Wimbledon - Day 7

A hot morning to start the day. I chose to wear long pants, though I may regret it before the end of play. Still, I wanted to wear my sandals, and since I wasn't quite sure how they would be received, I decided pants would at least mask the fact that I don't have on socks. Honestly, I don't think anyone would care, there are a ton of guys around here wearing jeans, even the venue folks, but I still like to try to play by the rules, and business casual generally means a bit dressier than just casual.

I a now faced with the bother of getting laundry done. Hotels generally use laundry service as a cash cow and this hotel is not any different. The prices are outrageous. There is a cleaners across the street that offers laundry by the pound, and BJ has used them in the past and has dropped off laundry this time. My only concern comes back to the cash issue. More expensive at the hotel, yes, but I don't have a good feel for the payment methods available at the laundry. If I have to tap into my cash, that could prove annoying. I'll figure it out, especially since I can't be smelly boy at the venue (though admittedly that would be hard anyway as a couple of the other folks here are a bit pungent.)

It is getting hotter as we progress. There is talk about low 90s by Sunday, though if we're lucky, that will be a day off anyway. I haven't really seen any rain indicators in the weather forecast, but it is England, so I am sure there is some coming soon.

I did forget to mention I managed to score another mini-jumbo tennis ball. Now, that's of course a non-sequitor, but the premise is that instead of the jumbo tennis ball, it is still larger than a standard tennis ball. I now have three, one from each event. They all cost right around the same amount, which was a relief, since I feared a fairly expensive souvenir here. If I can only convince the French to make one, then I will have a set, one from each event.

I had my first three brushes with greatness today. Wimbledon is a pretty tight environment, so it is likely that you'll encounter tennis stars walking around the grounds, and we are eating in the media cafeteria, so tennis stars from past years are also to be seen. On our way to the office, we ran into Ai Sugiyama on her way to either her first match, or a practice court. Either way, I was the only one to actually pick her out. Then, while I was having lunch in the cafeteria, I walked right past Vjiay Armitraj, who I recognized from his playing career, but one of the other guys only knew from Octopussy. The last one was a bit more dubious, but I did sit at the table across from John Barrett who is here for the BBC and is an outspoken critic of today's tennis. Not too shabby, in my opinion.

Lunch and Dinner were both at the cafeteria. I actually managed to eat well for lunch. Salmon with Broccoli and Cauliflower with a cold chick pea salad. I found it all very tasty. For dinner, it was beef stew, mushy peas and a very large curd cottage cheese. It may not have been quite as good diet wise, but it was reasonably tasty. I find it interesting that I have not managed to exceed my faily badge allowance, but was told it would be virtually impossible to keep below the limit. I guess I am just frugal. Either that or I am not eating enough. :-)

The night ended late again, but instead of the Rose and Crown, we chose to walk to Southfield station, and there was a Free House pub just around the corner. We stopped in, and it was much quieter, much less crowded, and offered a variety of beers from England and around the world. Trading hours ended at 11, so we only managed two pints. Instead of a taxi, we took the train back to Earl's Court station and found another Free House Pub there that was open until midnight. The ratio of seriously drunk patrons to tipsy was probably pretty high, but it also offered a variety of beers, and so we popped in. I will say that this was probably my best night pub wise since I got here.

Came back to the hotel and called Colleen. It was very good to hear her voice, even if she was a bit sleepy, especially since I woke her up from her nap. Still I get goofy when I miss her and I really wanted to just hear her voice. She is my sweetie, and if nothing else it brightens my day to hear her just talk to me. I know I gush a lot on this site, but I hope she understands how much she means to me. Fell asleep watching Highlander on ITV 2 and had my fourth pint, one of the beers I bought at the store.

Cheers!

Wimbledon - Day 6

Another bright and sunny day. We chose to walk to the tube again, which is actually my preference. I saw the last trains run at like midnight, so I may even try to take it back tonight instead of the cab ride, just so I can walk around and really get my bearings. I don't have a good feel for where I am in the city, or how to navigate and the easiest way for me to do so is really to just get lost in town and have to find my way back. I still keep hoping that we'll move to some sort of shift based work, but I can't really say that will happen. Just starting far too late to really justify that.

I chose brunch today, which meant a grilled panini of eggs, cheese, and sausage. It wasn't too bad at all. Throw in a diet coke and it was a good meal for all. Definitely one of the tastier choices I have made this tournament.

As I indicated in the last post, I need to put in more pictures. So, I wanted to start with the first one today.
The statue of Fred Perry was relocated due to the construction work being done at Centre Court. They wanted to have a retractable roof put in (I actually asked if it would be permanent like a dumbass. Natural grass might like some natural light; here's your sign!) but did not have it completed in time for the event. So, one month prior to the event, they stopped all construction, got everything back to usable and then moved all construction equipment out of the way. Unfortunately for Fred, he's stuck where he is until the roof is completed and he can go back to his place of honor in front of Centre Court.

OK, not the best picture in the world to start with, but I had to choose something, and I didn't think pictures of the tube or local pubs was worth posting in here. Of course, I did take a very recent photo of me after my 50 pounds of weight loss while I was playing with the timer function on the camera so I will put that one here as well

I promise not to post any more of these!!

What a day! Somehow, play ran for almost 20 minutes past sunset. That means we've been at the venue again much later than I had expected. Now they are talking about wanting to go out, and that will mean hanging out here in Wimbledon village and carrying my damned bag. I hate that. Oh well, such is life. I should quit being a whiny ass and just suck it up I suppose. I called Colleen late here, but she was at work. The 5 hour time shift isn't easy, seriously. We both agree we are now terribly missing one another, and that the next week or more will be brutal until she gets here.

I still can't get over how expensive it is here. I am only allowed to withdraw 1000 dollars in a week, which sounds like it would be enough, but I have already withdrawn 400 GBP and the week will not end until Saturday. Of course, paying for the cab from the airport in cash hurt any chance I had in making that limit. I suppose worst case I can take everyone's cash and pay on the card, but that becomes harder to square when it becomes expense report time. I'll figure something out. In the meantime, I have to see if I can make it with just roughly 148 GBP left to withdraw and whatever is in my pocket. I should be able to make it, but it is pretty hard to tell at these prices.

Did have a couple of Jameson and soda at the Rose and Crown, but my heart really wasn't into it. That place is loud and makes me feel old. Plus, it is thick with cigarette smoke, and while I still do enjoy the scent, being surrounded by it gets bothersome. More whining I know. I got really lucky, as we were walking out the door, I saw a vacant cab driving by the front of the bar. I managed to shout loudly enough to catch his attention, and we caught the cab back to the hotel. In my room, I learned that the Boddington's cans are just a bit too large for the glasses in the room, and that meant I couldn't quite do the traditional smooth pour. Still damned tasty. Drifted off to sleep watching more junk sports (there are several channels here, so I caught competetive darts, speed small plane flying, and soccer legends playing Texas Hold 'em.) Should be a hot day tomorrow, so we'll see how it goes.

Cheers!

Wimbledon - Day 5

The skies parted, and the sun appeared, albeit briefly. At least it looks like we have a better shot at completing a full day of tennis. Breakfast was another cereal bar in the hotel. I am not sure if that's in my best interest, but I haven't settled in to a decent routine yet. We walked over to the Sainsbury's directly across the street as there is a Starbucks Coffee inside, but I ended up passing for a Diet Coke with Lime instead.

Today we chose to take The Tube to the event. That will become my preferred mode of transportation once I get a bit more familiar. The route is fairly short, and the cost is much less than a cab. In addition, there's a short walk of approximately 1.5 miles that means I will get some walking in.

I hope to have some more pictures to come soon. I just haven't had the chance to take any. Maybe I'll start snapping photos on the way in.

We stopped at the grocery store and I picked up some supplies. The hotel mini-bar has sensors meaning you lift it up, you bought it. For that reason, I had them empty it out, and now I have a refrigerator in the room. That means I can keep some cold beer and some diet coke in the room. That's what I needed. Plus, less chance to get charged for something I never actually consumed. Afterward, we stopped in and had a couple of pints in the hotel bar. Not bad beer, though I am still on the hunt for better.

Since the majority of the day was spent in the venue, I didn't get much chance to take photos, had dinner in the venue, and left well after dark. That makes for yet another short post.

Wimbledon - Day 4

Well, I should have known better. I couldn't spend two weeks in England and expect to miss rain. It washed out all but the about 40 minutes of play yesterday. In the end, however, nothing really changed and everything is still moving forward in the elegant, traditional manner befitting the event.

I did get to go to the roof garden, which is directly above our basement location. What a sight. I will have to try to get up there when it isn't raining to take some pictures. Just a lovely explosion of colors (all Wimbledon friendly) and rolling hills, grass and tons of people. Even Wimbledon has put in the giant screen TV to allow folks that cannot get tickets to Centre Court the opportunity to watch the matches on the lawn inside the grounds.

Otherwise, it was a very nondescript day. We walked out of work up the hill and to the village for a pint back at the Rose and Crown. It was packed to the hilt with what appeared to be mostly people working the event (and it seemed like more than half were IBM on top of that.) The bar scene there makes me feel old. Drinking age is 18, but some of the boys looked younger, and quite a few of the girls there had to be younger, either that, or I became an old fart without even knowing it. Either way, it was too collegiate for me, and I was glad we were heading to dinner, although later than I would have liked (it was almost 10PM before we sat for dinner.)

Dinner tonight was Indian. We went to The Rajdoot Tandoori Restaurant and I had yet another awesome Chicken Vindaloo. The Indian food outside the U.S. is significantly better in my opinion, though I won't stop going in the states, I just need to learn to ask for them to add some spice, as the heat factor here is more in line with what I would expect. Awesome dining overall.

I was dragging a bit of butt when we got done with dinner so I basically went straight to bed. That makes for a pretty short post, unfortunately for my readers. :-)

Cheers!

Wimbledon - Day 3

Nothing like sleeping in relatively late. I did get awakened briefly by my IRC highlight and Microsoft Agent at 3AM, but I was able to ignore it without much effort. :-) We met downstairs at 11 (probably the last time that will happen while I am here working) and started wandering around for food. I found it unusual that many of the restaurants were not open until Noon. We even tried Nando's for some peri-peri chicken and they shooed us out the door as they were not open until noon. We walked a bit more and found Balans that was serving brunch all day. I had a double espresso (actually the second of the day) and was pinging off the walls. The eggs Benedict were quite passable, though the English muffin was slightly tougher than I had expected. It was, however the first restaurant we went to that actually had crispy bacon. Apparently, saying crispy bacon gets you the American style of bacon, while any other bacon ends up being more like a slice of ham.

Popped into a shop that sold International Calling cards. I bought a 5 pound calling card that will work on the cell phone once I have mine. Hopefully, this will mean much less expensive calls home.

Catching a cab at the hotel and actually having them drive us to Wimbledon is apparently somewhat suspect. We have now had three cabs pull up, find out where we were going, and basically drive off. It must be nice to be wealthy enough to actually refuse fares, but what do I know.

Since there was no play today, we had nothing really to do at the venue. I took the opportunity to work on a couple of things and to start handing things off to the folks I brought them. I haven't found my permanent set up, because folks from my team that were working set up are still at the venue. I will be settling in tomorrow. I hope anyway.

Dinner tonight was at La Pappardella an Italian restaurant within walking distance from the hotel. Quite tasty, and while I wasn't actually trying, I managed to have two items that were diet friendly. Of course a couple of glasses of wine did not help matters, but it was still quite tasty. We wound up back at the hotel bar to watch England win their match, and also to see Portugal win against Holland. Not sure how that all settles out, other than Portugal will now play England in the next round.

Not really much else going on, heading to bed reasonably early for a change.

Cheers!

Wimbledon - Day 2

Well, Day 2 was quite interesting. I get to Gatwick Airport, and while going through customs, I am informed that few people in London care about the tennis tournament, and that right now World Cup mania has taken hold. I admit I knew that would be more than possible, but still, I think she's overstating it a bit. Oh well, welcome to London.

Quite the shock for the cab ride to the hotel. First, cabs are handled quite a bit more civilized here. I went to a hiring stand and after getting cut off in queue (I have got to remember to be more agressive) I spoke to a dispatcher who informed me the ride from the airport to the hotel would be 85 Pounds. I hoped that was OK, and found out I actually had paid the least of any of the rides into the city from Gatwick among the team. That was amazing, as I had never paid more than 75 bucks for a cab before this trip. I suspect I am will take the train to the airport when I pick Colleen up, though I don't want to have to lug her suitcases on the train, so I am torn. We did it in France, and I probably can here, I just haven't got it mapped out yet.

Checked in to the Mariott Kensington and got sent to the 8th floor. That's not bad until I start hauling up and down 8 flights of stairs because I can't deal with waiting for the lift. There are two, they are tiny, and will likely not spend a ton of time on the 8th floor. Judge explained to me why things seem so cramped. From a taxation purpose, any finished space is taxed. That means an attached patio, closets, etc. So, to maximize the space, the builder will forgo things like elevator space, closets, etc. A very interesting piece of information for me to say the least. You know how the vat operates, that tidbit will find a cozy spot somewhere to be used later. ;-)

Had lunch with the guys, who were just rolling out when I finally got settled. We went to an Irish Pub named O'Neills and I had a loaded burger (yummy, fried egg on a burger is hard to beat.) Add to it a pint of Extra Cold Guinness and it was hardly a diet friendly meal, but it sure was tasty!! :-)

After lunch, we went back to the hotel and I changed. It wasn't warm, but I wanted to put on some shorts, since I had been in those khakis for a while. We went down to the hotel bar, and I got to sample my first (and I am sure not the last) Pimm's number 1 cup. Not bad, actually, though the cucumber does give it a very distinct flavor. Also, effectively expensive as I have never paid 8 pounds for a drink before. I can only hope the costs were higher because of it being at the hotel bar, so I will keep you abreast of how that goes.

After a couple of rounds, I was in desperate need of a nap. I crashed for a couple of hours, and took the chance to set the time on my alarm clock. Once again, European hotels seem to not care about providing clocks or alarms, so I bring one with me (thank to the PLTE conference, IBM gave me a pretty slender one that travels well.) Got up and had a shower. The Mariott is an interesting hybrid of showers. It is still the handle hose instead of a fixed head, but they did provide a shower curtain instead of the half plexiglass wall I have seen in Australia, France, and Germany. The water pressure was outstanding, and the temperature was nice a hot. Feeling refreshed, I headed downstairs to meet the team and head out for a few rounds and then dinner.

Our first stop was a pub that is apparently a regular for the event. The Rose and Crown Pub is very old, and was quite ready to handle our drinking requirements. Once again, another Commonwealth Country that does not have Crown Royal, so I have switched to Jameson Irish Whiskey and Soda for my beverage of choice. Not bad, really, but still, I want some Crown!! Dinner was Thai. The Thai Tho Restaurant was pretty darned tasty, honestly. I love good Thai food, and this place did not disappoint. I recommend anything sweet chilly (or chili if you prefer) spiced, as it is well worth it. I also recommend the vegetable tempura starter. The restaurant also had brown rice, so other than the tempura batter, this was actually a diet friendly meal. After dinner back to the Rose and Crown for a couple more drinks. I find it odd that pubs close at midnight here. I was told it used to be law, was recently repealed, but most pubs still follow the convention. Oh well, I was dragging butt anyway, and having the bar shoo us away at midnight didn't hurt my feelings in the least. :-)

Back at the room, I called Colleen, and I am sure that will be an expensive call. I discovered the direct rates through the hotel were 2.99 GBP per minute, so I better find a calling card or start hanging out at the venue more often. Fortunately, the latter is taken care of for me. I miss her already, which will make this trip a bit more annoying. Honestly, the time shift is easier at Australia even though it is significantly larger. It is only 5 hours ahead in London, and so I did my best to work through that. I will just count the days until she's here. I need to get off my butt and get some pictures taken. I promised her I would do better, and I intend to make that happen.

OK, large enough post for today. Cheers!!

Wimbledon - Day 1

So, I realized that as I was putting together this blog entry that I couldn't very well start with just Day 1, as there is already an entry with that title. So, since this trip is part of the Wimbledon experience, I decided I would title them slightly differently.

It is a travel day, and a packing day. That means I have to get things packed. I am horrible at packing, so I like to wait until the last possible moment to start. That means I am scrambling and really should be packing instead of composing this entry. :-) I started out with a quick call to the hotel in London, as the two PM somehow managed to each get a booking and I had two rooms reserved. Not sure how much that call will cost me, but I suppose it has to be cheaper than the room rate for an extra room. I can expense it anyway, I just need to wait for the bill.

This time I am trying very hard to pack light. Well, relatively light. How do you pack for a month away? There's no easy way, that's for sure. I am trying to do better this time, because the follow on flights will be much more weight restricted than we're used to, and I don't want to have to deal with luggage overages. I am packing a spare bag, so if it does appear I'll have a bag go overweight, I can take this one and stuff some things in it and store them at a hotel. I suppose. :)

This is an interesting trip for me. I will complete my career grand slam (meaning I will have been to all 4 tennis venues) and marks the second of three trips this year to tennis events. Surprising to say the least. It will also mark the first direct flight, as RDU airport does offer one direct flight to the UK from here, and it is on American Airlines, so I of course had to take it. I am excited to visit Wimbledon, even more so than any visit to London. Of course, I will be the total Hard Rock slave that I am, and collect the city. I don't technically collect the pins. I get a guitar pin for the city that I visit if that city has a Hard Rock Cafe. In my mind, that means I collect the cities. I could go out and just buy pins, but that defeats the purpose. One day, I hope to have tons of them, but I have really started

As you can tell, I will be dragging out the blog a day practice for this trip. They will be full of links as I can find interesting ones, and I am promising to do better about pictures early and often. We'll see. :-)

Cheers!