nowhere near as busy as the last time I had been there to be kitted out, they were now giving out the uniforms for those working at the Paralympics and also ‘dignitaries’ (I think this was competitors).

Ol' Rubber Nose

I had to fill out a form explaining how I lost my jacket and what I did to find it.  “The jacket became detached from my bag”. “I contacted Southern Trains lost property who did not have it”.  In actual fact, I asked a station assistant at Clapham Junction the day after I became jacket-less if they had a lost property department. She said no, I would have to go to Waterloo.  I thought “Bugger that” and told her I’d rather go to Canning Town for a new one.

There was another volunteer there whose bag had lost its clip and a girl whose spare trousers not only were the wrong size but they had a hole in them too.

Then I went home and did I clean the bathroom as I intended?  No. I sat on the sofa and watched sport for the rest of the day.

Now then.  Wimbledon +6.  One of the. Best. Days. EVER.

Gate 1 for a change.  It is bigger than our usual Gate 10. Sock Monkey’s job was to stand in the middle of the tent, after the spectators had gone through the metal detector and collected their stuff and make sure they didn’t hang around causing a bottleneck.

I loved doing this!  I got to speak to thousands of people.  I had Americans high fiving me, I had 11 Belgians crowding around me (they were actually a bit intimidating) demanding to know how they could get Centre Court tickets (to see Kim Clijsters). 

Them: “Will people swap?”

Sock Monkey: “I have had lots of people disappointed that they are on Centre instead of Court 1 (Andy Murray was on Court number 1. Twice – singles and mixed doubles).  I’m sure people will swap.

Djokovic

Them: “But here are 11 of us!!”

Sock Monkey (now wanting to get rid of them asap: “Well if you’d just like to go through the exit I’m sure you will be able to find 11 people who will swap.”

Tsonga

When I asked people which court they were on I could not believe how many of them said, ruefully “Centre Court. We wanted Court number 1.”  The order of play on Centre Court was absolutely stonking! Federer, Tsonga, Djokovic, Sharapova, Clijsters.  That is like someone asked, “Who would you like tosee today?” then obliged.  Everyone wanted to see Andy though.

I wish I had worn my pedometer because I must have walked about 5 miles.

After another sumptuous lunch (think prison-meets-school lunch) about 7 of us decided to try to get into Centre Court.  Tim & Lynn are very good at blagging and after trying several gangways we found a sympathetic Games Maker who said, “Take your accreditations off, take your watches off we had uniform watches), hid your bags under your seats and if anyone comes and you’re sitting in their seat – move.”  Apparently they way to get in is to say, “Look at all of those empty seats.”  So Tim, Lynn, Angela and I got in and plonked our behinds down for some Gourmet tennis.

The first match had just finished and the next one was Tsonga v Djokovic.  Then people arrived whose seats had our backsides on so we had to move.  I overheard one of the ladies say, “They are sitting in other people’s seats now!” but then I think she realised that we were Games Makers and didn’t seem to mind at all after that.  In fact, when I started to worry that I was going to get really sunburned and after asking my three companions if they had any sunblock she ver kindly let me use her factor 50.  If I had had to have left court I wouldn’t  have got back in. After this was Federer v Isner.  Sock Monkey does not like Federer at all but had never seen ol’ rubber nose before and so this match completed my set of seeing everyone else.  

Maria Sharapova

Kim Clijsters

The final match was Kim Clijsters v Maria Sharapova.  I had never seen Kim either and was really pleased to get into the court as she is retiring after the Olympics (or the US Open – one or the other).  Lynn and Angela left before the start of this match so Tim and I watched the first set then went to sit on The Hill with a pint and watch some more tennis action on the big screen.   

Sock Monkey had never been in Centre Court before so today was splendid thank-you-very-much.

London 2012 Olympic Games: Day 4

Was that a spot of rain? Again.  We can also get ponchos.
Nice, aren't they?

Wimbledon +4

“The Dream Team” as our supervisor, Ruth, calls us were deployed to Gate 1 again today.  Our colleagues for the day was G4 Security again.

Sock Monkey was deployed as a pacer for the first hour (this means getting people through the metal detector swiftly and effectively – with no bunches of queues).  My two G4 tray loaders weren’t exactly the friendliest people ever to the spectators so I tried my best to be as friendly as possible to make up for it.

Yesterday was a bit of a dull day with quite a lot of drizzly extra-wet rain.  When we were rotated round I was put outside to help move the queue around the tents and inside.  This involves sending the people along the line and into the various x-ray/metal detector lanes and preparing them for security.

So….the number of times I said, “Good morning, Welcome to security! Please make sure you have no coins, keys, mobile phones in your pockets.  You will need to remove your jackets, belts and wristwatches.  And no liquids, please.”

Sock Monkey always likes to chat to the spectators so I ask them if they are looking forward to their day, I ask them which court they are on (then I ask them if they know the order of play and if they don’t I tell them), I ask them if they have waited long or where they have travelled from or which player they want to see.

A LOVELY lady gave me a big hug when I told her who was on Centre Court: Venus Williams, Andy Murray, Roddick against Djokovick and Laura Robson V Shapapova.  She got really excited and skipped off.  Unfortunately she was on Court Number 1.  Ooops a daisy but she wold have seen Tsonga involved in the longest tennis match in Olympic history.

I had three nasty people.  An elderly couple had a right moan about the security.  The woman started jumping up and down declaring, “Well I think all of this security is absolutely ridiculous!!!!”  I though she was joking then I realized she wasn’t.  Then her husband stood at the metal detector like a horse refusing a jump.  He moaned that he always set it off.  I thought I was going to have to put my foot on his backside and shove him through.  They were exactly like the people who used to write into ‘Points of View’ with Barry Took and say, “Why, oh why, oh why, oh why, BBC” and sign it off  ‘Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells).  Phone me and I wil let you know exactly how I would like to describe them but not in writing.

Then there was a really horrible man who had a right go at me about the security, it was ridiculous, it was unnecessary, the army were much faster the G4, it takes less time to get into the other venues.  I told him I had been with the army and they were the same and I also said it ws required.  When he started blustering that it wasn’t I just ignored him and asked him to “go through please to my colleague who will get you through.”

The next group of people were much nicer and called the Games Makers “Unsung Heroes”.  They asked me if we get to see any tennis and were making jokes about  being Scottish.

I always like to tell the ladies in the queue that “I’m sorry but you have G4.  If you want to move to Gate 10 you’ll get the Royal Marine Commandos, the Paras and the Navy.”  And if its raining I always say, “I’m sorry about the weather.”

Most people are nice, though.

After we were stood down I went to our beautiful canteen and had a cup of tea whilst a few other people had lunch (I had already had my lunch break – sausages containing God-knows-what).  I was absolutely knackered and couldn’t bear going to East London to get a replacement jacket so two of us had a little wander then went home.  It was raining anyway so there was hardly any play off Centre Court.

I didn’t see any matches but I did see Andy Roddick leaving the practice courts.

However some of my team got to man the VIP security gate and they were saying, “Oh I say so-and-so and so-and-so and him and her…”Hmph.

Day off to day so I went to get a new jacket.

We have decided that we will attempt to collect all the confiscated booze and have a wrap party on ‘The Hill’ and watch the finals on the big screen.