Tennis, Anyone?

Ironically, the All England Club was the sight of our Fourth of July festivities a few days ago.  However, there was nothing even remotely American about our day as we attended the Men's Quarter-Finals of the Wimbledon Championships.

As I'm preparing to watch the Men's Final in just a short hour from now, I discover that the prize for the winner of the Men's Singles is £1,150,000 (about 1,780,000 U.S. dollars).  Guess what the prize money was when Wimbledon began 

in 1877?  The answer is at the end of this blog.  

It was an all-day affair in Wimbledon and we met at 10:30 in the morning.  

Meeting friends and our hosts for the day, Debi (with her American flag!) and Mike, made it lots of fun and memorable.  Carl, a co-worker of Mike's at Endeavor and his wife, Carol stand to the right of Mike and Debi (middle).

We were escorted to a private room for a spectacular lunch.

The centerpiece was beautiful...

and sporty!  Now, on to the real reason we were here...

 The first match:  Here's Roger Federer as he handily beat a Russian opponent,  MikhailYouzhny.  Federer makes it look so easy.

Note the players are all wearing white - another tradition at Wimbledon.

But the more exciting match was the battle between the home-town boy and crowd favorite, Andy Murray, and Spain's, David Ferrer.  Britain hasn't had a men's winner at Wimbledon since 1936 when Fred Perry reigned that year so you can just imagine the excitement - and the tremendous amount of pressure on Andy Murray.  This match went to four sets and Andy Murray was the victor but...

not without a couple of short rain delays.  Even though Centre Court has a roof, they prefer to keep it open, if they predict it's going to be a short delay.  

Nothing like a tennis match in England - bring out the brollies!

In between matches, back to our dining room for the age-old tradition at Wimbledon of Strawberries and Cream.  Also on the platter were amazing scones served with clotted cream and jam.  Yummy!

There were some celebrities in the Royal Box like a couple of my tennis favorites, Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi.  Another famous couple sat next to them...

The Duchess and Duke of Cambridge were enjoying the match as well.

And so, a toast to a wonderful and unforgettable day at Wimbledon.  Now, signing off to watch the finals - Roger Federer vs. Andy Murray.

Oh, the answer to the question I posed above is £10!

.....More Jubilee-ation

What's a royal celebration without a parade?  Several friends of mine and I mustered up the energy to once again participate in some Royal Watching and headed toward the Mall for the Royal Procession.  Only, instead of the Mall, where thousands upon thousands would be gathered, Eve had the brilliant idea of going to Whitehall instead, where the procession would be leaving Westminster Hall and heading towards Buckingham Palace and the crowds would be lighter.  (This idea of finding the perfect location to Royal Watch is becoming a science!)

We stood near the Cenotaph, a WWI war memorial, which proved to be an interesting viewing area as all parade participants who passed it did so with the greatest respect.  Band members and soldiers alike turned as they passed and, in perfect unison, bowed their heads or saluted.  Likewise, the male members of the Royal Family removed their top hats upon passing this site.

There were numerous marching bands,

guards standing at attention and

doing a little crowd control.

The guards were required to stand in exact increments along the parade route and there were stringent  inspections.

In contrast, these police were having a friendly chat and

this cute military policeman in particular was so friendly.  He gave us all the inside scoop as to when the Queen would be making her appearance.

In addition, there were countless more troops and beautiful horses in all their finery,

It was all so well-orchestrated.  Of course, they practice year-round for various events.  I remember being in Hyde Park a few weeks ago, watching them practice early in the morning.  

The horse and guards weren't the only ones decked out!  These ladies told us they bought their raincoats at Primark for £5.

And here we are - Eve, Pam, Roxanne in her sunglasses/tiara get-up, me in my royal purple and Debi awaiting the carriages - not ours, unfortunately!

Pam wouldn't take her tiara off even when it started to rain a little.

And speaking of royal carriages.......  at first, the Royal Family came through in cars on their way to Westminster Hall, where they had a luncheon.  

Look, there's the Queen and one of her ladies-in-waiting in this car.  Prince Phillip was hospitalized after all the revelry from the river procession on Saturday so he wasn't beside her.

And here's Prince Harry.

Now, the best part was watching them return...

Queen Elizabeth and the next queen Camilla? (there are rumors...)

Prince Charles looking dapper.

Prince Harry and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Kate and William).

The future King and Queen of England!