Stuff

After a very long time putting up with a phone that ran out of battery very quickly and was taking mediocre photos I now have a new one - it's a Pixel 8a and I saved £139! I kept putting it off because I don't like change, I was concerned that I would lose everything on the old one, but with help from my darling daughter it all transferred over. The camera is brilliant, photos are so much better, crisper.

I didn't go to the hospital today, I wanted some time to catch up with Christmas stuff, I hadn't even written a single card. This morning I went to our church cafe, it was very nice to be a customer instead of a worker. I missed the pre-school children singing, they did it earlier than expected. They were leaving as I was arriving so they treated me to my own private singing of 'Jingle Bells' which was lovely. 

The children made these lovely fir cone decorations

 for us ladies that work in the cafe.

The church is looking festive. This is the tree that two ladies entered into the Christmas Tree Festival (coming soon)

This afternoon I started writing cards and then decorated a tree, the lights are in the branches. It looks prettier in real life.

I also put Christmas things in my Manor House dolls house, the tree and presents in the hall

Lunch

Tea

This fireplace fitted in my first dollshouse. My grandson was much younger then and he liked it. It doesn't really fit in the Manor House but I like to use it.

And I just put in tiny santa because he's cute!

∼ Be safe and well∼ 

Polly x

A Busy Week

Oh my word, what a busy week I have had, busy and very nice.

This was my diary

Monday:            Bowls Club Christmas Lunch

Tuesday:            Craft Club Christmas Lunch

Wednesday:       WI Christmas Lunch; 

Evening:            drinks with village hall committee

Thursday:          NHS volunteers "Thank you"  buffet lunch. The venue was

                          beautiful and the food was delicious. 

Thursday eve:    Chelmsford book club meeting at a member's home,

                          more nibbles!

Friday morning: setting up our tree for the Christmas Tree Festival

Afternoon:          U3a Christmas party. Unfortunately the meagre offering of

                          nibbles was very disappointing

but the entertainment in the form of Henry VIII telling us about his 

life and wives was brilliant. 

Next week is very quiet, then I have two more do's the week after.

∼ Be safe and well∼ 

Polly x

Wimbledon The Grounds

An experienced groundsman can run his hand over the grass and tell how much moisture there is in the turf and how long it will take to dry out.

As hallowed turf is to Wembley so too is it at Wimbledon.

The grounds are meticulously fed, watered, trimmed, de-humidified

and treated to sunbed sessions!

Number one court. It takes about a week to cover all the seats.

De-humidifiers

sunbeds used during winter to compensate for less daylight and sunshine

The Serving Ace Meeting Tree captures a tennis player frozen in time, poised mid-serve reflecting the moment of quiet before an explosive shot. The artist is Mark Reed. The tree was unveiled in 2023.

We were trying to find the squirrel - not a real one, it's part of the sculpture.

Billie Jean King rents one of those apartments every year

Henman Hill

The longest match was played on number 18 court from the 22nd - 24th June 2010. John Isner (USA) beat Nicholas Mahut (France) 6-4 3-6 6-7(7-9) 7-6(7-3)

70-68 Match duration was 11 hours 5 minutes. After that the tie breakers were introduced.

Centre court

The Royal Box

   
The previous years' score stays on the scoreboard for a year

From Titanic survivor to Olympic Gold

Third down, the name R. N. Williams, has an amazing history. Aged 21 Richard Norris Williams boarded the Titanic to continue his career as a tennis player in the US. When the ship started sinking he jumped into the water which was -2  degrees and waited until lifeboats arrived. After entering the lifeboat, he spent several hours knee-deep in the freezing water which  left his legs so severely frostbitten that the Carpathia's doctor wanted to amputate them. Williams said no and opted instead to work through the injury by simply getting up and walking around every two hours, around the clock. It worked, 12 weeks later he played against Karl Howell Behr who was also a Titanic survivor. In the Paris Olympics of 1924 Williams competed in mixed doubles with Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman and won gold.

What a great outcome.

We got to keep the lanyards

🎾  Be safe and well 🎾 

Polly x

Game Set and Match

If you're a fan of tennis I can thoroughly recommend a trip to Wimbledon, the most famous tennis courts in the world. My U3a group arranged our tour of the museum and grounds. 

   

Fred Perry

 After arrival and a bite to eat in the very nice cafe we started our tour in the excellent museum which showcases the very beginning of the game of tennis, and the history and traditions of the championships. The interactive galleries include original objects from Wimbledon and clothing and equipment donated by top tennis stars.

Major Rufus Wingfield, founder of modern lawn tennis patented the game in Great Britain in 1874. His idea was to create a portable court for playing the “ancient game of tennis.” He envisioned the game being constructed on croquet courts, providing people with healthy exercise and social amusement.

Lawn tennis rapidly became a popular pastime. It gave young men and women the opportunity to meet and flirt! All over the country tennis clubs sprang up and started their own tournaments.

And all over the country Victorian homes embraced this new craze

parlours, dining rooms and kitchens were festooned with all things tennis

The game of squash is a descendant of Rackets, which was played with long handled rackets and hard balls. It started as an outdoor game in debtors' prisons in London, and at Harrow school and is still played in some public schools.

Tennis Across the British Empire

In the 1870's and 1880's army officers and officials formed sports clubs as reminders of home, building a little England abroad. 

The little dress in the centre image is a badminton fancy dress costume for the children's ball in Simla, India in 1893.

Men's locker room, I can't remember the date

Look at that girdle! In 1881 Walter Wingfield had his tennis clothes, and those of the lady he had just defeated, weighed. Had she been handicapped by her long heavy costume? Most definitely. His clothes weighed 2.4 kg, hers were 4.9 kg! The weights are there to sample how heavy the costumes were.

Wimbledon at War

On the 31st August 1939, nursing sisters, the Red Cross and the St John Ambulance Brigade moved in. The Fire Service, ARP squads, and Civil Defence took up residence. Outside the Clubhouse, the London Irish and the 1st Battalion of the Welsh Guards used the main concourse as a parade ground. The car parks were ploughed up for vegetables and a farmyard was established. There were pigs, rabbits, chickens, ducks and geese, and even a donkey.

Andre Agassi

"This is so great to touch the trophy. If I never win another match I don't care. Whatever I do, wherever I go, I'm going to be a Wimbledon Champion"

Goran Ivanisevic, 2001

Trainers worn by Venus Williams at the 2001 Championships. Her fans were not only enthralled by her unparalleled power and serving-to-win strategy, but also her original ensembles that challenged traditional dress codes. She used her creativity and DIY skills to adapt several of her outfits, including these trainers which she embellished with rhinestones. She wore them all the way to the final, winning her third career Grand Slam and her second title at the Championships.

"Tennis whites are boring unless it's Wimbledon, where it's classy"

Serena Williams

Women's and Men's Trophies

I still enjoy Wimbledon but my favourite era was the 80's - Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe "You cannot be serious" He was a bit of a brat, but he rebelled against the stuffy English way of the game.

The museum collection is huge, much more than I've shown here.

It's well worth a visit.

Up next - the grounds

🎾  Be safe and well 🎾 

Polly x