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.